Suggested
Reading
The following list
are books that have been recommended by various list members over time
on the list. A few of these books may be out of print and they are getting
hard to find.
Some books are only
available through Davies Black publishing, which is the publishing arm
of CPP, Inc., which owns the MBTI™. Their book catalog is here: http://www.mbti.com/catalog.asp
MBTI™
Theory Only or Primarily MBTI™ Books
- Gifts Differing
by Isabel Briggs-Myers
One of the first type books ever written for the general public from
one of the creators of the MBTI™ herself. It's an excellent general
book on type and a pretty good starting point for exploring type, though
the data cited in the book is from studies done in the 1950s and 1960s.
Many of these studies have been repeated and newer information is available
from other sources.
- Let a Viking
do it: Hagar and family illustrate the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator™
by Peter Malone
This is a humorous and "light" approach to type that uses Hagar the
Horrible cartoons to illustrate points the book is trying to make.
- Work Types
by Jean Kummerow, Nancy Barger and Linda Kirby (1997)
- People Types
and Tiger Stripes by Gordon Lawrence
This book was originally written to help teachers adjust their teaching
style to help all the students in their classes. It's a good book on
type and learning style regardless of your profession.
- Navigating
Midlife
(Corlett)
- Was That Really
Me? by Naomi Quenk
A more advanced book about the inferior function and the "Grip" (when
the inferior takes over). One of the only books that explores this in
any depth.
(2002) Note that the title of this book has changed from its previous
title, Beside Ourselves
- Introduction
to Type Dynamics and Development; Exploring the Next Level of Type
by Myers & Kirby
A small book intended for people who have just taken the MBTI™
and are looking for more information to explore the subject in more
depth.
- Sixteen Men
by Loren Pedersen
- I'm Not Crazy
I'm Just Not You by Roger Pearman & Sarah Albritton
- Living With
Paradox
by Anne Singer Harris
- The Developing
Child by Elizabeth Murphy
- Type Talk
by Otto Kroeger and Janet Theusen
This is one of the least formal type books. It illustrates the descriptions
with anecdotes from the authors' practice and personal lives. Some of
the stories are quite funny.
- Type Talk at
Work
by Otto Kroeger and Janet Theusen
Similar to Type Talk, but with more focus on the work place.
- Sixteen Ways
to Love Your Lover by Otto Kroeger and Janet Theusen
- True to Type
by William C. Jefferies
A good reference, but not recommended reading. It's a thin book packed
with information. Some of which is only available in books that focus
on one dimension of type theory.
- Jung's Typology
in Perspective by Angelo Spoto
A bit dry, but does an excellent job of tying the MBTI™ back to
Jung's original theories and talks a bit about other theories that have
evolved parallel to the MBTI™.
- Jung's Function-Attitudes
Explained by Henry L. Thompson
Explains in detail the functional attitudes which are at the core of
type theory, but not really addressed very much in books written for
the general public. It also covers all the theories on type development
as of the writing of the book (quite a few!).
- Personality
Type: An Owner's Manual by Lenore Thomson
"Has about 30 pages of in-depth study devoted to each of the eight Jungian
dominant functions, with some interesting social commentary running
through it. It reads a lot like a book on the Enneagram, in that it
talks about defense mechanisms and what happens when you don't develop
your auxiliary function, etc. It's one of the few books I've read that
talks about the effect of the tertiary function on personality. It is
also excellent for getting an intuitive grasp on the difference between
Te and Ti, Fe and Fi, etc., although I would still have a hard time
putting it into words."
-- Robbie (former list member and qualified type practitioner)
Mix of Type
and Temperament Theory Books
- Please Understand
Me by
David Keirsey and Marylin Bates (1984)
For many people who discovered type between the early '80s and the mid-'90s,
this was probably one of the first books they read. Dr. Keirsey actually
is coming from a different core theory that he created himself called
Temperament Theory, which has some surface correlation with the MBTI™
type theory. But if you dig deeper, you will find that the two theories
quickly diverge.
- Please Understand
Me (the
videotape)
- Nurture by
Nature (Tieger & Baron)
- Do What You
Are (Tieger & Baron)
- The Art of
Speedreading People
(Tieger & Baron)
- It Takes All
Types
by Alan Brownsword
Temperament
Theory Only or Primarily Temperament Books
- Please Understand
Me II by David Keirsey (1998)
A massive update of the original book. Very different in many ways.
His theory's differences with MBTI™ theory are much clearer in
this book.
- Portraits of
Temperament
by David Keirsey
Written a few years after Please Understand Me (PUM). Keirsey explains
temperament in more depth than in PUM.
- Presidential
Temperament by David Keirsey and Ray Choiniere
In this book, Keirsey makes speculations of about the temperament of
US presidents. His conclusions are controversial and not universally
accepted. He still claims that there has never been an Idealist (NF)
president, even though former-President Bill Clinton has taken the MBTI™
and he claims to be an ENFP.
- The Pygmalion
Project Series by Stephen Montgomery
- The Four Temperaments
by Xandria Williams
- Survival Games
Personalities Play
by Eve Delunas
- Working Together
by Linda Berens
Great book for work situations; very detailed profiles.
"I
can tell you, honest friend, what to believe:
believe life; it teaches better than book or orator."
Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe
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