Choosing Civility: The Twenty-five Rules of Considerate Conduct,   ISBN:9780312302504

Customer Rating: 

Before you were to mail this book, I sent an email saying that Florence, AZ chooses not to have home delivery of US Mail. We all go to our P O Box. You sent it to the physical address anyway. It was returned. There is NO way to contact you about this on your website. It just goes in circles then boots you out. You have credited my account $2.85 out of the $16 or so I spent and I have NO BOOK.

This is an injustice and your website allows no recourse. Sadly, this book is about manners. Please send to me this book that I have paid for:
Lina Austin, P O Box 1337, Florence AZ 85132
Thank you sincerely~

Customer Rating: 

This book is excellent. It isn't just about having good manners. It is about living a good life and how to share your life civilly with others. If we all acted like this man suggest there would be so much less hurt and more love in the world.

Customer Rating: 

"Choosing Civility" is a very helpful book that can aid us in our social and professional lives and environments.

The following concepts author Forni advises are in my opinion, reflections of good character. And if a person doesn't follow the list below they can attain good traits and enhance the character by doing so, after reading this book. Sometimes or perhaps often, we break the rules of the following list, unintentionally. Some of the list comprises and advises: acknowledge others, be inclusive, be agreeable, apologize earnestly and thoughtfully, avoid personal questions, don't shift responsibility and blame. Also, avoid whining about trivial things that cannot be changed. Whining is like a virus. It spreads, changes the atmospher, and it brings the rest of us down.

"Choosing Civility" focuses on the "I" and not how to deal with "others" who lack politeness and tact. But this makes sense doesn't it? Better to change yourself than to spend time and energy trying to change others.

Wise words above, or more accurately, common sense.

Being more polite is easy to think about, but more difficult to do. But changes can be made if we thoughtfully put them into use. Forni notes the importance of keeping these acts in our consciousness. Then it can change into thought-processes and actions that happen habitually instead of only a couple of times.

But why are we more uncivil today? Are we? If so, how do we know? In current times, we do live separated from other people, be it in a cul-de-sac in a suburb, driving down the highway, or among strangers in massive grocery stores.

This book won't change anyone's life, but it will remind and reinforce common sense and polite behavoir. Being civil is easy to do and doesn't cost anything. "Choosing civility" *might* help certain workers in the workplace. It's up to them.

Customer Rating: 

Candidly, reading such a sneaky and seductive little book as Choosing Civility (sneaky and seductive because, as the boss used to say, 'he puts into words stuff you already know' and thus sort of tricks you into coming to grips with deeper ideas) reminds me of where I'm not exactly being the best I can be. Just from Chapter 1: Pay Attention, on more than a handful of occasions I don't really pay attention to people, to what they're telling me, to their body language, to their tone of voice. Even if I can respond logically to their words, I can be oblivious to the subtext and context.

Then going down the list by reading through the book, sure, I can be a whole lot better. Not to pick on myself exclusively here, I'll bet the great majority of people can move forward in these civility categories, too.

...

For my complete review of this book and for other book and movie
reviews, please visit my site [...]

Brian Wright
Copyright 2009

Customer Rating: 

Professor Forni's concise, readable book addresses the topic of how people behave toward each other in daily life. It considers "manners," but goes well beyond Emily Post etiquette about which fork to use at a dinner party. If the "25 rules of considerate conduct" were adopted by us all, the world would be a much more civilized place.