The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold

Robert Levine offers readers an incisive new take on the mindsets of those who prod, praise, debase, and manipulate others to do things they never thought they’d do—and are sometimes later sorry they did. He takes a hands-on approach by attending training sessions for magicians honing their craft and by taking jobs as a door-to-door salesman and a used car salesman. Levine explores the remarkable effect and power of subtlety on effective persuasion, the great illusion of personal vulnerability, and the unlikely similarities across a wide range of persuasive strategies, from parents to con men to lovers to religious leaders.

Robert Levine (Fresno, CA) is Professor and former chairperson of the Psychology Department at California State University, Fresno. He has published articles in Psychology Today, Discover, American Demographics, TheNew York Times, Utne Reader, and American Scientist. His book, A Geography of Time, was the subject of feature stories around the world, including Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, CNN, the BBC, ABC’s Primetime, and NPR’s All Things Considered and Marketplace.