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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply a Classic, 31 Aug 2003
OK, let's start with the flaws: 1. Neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga is mentioned about half a dozen times, and almost every time, even in the Bibliography, his name is spelt "Gazzaneza".That's it. End of flaws. Everything else is just terrific and for anyone interested in hypnosis, or NLP, or both, this is one of those rare books You simply Must Have. At the time of writing Amazon were pairing this book with "Training Trances" - which is a pretty powerful combination. But the books aren't just two stabs at the same material, they are significantly different views of much of the stuff that NLP is based on, and in particular the work of Milton Erickson. The difference between the two books, and I say this with respect to all the authors, is that where "Training Trances" tells you what to DO, "Monsters and Magical Sticks" shows you how to LIVE "it". (And in case you were thinking that "it" is Ericksonian-style hypnosis, as the book's subtitle says: "There's No Such Thing As Hypnosis?") Just like "Training Trances", and despite its apparent simplicity this is a book that can be read over and over again. And each time you read it you'll find something that you didn't get before. If this book is anything to go by, Dr Steven Heller seems to have been very much in the same mould as Milton Erickson, gentle, tolerant, humorous, caring, etc., etc. At the end of the Epilogue, Nicholas Tharcher has included a brief obituary that includes these words: "Though his work and his legacy endures, his presence, his sense of humor, and his enormous energy are gone. As one of his many friends I miss him." By the time you finish reading this book, the only book by Heller now in print, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you feel much the same way. A great book. Do yourself a BIG FAVOUR and get it.
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