Negotiate This! [Hardcover]

Cohen is an accomplished, successful negotiator, a talent that appears largely attributable to his creative intelligence, his intense focus on attaining his client's goals and a negotiating style that is low-key, humorous and flexible. His primary message in this book is the negotiator's need to cultivate a certain detachment-hence the book's subtitle. It also offers street-smart advice on effective demeanor, a cooperative style and the bargaining process. About a third of the book is devoted to the "perceptual TIP"-in which Cohen explains how to manipulate the perceived levels of time, information and power to create an advantage in negotiations. All of this advice is buried in an entertaining melange of stories ranging from biblical tales through real-life business negotiations to everyday activities (such as convincing one's kids to come home on time), all delivered in the same unassuming tone one presumes Cohen uses at the bargaining table. Of less interest is an odd chapter that combines the author's advice on terrorism and parenting and 40 pages of appendixes that reproduce documents and articles relating to the Iranian hostage crisis, Clinton's Camp David Summit in 2000 and 20-year-old warnings about the threat of terrorism. Unfortunately, the book's content is often only loosely related, as though gathered in chunks from a couple of decades of speeches or seminars. Within the chapters, new sections repeatedly interrupt mid-story. The result is a book that features the practical wisdom of experience and the ring of authority, but sometimes wanders beyond the limits of the reader's patience.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Why has it taken master negotiator Cohen more than two decades to produce a sequel to You Can Negotiate Anything ? Perhaps the accumulation of additional clarifying experience, as his angle this time is detached involvement or conscious inattention. Or, because many of his original fan club have matured, he has geared this book to a new, younger audience of business people. No matter the motivation, Cohen as always gives good advice, picking examples as unrelated as Moses' negotiations with the Almighty to Jackie Gleason's landmark deal with then-CBS head William Paley. The lessons are many: Successful persuaders are optimistic, regular guys, and employ self-deprecating humor. Remember to differentiate yourself--and enjoy every day. Negotiation is a problem-solving process. Expect at least one gem every few pages, along with a lot of great stories. Just say yes to an avalanche of reader requests. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Master negotiator and New York Times bestselling author of YouCan Negotiate Anything returns with this long- awaited and essential guide to the art and practice of negotiation in the 21st century. As a result of his extensive negotiating experience and his unique presentation style, Herb Cohen is internationally renowned as someone who can quickly grasp both sides of an issue and get the most for his client out of a difficult negotiation. His advice? 'Simple,' says Herb, 'I care....but not that much!' In this new book-and in his signature humorous and self-deprecating style-Herb Cohen explains how the reader can learn powerful yet subtle negotiating ploys to help them in their business, career, and even family relationships. As Herb says, 'Negotiation is the game of life.'

During the past three decades, HERB COHEN has been a practicing negotiator, intimately enmeshed in some of the world's headline dramas, from hostile takeovers to hostage negotiations. His clients have included business executives, entrepreneurs, sports and theatrical agents plus large corporations as well as governmental agencies, such as The Department of State, F.B.I., C.I.A., The U. S. Conference of Mayors and The U.S. Department of Justice. While serving as an adviser to Presidents Carter and Reagan on combating terrorism, he was embroiled in the Iranian Hostage Crisis and credited with helping to shape the government's response to the skyjacking of TWA Flight 847 and the seizure of the Achille Lauro. More recently, his input and advice has been sought by the White House on a myriad of problems such as The Gulf Crisis, The seizure of the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru and, The Camp David Mideast Peace Talks. Unlike many theorists, he was actively involved in the negotiations that settled both the N.F.L. Football Player's Strike and the General Motors Chevymobile Litigation and also participated in the START Arms Control Negotiations with the Soviet Union. As a result of his extensive practical experience and unique presentation style, Mr. Cohen is internationally renowned as someone who can articulate and explain complex events so that people are both informed and entertained. Herb Cohen's analysis, insights and humorous view of many of these high-level happenings have appeared in many international publications, and he himself has been the subject of articles in TIME magazine, PEOPLE, THE ECONOMIST, THE NEW YORKER, NEWSWEEK, ROLLING STONE and even PLAYBOY magazines. In these writings he has been called "The World's Best Negotiator" and referred to as "America's foremost convention speaker, presenting serious subjects with such humor and dramatic flair that they become pure entertainment". He is the author of YOU CAN NEGOTIATE ANYTHING, which was on the New York Times Bestseller List for almost one year and has been translated into twenty-one languages. Finally, after two decades his new book, Negotiate This, By Caring But Not T-H-A-T Much will be published by Warner Books in mid-September 2003. Written in the same humorous style as his first book, it's a must read for, not only business people, but parents, politicians and consumers. In fact, everyone who wants to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships.