Customer Reviews
deeply illuminating - By: jago, 25 Jul 2008 
This is a wildly profound book written with intelligence & humour.
It's as much about how we think & learn as about brain washing.
Whenever I found myself limiting my thoughts to rigid templated thinking Taylor would throwin a mental curve to derail my own unconscious beliefs.
Simply a wonderful book, an understanding of this subject is as important now as it has ever been. Quite frankly KT's FACET approach to thinking should be lesson 101 for school children & adults alike.
You won't be disappointed by this book. I can't wait to see what she does next with her current research into belief.
How to Avoid Being Brainwashed ! - By: Anthony R. Dickinson, 28 Jan 2008 
Not so much a 'how to ...' guide to brainwashing, as a 'how to avoid being brainwashed', Taylor's 15 chapter volume is a timely addition to the bookshelf. Presented as being as much a social, as a political method of persuasion, the author puts forward the topic of brainwashing as covering a wide spectrum of human activity, from the overt, deliberate & forceful breakdownin torture chambers, to the more subtle expressions of emotional blackmail from family members & loved ones. Perhaps lacking, however, was any in-depth discussion of the effects of various public media, product marketing strategies & corporate advertising, which are also geared toward the "alteration of a second person's thoughts & feelings". A further welcome addition, would have been some discussion of the value of brainwashing reversal, & torture victim rehabilitation, beyond that illustrated by Burgess' 'A Clockwork Orange'. Taylor's examples of successful brainwashing cover both fictional (e.g., '1984' & 'The Manchurian Candidate') as well as non-fictional scenarios (incl. The Manson Family & the Jonestown Massacre) by way of introduction, but there is little new for the hardened conspiracy theorist to take away from these chapters.
In an attempt to explain the formation, development & cohesion of cult groups, &in particular their members willingness to perform anti-social & illegal acts, Taylor reviews a number of putative mechanisms underlying such conformative behavior, much of which will be familiar territory to both social & cognitive psychologists. But more importantly, the better value of this book may be revealedin its attempts to discuss the underlying neural mechanisms that are involvedin the "business of changing people's minds".
At the risk of being regarded another emotional reaction Vs intellectual reaction argument, Taylor argues for a subtle, & I believe real, distinction to be drawn between the contributions of the cortical & sub-cortical parts of the brainin understanding the success of brainwashing techniques. In crude terms, the latter is the more willing participantin following the wishes of another, without so much thought beyond a more (albeit learned) reflexive reptilian behavioral repertoire. In contrast, those more inclined to "stop & think" prior to acting (for whatever reason), are likely to be employing the cortical parts of their brain during decision making, & especially so their pre-frontal cortical areas. The key example presented, (appropriately) involves our current understanding of the multi-layered neural systems underlying human eye-movement control (partly reflexive, but subject to override according to the demands of the cognitive task at hand), but perhaps a revised edition might also include more recent work conducted with ethical dilemmas & correlate action plan decision-making fMRI data (e.g., Greene et al, Science, 2001).
This book nonetheless offers the interested reader both psychological & neurological data to absorbin coming to better understand the processes thought to underlay human persuasion & the plasticity of thinking, especiallyin situations under which one's thoughts are obviouslyin conflict with available evidence (the hall mark of otherwise successful brainwashing?). I would highly recommend this volume to the readerin search of a self-defense guide against their being brainwashed, but more seriously suggest consideration of Taylor's "FACET" approach as at least providing useful hints for enhancing one's critical thinking skills. By so doing one might become better equipped to allay the attempts of many hidden persuaders "out there" who are seeking our otherwise unthinking co-operationin support of their activities & influence.
Dr. Tony Dickinson, McDonnell Center for Higher Brain Function,
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, USA.
Brainwashing - By: Spider Monkey, 24 Jan 2008 'Brainwashing' is a fascinating & stimulating book exploring the many facets of Brainwashing. It looks at it's history, some methods, coercionin the media & education, the physical attributes of the brain that lend itself to coercion & persuasion, as well as methods to protect yourself from the various influences of Brainwashing you may experience. It is writtenin an engaging & captivating way & the ideas outlined will stimulate your mind to thinkin new or different ways. Kathleen Taylor's writing style is very eloquent & easy to read & she makes quite complex ideas extremely accessible. One minor quibble is that the text format is quite small & is therefore hard going on the eyes. It could quite easily of been a larger font. The notes are also very good, but some information could have been added to the main text to good effect. Overall it is anin depth & fascinating book & one that is well worth the effort to read.
Buy me. Because you're worth it. - By: Schrodinger's cat, 09 Aug 2007 This is an immensely enlightening account of the techniques of brainwashing & how to avoid it, from the wiles of advertisers to the more forceful techniques used on captured US personelin Korea. Don't expect an easy ride. The print (in the paperback edition ) is small & the arguments go deep into neuroscience, philosophy, sociology & politics. But stickin there & you'll be rewarded.
Note quite five stars for me - it could've done with being edited down to about 3/4 of its current length, upping its punchiness factor. But stimulating & enlightening nonetheless.
Washed - By: bacardibabe, 19 Apr 2007 I read the book & then thought, what if you actually wanted to be brainwashed? I have some CDs with subliminals on them, & I use them to brainwash myself, as that is what most positive minded people do, even atheletes, they brainwash themselves. I found some of the writing to be very informative & in-depth, but would have liked to see coverage of self-brainwashing.
