Beth's Library - Book List
Let me introduce you to some of my best friends…
Sometimes I can't wait to read a much-coveted book (books are like chocolate that way) and I just have to buy it! I thought it would be cool to provide you with instant gratification by becoming an Amazon.com affiliate and installing direct links to Amazon for all of our library's book titles.
Alas, not all cravings can be satiated quickly (Amazon ships in 24 hours!), so for all out-of-print books Amazon will try to find it for you through their many affiliates that deal in rare books. Don't despair; someone out there has it for sale!
And, last but certainly not least, is the autodidact's true ace, inter-library loan! If you don't mind a wait, order the book through your library's inter-library loan program. If you don't know how to order an ILL, read my succinct (ha!) explanation on this same page under inter-library loan.
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Myers-Briggs Typology
The Developing Child, Elizabeth Murphy
Subtitled "Using Jungian Type to Understand Children," this book is written by the co-author of the only Myers-Briggs personality typing instrument that is used exclusively on children. Murphy delivers an excellent guide for parents and teachers to use in understanding type in children. I highly recommend this book be read after the Tiegers' book as Murphy is very thorough and a little clinical. Her work is excellent but not as chatty as the Tiegers' and therefore most parents will have a sound frame-of-reference for Murphy's book after acquainting themselves with typology through a less technical book first. Now, if I could just get my hands on her restricted instrument, the Murphy-Meisgeir Type Indicator for Children, I'd be a happy camper!
Please Understand Me, David Keirsey
The very first typology book I ever read, this one claims a special place in my heart. Although Keirsey changes some of his opinions in his second book on matters such as mating, the first remains the most basic for delving into the mysteries of Myers-Briggs Typology. He created his own type-sorting instrument that is self-administered and anyone can find out his or her type easily by using it. Found in both this book and the second, it is quick but somewhat cumbersome for those of limited vocabulary. This book explains the sixteen different types in great detail. He favors the use of mythological archetypes as metaphors for the four temperaments and for those familiar with Greek mythology their useage will be delightful. Conversely, less intellectual types may be stymied by Keirsey's style of writing.
Please Understand Me II, David Keirsey
By far my favorite typology book, Keirsey packs an enormous amount of information into 342 pages. This book is not for the faint of heart! Keirsey's technical style makes it a harder read for those preferring more storytelling. The book begins with hefty chapters devoted to each of the four temperaments, addressing their roles as parents, mates, leaders, workers, etc. The following chapters on mating (opposites don't always attract!), parenting and leadership are rich with technical and illustrative information about the four types. This book, like his first includes Keirsey's temperament sorter that you can administer to yourself.
Do What You Are, Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger
This book offers individual chapters devoted to each of the sixteen types. However, their style is looser, chattier and they include the use of illustrative stories about real people and their exemplification of each type. They do an excellent job of explaining the decoding of personality type. If you are new to type watching read this book first!
Nurture By Nature, Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger
I was thrilled when I found this book because it is so approachable! Parents need a guide to Myers-Briggs theory that is easy to understand and makes typing their children an easy task. This book fits the bill nicely. Like all other books about personality type, this one devotes a chapter to each of the 16 types but with a twist. What does an INTJ look like as a child? How can you tell whether or not your three-year-old is extroverted? The Tiegers address these questions and more.
Note: If you found David Kiersey's books too hard to understand you'll be more comfortable with the Tiegers' books!
Type Talk, Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen
The psychological testing instrument called Myers-Briggs Type Indicator has been used for 40 years by psychologists to categorize people into four general temperaments and sixteen personality types. This book offers the history of MB theory. Then the authors explain the eight preferences followed by the four temperaments. Finally, they delve into all the ways to use type watching in our lives, on the job, with our children, our spouses, etc. They close the book with a thorough overview of each of the sixteen types.
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