Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Convincing
Review: Robert Cialdini, presents very basic mechanisms that we use to make our lives simpler. Those same mechanisms can be used by "compliance professionals" in a way that seems very natural to us.The Book Dissects 6 weapons of influence, namely; Reciprocation, Commitment and Consistency, Social Proof, Liking, Authority and Scarcity. The book will protect you from being ripped off and will make you wiser and more aware of the psychological mechanisms taking place around you.
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Summary: One of the best books on this subject!
Review: This book is great! It true is one of a kind. Cialdini explains 6 major hot buttons we humans have, how we act on it automatically and how we can re-act on it. The information is presented in a good way, a easy to read structure and just enough real live examples. If you're a marketeer, get the book! If you're interested in human performance, including NLP, read it as well, you'll read new things.
Rating: 
Summary: So useless, I returned it
Review: If this subject is of interest, there are far better books out there. This one is so basic that perhaps it should be taught in grade school. However, if your knowledge of influence and power is beyond grade school level, then I suggest that you look for excellent books on the subject elsewhere.
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Summary: Out standing
Review: I have used this book in my consulting practice and have gotten the best result out of all the presentations done from Cialdini's work. Feedback is outstanding.
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Summary: changed my life
Review: I jumped into a bad job. Because I was highly successful before this bad job, I immediately began looking for information on how I got into something so bad (and how I could reclaim the situation and turn it around). After spending hundreds of dollars on a business advisor, I found this book. My eyes were opened to the seven principles of persuasion, and I realized almost immediately that I had unknowingly been using many of the seven principles in my previous job, and had abandoned them in my new job. Suddenly it was clear: I'm in a bad job because I gave up the persuasive qualities that had always helped me to be successful in my past! Specifically, what so helped me was the chapter on "reciprocity" -- in which one person's favor must be met by a similar returned favor. His explanations of why this is so powerful and how it can be used were persuasive themselves. And his comment about President Carter ("he may have been the 'outsider' who didn't owe anyone anything, but what he failed to realize is that no one in Washington owed *him* anything either") was so insightful that for two days I was telling everyone, "I know why my job went south, I was being President Carter!" Now I'm getting ready for a turnaround. Time to put my skills of persuasion back to work.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly amazing
Review: INFLUENCE defies categorization. Is it a textbook? psycho-social commentary? self-help? It's all three and then some. Remarkably well written with a minimum of one startling insight per page, INFLUENCE will open up the world of persuasion to you, revealing just how often we relingquish individual control in our personal lives. A must read.
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Summary: Great Job!
Review: Lots of authors like to speculate about things. Cialdini does a great job of organizing his thoughts, backs them up with loads of research, offers anecdotal evidence, and even gives a shot at explaining. This is 10x more credible than anything else I have read; other would-be writers should get a clue from this guy!
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Summary: Masterful insight into the art of persuasion
Review: This was a wonderfully composed book. It gave realistic and most often just plain real examples of how people had been conned into complying with requests of car salesmen, door-to-door salesmen or just people skilled in persuasion. It gives you ways to say no to these unwanted requests and how to exploit them on your own for a beneficial purpose. I found this book a joy to read, it gave me a clear idea how things worked in the human mind and what made us more susceptible to fall for the simple persuasive tatics that are talked about in this book. If you have ever had the same inquisition about the psychological aspects of persuasion then this should be a top priority.
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Summary: Must read for former cult members!
Review: I found Cialdini's "Influence" to be one of the most valuable books I have ever read. While most will heap praise on Cialdini's ability to help us understand compliance techniques used in a business -marketing context, I'd like to focus on the insight it provides in terms of the psychological and mental manipulation used by cults. Indeed, Cialdini even provides examples dealing with Jim Jones' Peoples Temple, and the Hare Krishnas. As a former cult member myself (Maharaji's Elan Vital-formerly known as Divine Light Mission), I felt the book really helped me in gaining a greater understanding of how the process of the cult's mental manipulation took hold in my life. And in that understanding, I'm able to regain at least some of the freedom that I lost in the cult. The freedom to say yes when I want to. The freedom to say no when I want to. Most of all...the freedom to be myself. My thanks to Robert Cialdini!
Rating: 
Summary: Complete but too long
Review: Cialdini outlines methods that are used to influence people towards a decision that would not be taken otherwise. It is amazing to learn all these methods, either to use them, or to be aware when used against us. The reason for the 4 stars is that the book is too long because it is loaded with examples that are very repetitive, and sometimes boring. Otherwise the book is well worth the money and the time.
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