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Summary: Annotated Bibliography of Body Language by Julius Fast
Review: Fast, Julius. Body Language. New York: M. Evans and Company Inc, 1970.Julius Fast, the author of Body Language, a former senior editor at Medical News, and previous teacher of Body Language at The New School For Social Research and at Connecticut State College, throughout this book refers to many psychologists opinions and research. Some include Dr. Arnold Buchheimer, Dr. Albert E. Scheflen, and Michael Wolff. The information that is discussed gives the reader a good understanding about the basis of the study of kinesics, the study of body language. Many different areas such as posture, space, and masking are all combined allowing you to recognize what a person is really thinking, putting light upon a unique area of the study of language. Although this 1970 edition, published by M. Evans and Company Inc., and the second publication, released in 1988, are both somewhat outdated, the ideas and opinions discussed provide a good understanding for the reader that is uneducated in this topic and still well represents the ideas that have since then been further developed in a logical order. The book at the time of release received positive reviews, the Daily News saying, "Julius Fast's fascinating book tells how social scientists are discovering that your body cannot lie!" The book still remains in print today.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth a cent
Review: I believe that this science of body language can be very beneficial to just about everyone, but I think it serves more of an interest towards academia and areas of behavioral psychology. There have been books upon books written on the subject and it still seems subjective. This knowledge of gestures and postures and such seems so ambivalent a thing that I wonder at its overall effectiveness. It seems that too many things could be interpreted wrong. Body language is so subtle and individually based that I feel trying to spell it out would be an impossible task. However, having knowledge of the general principles of body language can help you build better control over your own body language, which will help you to express yourself more effectively. Either way, this book contains little worth and I'd say that no more than twenty percent contributes anything significant on non-verbal communication. Everything in this book could have been summed up in a large article. Although, it is out-dated, being published in 1970, I feel that it is at least of some interest as an extremely introductory glance into this area of knowledge. I think most will inherently understand the things covered just from going about everyday life. This book is not worth buying and should only be read if borrowed from a friend or the library. I have read way better books that have been long out of print and to see this terrible of a book still in print makes me sad.
Rating: 
Summary: Know what you're buying
Review: I bought this book wanting to learn how to read body language in general - that is, how to quickly connect with people. This book is helpful in understanding body language, but it centers more around romantic relationships. To my own detriment I must say that the picture on the cover should have been a tip off. It's still a good book. Just make sure you know what you're buying.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth money
Review: I did not get much from this book. It is very general and does not teach you the art of body language. It only tells you a few good points. Most of the books is useless in your future life.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book for Reading Body Language
Review: I've noticed a lot of negative reviews for this book. They seem to be written by people who think there is some mysterious science, or set of "tricks" that can be deployed using body language. This is not a book of tricks. It will not teach you any weird occultic secrets or mystical rites. If you're looking for the "unfair advantage" that gets so heavily hyped on the Web, it's not here. It's not anywhere else, either (lol). This IS, however, a great book for understanding the essential science of nonverbal communication through body language. It is an awesome introduction to the science and, frankly, none of the books that have followed have done much to improve on it. A couple of specifics...If you want to know if a woman is interested in you, that section of this book is pretty good. If you want to learn how to communicate your interest in a woman, without having to say a word, read the chapter about "Mike." It's dynamite. I've used it many times to express attraction for a woman. It works like magic. And the wild thing is, these techniques also create attraction in women when you use them. So don't believe the "short cut" seekers who have blasted this book. It's a cool, wise, intriguing read.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book for Reading Body Language
Review: I've noticed a lot of negative reviews for this book. They seem to be written by people who think there is some mysterious science, or set of "tricks" that can be deployed using body language. This is not a book of tricks. It will not teach you any weird occultic secrets or mystical rites. If you're looking for the "unfair advantage" that gets so heavily hyped on the Web, it's not here. It's not anywhere else, either (lol). This IS, however, a great book for understanding the essential science of nonverbal communication through body language. It is an awesome introduction to the science and, frankly, none of the books that have followed have done much to improve on it. A couple of specifics...If you want to know if a woman is interested in you, that section of this book is pretty good. If you want to learn how to communicate your interest in a woman, without having to say a word, read the chapter about "Mike." It's dynamite. I've used it many times to express attraction for a woman. It works like magic. And the wild thing is, these techniques also create attraction in women when you use them. So don't believe the "short cut" seekers who have blasted this book. It's a cool, wise, intriguing read.
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Summary: It's about men
Review: The author tends to assume that women and men send identical messages with identical or very similar body language. That's a mistake.
Young women with career goals might find it useful to learn some of the male territorial and hierarchic signals described here. For example there's a hilarious passage about men challenging each other's territory on a restaurant table using only the instruments at hand. Next time I lunch with a man I'll notice how he lines up his fork, and try not to laugh.
Women (networks, team players, verbal) and men (hierarchies, power lunchers, spacial) operate differently and use different body language to communicate different signals. Most of the time only the male signals are visible to this author, so the book's value is limited.
The publisher does a disservice by not making this clear on the cover.
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Summary: A book out of antiquity.
Review: The only reason this book receives so few stars for the most part is that the reader is trying to apply this as a today's science and it does not work. The first printing was in 1970 and it was a novelty at the time. Now there are books upon books upon books on the subject and today it is still subjective. All you have to do is find out which book the other person is reading and practice the signals you want to make that person think that he/she has some sort of insight. In the mean time this book is fun to read to see what over two million people read and what they must have thought. It uses what looks like personal experiences to explain the ins and outs of body language in different cultures and situations. Here is what it promises: . How to make advances without taking chances! . How to read shoulders. (Is the person in a good mood? Angry? Frightened?) . Body language between sex partners. How to communicate feeling and need without words. . How to enter a room full of strangers, inventory body positions, and tell who the "important" people are. . How to use body language to assume leadership of a group. . How you can use the "new" language to defeat language. As Rene Belloq said in [Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark], "...We are simply passing through history; This *is* history."
Rating:
Summary: Nothing of use in this book
Review: This book is no good. Its hucksterish cover implies that it will help you read the body language of women in order to improve your dating. However, there are really no practical tactics. There are lots of anecdotes mixed in with generalizations (with the ever-present caveat that there are always exceptions to these generalizations). It was written in the 70's, which should imply right there that is is obsolete, and indeed it is.
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Summary: Classic, with some surprisingly relevant topics for today...
Review: This is a classic little book about the art of reading body language. As the editor of Charm Magazine, I've researched this topic in depth. This book doesn't tell it all, but it is THE place to start. I assure you that all the body language authors out there have read this book. Readers may be turned off by some of the outdated scenarios and old-fashioned language. The use of "men" to describe both men and women is particularly confusing, especially because Fast sometimes uses "men" to mean just men. Some surprising topics covered in this book include communicating with animals, viewing people as "non-persons" (which is quite relevant to issues like sexism), and even S&M. On a personal note, I was pleased to see a section on "bedroom eyes," a phrase I've heard for years without truly understanding what it referred to, lol. Another section of interest is a brief foray into the body language used in the Arab world. I can't vouch for the accuracy of his research into the Arab culture, but it's worth thinking about, especially in our post 9/11 world.
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