kellyxmen's review
3.0
I love the format of this book. Each type is described using a plethora of keywords. I find this format particularly helpful and efficient in mapping out the vibe for each type.
It’s so useful that I was able to type my best friend/roommate/boyfriend instantly. People suggest not typing others but when I read him the description he started laughing and flipping out at the accuracy and said, “There are OTHER people like me? This is a TYPE? What book is this??”
I adore this book.
It’s so useful that I was able to type my best friend/roommate/boyfriend instantly. People suggest not typing others but when I read him the description he started laughing and flipping out at the accuracy and said, “There are OTHER people like me? This is a TYPE? What book is this??”
I adore this book.
kmj98's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting read. I think it provides some good insights.
angelreadsthings's review against another edition
4.0
Of all the Enneagram resources that I have encountered, this book is the most accessible. It provides a succinct introduction to the 9 types without sacrificing a deep look at the motivations, struggles, and strengths of each type. I found that the self-test is also much better than any of the other short tests I've encountered. It's simple but challenging which primes the reader for the paradoxical challenge that naturally comes with attempting to better understand oneself. My favorite parts of the book are the comparison paragraphs and the tools for personal development based on type at the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the basics of this system and of their type.
kinseyelise's review
5.0
A lot of the podcasters I listen to talk frequently about the enneagram. I'm not overly enthusiastic about personality types, but I picked up this book to quickly determine my type and read a bit about the enneagram, so I'd have a better sense of what those podcasters are talking about. Really appreciated this book's clarity and brevity.
inthecommonhours's review
4.0
I had low expectations when I received this slim book from my job in 2020, but I actually think it’s excellent, very succinct and helpful to determine your type—and then you can dive into the deeper books.
panda_incognito's review against another edition
1.0
Apparently, because I'm a One, this means that I have forgotten the eternal truth that I am "already perfect the way I am." I rolled my eyes at a similar line in another book that I just reviewed, but this book's version of the message enraged me, because it wasn't just a poor wording choice. It's a false worldview that the authors want to shove down your throat. Their research on the Ennegram is interesting, and I liked the resources that explain the similarities and differences between certain numbers to help reduce the odds of mistyping, but the authors' suggestions for personal growth and improvement involve embracing a lot of "fundamental truths" that were only ever true in the Garden of Eden.
Behold, the fundamental principle Eights have lost sight of: "Everyone begins in innocence, coming freshly to each moment, and everyone can sense truth."
An Eight's false belief about the world: "It is a hard and unjust world in which the powerful take advantage of others, which must be resisted."
This is absurd. This is crap. What self-respecting MD and PhD look at the world and then decide to coauthor a book about how people should stop believing in the reality of injustice?
You might like to believe that the One is wrong to see and struggle against their entrenched flaws, or that the Eight is mistaken to view the world in categories of oppressors and the oppressed, but these authors aren't telling people to restrain their overboard tendencies in these directions. Instead, they want us to believe that we're truly all cared for, loved, perfect, and involved in a Nirvana give-and-take where no one ever has a reason to feel guilty or take a stand against evildoers. I skimmed through the rest of this book in absolute disdain, bypassing their ideas for meditation and self-improvement, because if the bedrock of their philosophy is an imagined return to a world without sin and evil, they have nothing to offer me.
Behold, the fundamental principle Eights have lost sight of: "Everyone begins in innocence, coming freshly to each moment, and everyone can sense truth."
An Eight's false belief about the world: "It is a hard and unjust world in which the powerful take advantage of others, which must be resisted."
This is absurd. This is crap. What self-respecting MD and PhD look at the world and then decide to coauthor a book about how people should stop believing in the reality of injustice?
You might like to believe that the One is wrong to see and struggle against their entrenched flaws, or that the Eight is mistaken to view the world in categories of oppressors and the oppressed, but these authors aren't telling people to restrain their overboard tendencies in these directions. Instead, they want us to believe that we're truly all cared for, loved, perfect, and involved in a Nirvana give-and-take where no one ever has a reason to feel guilty or take a stand against evildoers. I skimmed through the rest of this book in absolute disdain, bypassing their ideas for meditation and self-improvement, because if the bedrock of their philosophy is an imagined return to a world without sin and evil, they have nothing to offer me.