MAKE PEACE WITH ANYONE

The author of NEVER BE LIED TO AGAIN provides more psychological advice, this time about preventing and managing conflict with others. The techniques are scripted out step by step and, according to the author, "you simply plug in the technique for your particular situation and the power to end any argument, conflict, feud, or estrangement is yours." It's pretty basic advice--Look at conflicts from every angle and pay attention to your attitude toward others. But something about the approach sounds manipulative. It seems to overlook the part of resolving conflicts that requires balancing one's attachments with healthy self-interest. Like a lot of purely behavioral approaches to the human experience, it sounds mechanical and lacks reverence for the mystery of loving connections. T.W. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 02]