Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 155.232
EAN num: 9780671741587
ISBN number: 0671741586
Label: Pocket
Manufacturer: Pocket
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 336
Printing Date: 1992-02
Publishing house: Pocket
Sale Popularity Level: 238556
Studio: Pocket
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Compiles scientific evidence that optimism is vital to overcoming defeat and exhibits how readers can learn the habit of optimism necessary for a successful and happy life. Reprint. NYT. PW.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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Maybe I should have known better because the audio book is only two CD's but I was disappointed that it's not the entire book on CD. These two CD's contain a fraction of information from the book. I think the book is so full of essential information that the audio CD's only contain a small piece of the author's subject.
Rated by buyers -
I haven't gotten all the way through it, because there are alot of assignments, where you have to stop the CD. I usually listen in my car, so it's taking me a while to finish. I'd recommend buying the book too, which I haven't purchased yet.
Rated by buyers -
It's not that the information insn't correct, but it certainly isn't insightful. This seems like a mental exercise for a professor who just wants to get his name in print. Right away you're in trouble becuase he has you go through an exercise and then rate your optimism to see if this book could help you. if you are low on optimism, you need this book, if you are balanced, you need this book and if you are very optimistic, you still need this book.
My view, try to see things from others perspective and find out what your unique service and contribution is to a given situation and ulitmaley your whole life. The rest will fall into place.
Rated by buyers -
If you are interested in how optimism can be learned, Seligman's book/CD is a great resource.
Rated by buyers 
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I received this book about a year ago and I think it is the best self help book on the market. It has been fantastic and has helped me so much by giving me scientifically proven techniques to change the way I look at events or situations.
I use to read a few self help books to stay positive and ended up giving them up as I found they never gave me any help and where filled with 'take care of your self, your precious' and `say these nice things to yourself and you will have a better life'. I suppose that is all well and good but at the end of the day it never really helped me or changed anything. They could never snap me out of a downward spiral however the techniques in this book can. This book gave me concrete ways to help myself in situations where I get emotional or upset and it is something that will always need to be worked on but if you do it then it gets easier and you are in more control and you are a more rational and effective person.
The book is easily understood even though alot of it is scientific and best of all the principals are backed up by studies so the book has validation. All of the principals are pretty basic and leave you feeling `well of course' however they really do help and like most books it brings your attention to things you may already know, but may not apply. If you enjoy going to psychologists and raking up all the bad events of your life and leave with no way to help yourself in these emotional times when you are alone, then you may not appreciate this book. While it is great to get help, it is important to get the right help and understand why something may not be helping you. Cognitive therapy seems to put the responsibility back on the individual, while you may not have chosen the way you choose to perceive your life (usually from parents) it is your responsibility to change this and to make the long term commitment to change.
I have also read 2 other books by Martin Seligman and I also found these great. It is not essential to read all of these books but I found Learned Optimism so interesting, and that I got so much out of reading it and using the techniques that I wanted to see what was included in the other two books. The other books hold similar material however go into greater detail in other ways like talking about the angry person and why they are like that etc... I would recommend any of these books to everyone as there is something there for all, it would probably be best though to start with Learned Optimism.
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