This book is basically a guide to understanding body language. The material is divided into categories like "signs of conflict, "getting together" (including an interesting subcategory called "courtship"), and "keeping your distance," complete with color illustrations and even research from zoology and kinesics to describe the origins of the body language. I was also very impressed with the author's extensive explanations of gender and cultural differences.Though much of the material was common sensical, the book does have some interesting tidbits: i.e. you know how people cross their fingers for "good luck"? Apparently that actually originated as a symbol of the cross on which Jesus died, and so "crossing your fingers" used to be a way to ask for God's protection. It seems so secular now! Some other parts I found particularly interesting:
"The consensus among researchers appears to be that women display more courting signals than men .... Women give off subtler courtship signals than men and are sharper at spotting those made by the opposite sex."
Also: not that I thought about it much, but I would have guessed that handshaking has been around for centuries. Apparently, I was wrong: "As a gesture of openness showing that the hand is empty of weapons, handshaking would seem to have early origins. Some people think it goes back to the Roman practice of grasping the forearm, but handshaking as we usually do it today perhaps began only two centuries ago."
Next time you observe two men getting into an argument, if you see either of them display this type of body language you might smile: "Two men who are strangers and feeling unsure of themselves might try to proclaim their masculinity by standing with hands on hips, or fingers or thumbs tucked into the front of the belt, a gesture which draws attention to the genital region. Some researchers claim this posture means 'I can dominate you because I am virile.'"
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