Every now and again I find books that are too intriguing to pass over. I made such discovery recently while going through some old belongings. This “illustrated, no-nonsense manual by two experts in the field of negotiation” apparently teaches you how to “read a person like a book”. It examines common gestures and teaches you “how to spot the hidden social, sexual and emotional messages that we all send to each other with our bodies”.
I must confess, at first I thought the whole thing was ridiculous. But the more I read and thought about body language, the more fascinating it became. The “dramatic illustrations”, however, were not fascinating. They were hilarious.
For example:
This bit of body language is called the “sideways glance”. It displays a distrusting attitude.
I think that the only attitude being displayed here comes in the form of that sweet jacket that I can only assume is brushed suede. The frills on the edges of the garment scream “I smell like Brut cologne and cigarettes. Let’s head out to my van and I will let you kiss me.”
This illustration can be found in How to Read a Person Like a Book by Gerald I. Nierenberg and Henry H. Calero
Published by Pocket Books in 1971
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