Stephen Montgomery (1) (1947–)

It's taken me nearly nine months to finish this relatively short book. Not that it's hard to read at all - rather the reverse. It's an over-simplified book about Keirsey's temperament theory, based, unfortunately, around various film or TV characters, many of whom I had never heard of. Those I had heard of presented a very caricatured and unrealistic approach to the theory.

I suppose, for someone entirely unfamiliar with these theories, and well acquainted with TV shows and movies, it might provide a simple overview of the idea that there are four basic temperaments, each with its own needs, values and worldviews. But I would be concerned that it would lead to stereotyping and boxing in of these temperaments; fictional screen characters are almost bound to be two-dimensional with exaggerated traits, not real people. It's nothing like as easy to categorise our friends and families, let alone ourselves, and there's no hint in this book of the truth that our personality preferences may seem so obvious to us that we don't recognise them as preferences.

I have many books about temperament and the Myers-Briggs theories; even the shorter ones have more depth than this. Keirsey's 'Please Understand Me II' is considerably more helpful for an in-depth study of the system, without too much stereotyping, and any of the temperament booklets by Linda Berens provide excellent introductions with clear indications that we all have access to all traits, none of which is 'better' than any other.
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