This book was great, although it didn't tell about the quest for the holy grail. The whole book is full of action.

"This guidebook, with easy-to-use, meaningful, and relevant activities, provides the practical tools our Diversity Council has been looking for to use with fellow employees to help them understand the dynamics and value of diversity in the workplace." Cris Hagen, Manager-Organizational Effectiveness, Prudential Healthcare

An outstanding self-help book discussing human behavior based on transactional analysis, in an easy to understand language while still technical.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand his or her behaviour in situations.

The "A-Ha" feeling you get when you start reading it comes when you understand why so-and-so makes you feel small or angry and why certain situations make you start playing some game.

It discusses the basic terminologies and vocabulary needed and then goes on to discuss in different social contexts and developmental contexts the application of Transaction Analysis.

This is not just a vague psychology book like Freud. It is extremely practical and insightful.

The author starts the book with a chapter on experiments that were performed, involving electrical stimulation to certain areas of exposed brains during surgery. These experiments purportedly yielded some of the first and most important discoveries ever made into how our minds work. Then he uses the findings to explain the rest of his theories. But, further research by me into these claims showed that the claims were exaggerated, speculative and did not have the acceptance of modern day neuroscientists. I continued reading the book making allowances for the fact that nuggets of Truth may still be hidden under mounds of speculation and media hype.

The author borrows from Eric Berne, MD, the ideas of Transactional Analysis, which assumes the basic scientific unit of psychotherapeutics to be 'The Transaction'; and the concept of 'Parent' 'Adult' and 'Child'. Then Dr Harris theorizes that we live our lives according to one of four life positions.

While all this may seem to be true at the first glance, a moment of rumination indicates that this is a gross simplification of the human nature. It is indeed audacious on the part of Dr Harris to categorize all the 5 Billion plus individuals into four, albeit dynamic, basic types. Like a modern day 'scientific' version of the 12 zodiac signs, readers are sure to go through the book minutely wanting to classify themselves into the categories and seeking to look into their own nature and their angst ridden past present and future.

Next he seems to say, "Wait, you are not condemned to live in any one of these four categories, you can change. Come to me, I shall teach you how..".

The most interesting and useful part of the book is when the author talks of children, marriage in the chapters 'P-A-C and Marriage' and 'P-A-C and Children'. The chapter on marriage is particularly insightful. The impact of TA can be felt in the most intimate relationships, as they are fully embodied in day-to-day transactions. Cross indexing with the classic TA book 'Games People Play' makes the reading even more fruitful and offers amazing angles of analyzing and bettering our relationships. I was amazed by the range and depth of Dr Eric Berne's 'Games People Play', specially the last chapter - Beyond Games. Dr Harris does a superlative job in the section ' The Establishment of Goals' of the chapter 'P-A-C and Marriage'. Here he talks of various issues that threaten to rupture the delicate fabric of a peaceful and loving marital life. -the balance of realities of life like materialism and desire compared to mortgage and bills. -the long term goals, -the considerations of moral values, ethics and religion. The Author offers solutions to the posed problems and they are worthwhile. The passage describing the complex P-A-C interactions in a marriage is masterly and is a comprehensive solution to the many ills that plague almost all the marriages at some point, in some form.

Another pitfall of Dr Harris is his propensity to quote a range of philosophers to suit his need and context. He quotes Sartre and Srren Kierkegaard but dissociates himself from their Phenomenologic Ontology, inspite of the fact that TA is an offshoot of Phenomenology. The Author cannot be classified to belong to any known system of thought nor does he propose an alternative. But that does not stop him from taking their words in bits and pieces, perhaps to lend him an aura of wisdom. After all an MD has to play the wise old man. The most disturbing is the attempt at presenting the Christian Theology in a twisted way, for example, by drawing parallels of the Original Sin and Grace to his games, and getting away with sweeping generalizations.

Perhaps, the real gem of Dr Harris' book lies in its message that even the mundane transactions have psychological underpinnings that might indicate dysfunctional childhood experiences and unhealthy adult thinking patterns, all of which can be changed for a better and enriching future for each of us. But his claims that TA is a complete theory of psychotherapy and the solution to all the psychological and psychiatric ills of the day is exaggerated and is not supported by the modern day shrinks. This book typifies the multitude of books on pop psychology, self-help and self confidence -good for a two week boost, and one gets down to one's old self.

I was put off by the title of this book until someone I respected a great deal recommended it. The first chapter is a little hard to wade through as the general principles are explained, but after wading through that I found myself exclaiming "Yes! Exactly!" as I read through. It gave me a great deal of food for thought as I recognised aspects of my own personality and the people around me. Because the basic principles were simple yet effective, the book's message has stayed with me, helping me communicate more effectively with family, friends and workmates.

This is a must read for people who want to understand themselves and other people better. I agree that the idea of child-adult-parent may not reflect the exact way how our brains work but it provides an easy-understandable terminilogy to describe and think about our behaviour. The most interesting thing in any reading is not just getting some information but thinking about what you read and this book opens you a new way to do it. It really works for me, thanks to Thomas Harris and Eric Berne.