I was motivated to write this review for a reason that seemed to be overlooked by the many other reviewers. Although the book is about the Myers-Briggs Temperament Scale, and that scale is a very informative method to learn about the personalities of yourself and others, I was more enraptured with the writing itself.

The language was so descriptive and so rich with metaphor and simile, that I felt I was reading an Anne Rice novel. It is a style of writing that mesmerizes me.

Since no other reviewer even mentioned the exquisite writing style, I felt an obligation to do so.

As for the Myers-Briggs Temperament Scale, here is my very brief explanation of it (after reading it about 15 years ago).

There are four temperaments: E-I, S-N, T-F, J-P.

E = extrovert. I = introvert. About 75% of the population are E (extroverts).

S - sensible. N = intuitive. About 75% of the population are S (sensible).

T = thinking. F = feeling. The population is split about 50%-50% on this temperament.

J = judgmental. P = perceptive (I think?). The population is split about 50%-50% on this temperament.

However, the descriptions can be misleading.

Although Extrovert and Introvert are what you would think, Sensible does not mean you have sense. Rather, it means you live completely in the real world, and can't imagine things being much different than what they are. In contrast, the iNtuitive person has a much richer imagination and thinks of the real world as only one of many possible worlds.

Thinking and Feeling also mean about what you would expect. The Thinking person is not very empathetic though. The Feeling person can be influenced by his/her emotions.

Finally, the Judgemental person is judgemental, but also responsible. In contrast, the Perceptive person is more care-free, but can be irresponsible.

There are four temperaments and two choices for each, making a total of 16 possible types.

Most heavy readers (and thinkers) are probably Introverts who are also iNtuitives with rich imaginations.

That is why it is no surprise to find so many INXX people giving reviews even though they constitute only about 1% of the population.

Oh, and by the way, I have taken the Myers-Briggs Test three times. The first time, I was an INTP. Years later, I took it again, and found I was an INTJ. Over a decade later, I (unkowingly) took a different version of the test, and found that I was an INFJ.

These discrepancies should not lead one to conclude that the test results can fluctuate wildley over time, because they actually don't. I just happen to be on the borderline between the T-F and between the J-P.

And when I read the different descriptions, they all seemed to fit my personality quite well (whereas the ESJP, for example, did not fit my personality at all).

Classic starter book if you want to understand the Myers Briggs Test. I would add a few stars to my rating. It is the only book I show other people and they immediately go out and purchase a copy for themselves. The book is easy to understand. You don't need to read it from front to back. The book has a personality test in the front of the book and you can read the parts that pertain to your personality. There are added sections that include personality and management, mating temperaments for each personality and a section that explains family dynamics when it comes to different personality archetypes.

This is a book you will want to start with when you build your library of books on the Myers Briggs test. Warning, version two of this same book is not a good substitute for the average person. Get this one.

A great resource to better understanding of yourself and others. It isn’t based on science but it’s highly reliable.

Had this book before. Amazing. Took a long time to get here.

Many years ago my husband gave me this remarkable book to read and the things I learned not only helped me clear up some major conflicts in my own life but helped me love and admire others who I formerly had not thought much of or had poked fun at. I began to recognize the value of each individual in my life. In fact I learned that even the most plain and boring person was more fascinating and wonderful than I had ever imagined. I discovered my own talents and began to see the talents that come with other personality types. I actually bought many copies of this book and asked my friends and family to read it. Now, because we all understand the language and concepts behind basic personality traits, we have a lot of fun discovering and analyzing the people around us. This book gave me the interest to study other personality books and all of them are useful but Please Understand Me is the essential, fundamental book I refer to the most.

Owned this book many years ago. At work about a dozen of us answered the questions and found the results uncanny. It pegged out personality types to a tee. Some stated "that's not me !" however the response from others was "Yes it is !" . Was a great book for group discussion . We had many hours of fun with it. I highly recommend this book.

This was required ready for work. Not an “easy read,” but does contain some valuable info. The copy I purchased was used (only thing available to arrive timely when I ordered). It has writing in it as expected but also had good stains which was disappointing.

I first read this book in college 30 years ago. Besides the scriptures, this book has been the most helpful book I've ever read in my life. Once one becomes familiar with the different core personality types, it is easy to understand others better by being aware of which type they are and how they view the world and themselves. Understanding a person's core self helps to see what they do as understandable, rather than offensive, based on what is one's true nature. This book has been an invaluable tool for my husband and children as well, as they are better able to "type" people they deal with and then be more understanding of them rather than critical. Having the knowledge from this book helped me as a young woman to choose the right types of men to date for my personality type and then make the right choice when it came to marriage. The title really is perfect, and the content of this book really helps a person give others what they long for - to be understood.

Ii found this to be a very interesting and informative book which helped me understand my own - and others - character and personality.

Great book .

Una buena guía del test Myers&Briggs, y una buena alternativa a la versión patentada de éste. El cuestionario y su corrección están completos. Las descripciones son correctas.

Thank you, Medimops, for the swift delivery -- so swift that I've received it a few days earlier than expected! I'll definitely recommend Medimops to my friends. The book itself is super interesting. It's not too thick and explains the 16 personalities of Myers-Briggs in a concise way. This book is not overwhelming. Since I'm still reading the book, I still have to see how I can apply what I read in my daily conversation and communication with others. To see if it's really helpful when we understand the different personalities, especially in my multicul field of work.

I bought this book many years ago and was amazed that it's still in print. I bought this one as a gift for a friend.

If you take the time to go through it carefully, you will learn a lot about yourself. It will teach you why you behave/react the way you do and to understand yourself better. I love it.