Color Atlas of Dermatology

evaluating people’s personalities. Referencing the works of modern researchers, Barondes, himself a professor of psychiatry, summarizes important findings in a guidebook intended for those outside the field. Making Sense of People is aimed at the general audience, and at 240 pages, it is a light and engaging read. The book is divided into three parts, each several chapters. Part One attempts to describe personality differences, Part Two gives an overview and brief explanation of those personality differences at the biological and physiological levels, and Part Three relates an individual’s personality to the context of the whole person and personal life story. Barondes relies heavily on the “Big Five” factors of personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness) used in modern psychology. Introduced in the first chapter, the Big Five are referred back to regularly in subsequent chapters. The Big Five method is fleshed out with examples using famous individuals like Bill Clinton. Barondes uses evidence from media reports of Clinton as the basis for his personality analysis, but confounding factors such as possible media bias are ignored. Perhaps this is inevitable, since readers might only be able to recognize familiar, sometimes polarizing, public figures, but at the cost of the author not having a firsthand perspective of said public figure. In any case, the rest of the text is similarly peppered with diverse personalities from popular culture, from Steve Jobs to Oprah Winfrey. Part One of the book is devoted to the Big Five framework and the history behind it. Part Two delves deeper into the mechanisms of the human brain, from gene expression to critical periods in brain development. Barondes also posits the ageold question of nature versus nurture. Finally, Part Three paints a bigger picture, examining personality alongside related notions of character and identity. Barondes acknowledges that any moral assessments of personality would need to consider differing cultural contexts, but notes the work of Peterson and Seligman, who maintain that there are certain core virtues shared by all cultures worldwide. At the end, Barondes consolidates techniques and offers a step-bystep guide to personality analysis. Making Sense of People is not a textbook and does not read like one. However, one drawback is its short length; without risk of sounding pedantic, several chapters could be further elaborated. As stated in its introduction, the main aim of the book is “augmenting your pleasure in understanding and dealing with people, whether you like them or not,” and with this book, readers are indeed one step closer to better understanding others.