Product Description

"This landmark book" (San Francisco Chronicle) dispels the common myths about the causes and uses of anger -- for example, that expressing anger is always good for you, that suppressing anger is always unhealthy, or that women have special "anger problems" that men do not. Dr. Carol Tavris expertly examines every facet of that fascinating emotion -- from genetics to stress to the rage for justice.

Fully revised and updated, Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion now includes:

* A new consideration of biological politics: Should testosterone or PMS excuse rotten tempers or aggressive actions?
* The five conditions under which anger is likely to be effective -- and when it's not.
* Strategies for solving specific anger problems -- chronic anger, dealing with difficult people, repeated family battles, anger after divorce or victimization, and aggressive children.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #94117 in Books
• Published on: 1989-09-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780671675233
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Library Journal
Revised from the 1983 edition, this update includes new material on highway anger and violence in sports, young women's anger, and strategies for getting through specific anger problems, chronic anger, family anger, etc. Still "recommended for most popular collections" ( LJ 1/1/83). BOMC and Quality Paperback alternate selections; serialized in Psychology Today and Reader's Digest. -- MR
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Philadelphia Inquirer Enlightening and reassuring. Her calm approach to a volatile subject is a welcome tonic for our times. -- Review

Review
Los Angeles TimesWitty, provocative, and impressively documented, this work lights a candle in cursed darkness.

Dr. Ashley Montaguauthor of The Nature of Human AggressionThis book is not only the best of its kind ever written, but the most helpfully enlightening I have ever read.

The New York TimesIntelligent and witty, Tavris shows us how to use the anger of hope to avoid falling into the anger of despair.

Philadelphia InquirerEnlightening and reassuring. Her calm approach to a volatile subject is a welcome tonic for our times.

Customer Reviews

A Good Companion to Lerner's The Dance of Anger.
Carol Tavris offers some very practical advice. Apart from when the expression of anger is intended to dissolve a relationship, anger becomes effective when: (1) the anger is directed at the offending person (telling friends may increase anger); (2) the expression satisfies your need to influence the situation and/or correct an injustice; and, (3) your approach seems likely to change the other person's behavior, which means you can express yourself so they can understand your point of view and so they will cooperate with you. She takes issue with those who would encourage venting. Like Harriet Goldhor Lerner, her goal is change.

An excellent book but many find it hard to swallow
I first read this book about eight years ago. Though some of Ms. Tavris' analysis is suspect, the vast majority is well-founded and accurate IF YOU APPROACH IT WITH AN OPEN MIND. Unfortunately, simply implying that anger is a learned, self-controllable response provokes a very angry reaction in many people (see other reviews) that makes it hard to get the point across. Tavris has a lot to say. Unfortunately, very few people will listen.

A serious book worth reading
Dr. Tavris has based this book on serious research on the subject of anger. She debunks many of the pop myths about the purpose of anger and helps the reader to understand the causes of expressed anger. Her central point is that anger is a self-reinforcing mechanism that does not have healthy outcomes in itself. She explains the physiological purpose and effects of anger, pointing out that we really don't need to be angry in our lives.

Instead she suggests various models and techniques to help understand what "sets us off" and how to manage anger. A number of situations are covered and illustrated by personal and clinical examples.

This is not a prescription for a quick fix for quick tempers - while Dr. Tavris is sympathetic about the many reasons why we get angry, she avoids simplistic behavioral techniques as well as overly introspective ones