The authors - two established doctors of psychiatry who pioneered the "Rational-Emotive Technique" of dealing with and changing behavior - have a clumsy, ham-fisted way of getting their ideas across in this book. The ideas presented are basic; and the many examples of generic patients suffering conveniently generic problems can get tiresome.Even still... if you are holding this book, chances are you are looking for some help, and if this book is what you've got handy, give it a whirl. The ideas, themes and suggestions will probably seem mostly familiar to you, but having it all laid out and connected does help quite a bit to put things into perspective. There is lots of repetition; I often felt that the authors were trying to beat simple concepts into my head like I was a five-year-old. But, as annoying as that was, I think it helped drive some key concepts home. Simple ideas are all-too-easy to brush aside ("Yeah, of course I know that. Who doesn't? I don't have to think about that stuff.."), so sometimes it's beneficial to be hit over the head with some common sense. I have to say that this book helped me more than I initially thought it would, and I'm glad I read it. (Even if it was written in the manner of a stuffy doctor trying very hard to seem human. But maybe that was just me. To be fair though, this was written in the '70s. Maybe the author was totally hip back then, and i'm the square.)All things considered, though, I would imagine there are better written books out there on this subject, probably even based on the knowledge and techniques of the authors of this one. I don't have any suggestions, but I'm sure you can find a gook book easily enough. I would give it a shot before delving into this one. But if you DO happen to pick this one up... well, you could do much worse. ( )

I'll read this some day, maybe.