How many times are you lied to and manipulated eah day? 10 times? 100 times? 1000 times? More? Two Legged Snakes offers the keys to perceiving and overcoming deception with astonishing simplicity and humor. You won't get fooled again!
Trust is an automatic and for most, a largely unexamined process. We receive thousands of messages each day, tugging at us to buy this, believe that, and support this or that view. Contrary to all these choices is the fact that most people know very little about how to decipher the false from the true, the manipulative from the sincere, and the ill-advised from the functional. Two Legged Snakes: What You Need to Know, will have you identifying dishonest and manipulative people and media in less time than it takes to fly from New York to Dallas.
Excerpt
-The Rhetorical Two Legged Snake: A brawler with words, they lust for victory in the ring of debate. A good one knows every trick in the book: misassociation, playing the victim, accusination, misdirection, attack on credentials, using opponents irrelevant imperfections as proof of ineptness, loud talking, outpacing, name calling, bringing up irrelevant topics to confuse the issues, taunting, disproportioning, misstatement of facts, citing false experts, outright lying, and the list goes on. They’re very aggressive and rarely concede a point. It’s a big job (and usually a waste of time) to come out on top in an interaction with a Rhetorical, as they are practiced and winning is irrationally important.
Professional Reviews
The Well-Read Commuter Reviews
The Well-Read Commuter Reviews: Two Legged Snakes Understanding and Handling Manipulative People
By: Dr. Ed Slack
What this book is about:
As Dr. Slack explains it, "who we trust is the single most important factor in determining our happiness and success". Who do we give our heart, time and money to? In his book, Two Legged Snakes: Understanding and Handling Manipulative People, he offers the keys to perceiving and overcoming deception with astonishing simplicity, and humor that ranges from profane to profound. The key is to help you make choices outside the shadowy world of sophistry and be happier, safer, and more successful.
Did you like this book: I found this book as relevant and as important of a read as Dr. Martha Stout's 2006 book, The Sociopath Next Door. Two Legged Snakes gets the point across with a rich and easy to understand text coupled with illustrations that lighten the mood on this serious subject. This book is different from other "avoid this type of person" books in that the material is somehow not presented in a depressing way. Dr. Slack delves into the psychology of why some people just seem to be born manipulators that leave damage and pain in their wake. The material is presented in a way that makes it ultra accessible to those outside of clinical and academic settings. There is a lot of focus on ways to enrich your own life by steering clear of and deal with the snakes that we encounter in our everyday life.
Posted by Book Maniac at 12:30 PM
5 Star Review: by Grady Harp
Multi-Modal Processing: A Quality Technique Used to Capacity,May 15, 2010
By Grady Harp Top 10 Amazon Reviewer - See all my reviews
This review is from: Two Legged Snakes: Understanding and Handling Manipulative People (Perfect Paperback)
Dr Ed Slack is a psychologist who understands communication far beyond the walls of his office practice. IN TWO LEGGED SNAKES: UNDERSTANDING AND HANDLING MANIPULATIVE PEOPLE he offers wise insights to the reader about how to avoid those fellow humans who would attempt to manipulate us into not only the way that we think, but the way that we decipher façades that lead to errors in judgment that in turn can lead to unhappy hook-ups and decisions. Starting his complexly illustrated book (a very wise choice for this informative guide), he states 'The greatest single factor determining your level of happiness and success is who you listen to and who you trust.' He then proceeds to inform us that his so named 'two-legged snakes' 'will sell you things you don't need, break your heart, steal from you with a smile, and garner your support for agendas that benefit them at ridiculous costs to you.'
What follows is a very wise lesson peppered with hilarious examples as well as strong warnings of signs to watch for as two-legged snakes cross our paths. His chapter headings tell the goal of the book: Why two legged snakes have become such a problem; Types of two legged snakes (charmers, backstabbers, media maven, the decorated, the bilker, the bombast entertainer, etc); The apple biters: Types of two legged snake fans; Common two legged snake persuasion techniques; Two legged snake biting styles; Handling two legged snakes; The snakes in our heads. In combining his pungent ideas and enlightening ways of recognizing and avoiding his two legged snake types Slack uses copious well-drawn illustrations (by Donny Smutz, Sherard Jackson, and Patrick Schlafer) that drive the messages home. His book uses quotes from famous people to enhance and validate his teachings, such as Albert Einstein's 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.'
But in the end what this little volume offers is recognition about how we interact with those around us, and how to discern these who would lead us into situations we later regret. Slack also reminds us that in our own minds we carry the potential of behaving in two legged snake fashion and how to recognize these tendencies and correct them. This is a fun book to read - brief and well organized - while at the same time this is a manual for helping us deal with a phenomenon about which we never really knew existed! Grady Harp, May 15 2010
5 Star Review; by Curtis Webb
Slack Pens A Winner With Two Legged Snakes, July 14, 2010
By C. A. Webb "Conversations Book Club" (Jackson, MS) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Two Legged Snakes: Understanding and Handling Manipulative People (Perfect Paperback)
This is a book that everyone really needs to read. Author Ed. Slack manages to bring a serious top to the table while not forgetting his sense of humor.
The book takes you into the facades that so many around us use and how we can tell what the motives of others might be before it is too late.
Whether its politicians, family members or friends or those responsible for reporting the news, there is truly no where we shouldn't take a critical look. The book doesn't tell you to avoid all people for fear of what might happen, but it does suggest that we have to use care and commonsense when making important decisions.
Add this one to your reading list and make sure to pass the word on to your friends.
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Reviews for "Two Legged Snakes: Understanding and Handling Manipulative People"
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