Years ago, my division manager at work had everybody in the division take the Meyer Briggs personality test. Then we spent time in a workshop, to understand the implications of our personality types. One of the dimensions of the test is extroversion/introversion (E or I types). This book offers a very satisfying account of what it means to be an introvert. Generally Western cultures admire extroverts, while Asian cultures admire introverts. Both types of personalities offer value to society. Groups of people who are introverts are best with an extroverted leader, while groups of extroverts are best with an introverted leader.

Many introverts find it difficult to live in a society that values extroversion more highly. As a result, many introverts pretend to be extroverts in certain social situations. But they cannot maintain this pretension indefinitely, and at some point in time they must "recharge" their internal batteries with quiet and solitude. The book makes a major point here: It's perfectly OK to pretend to be an extrovert for periods of time--as long as you do this while you are working at something that you truly love.

The book has useful practical advice for introverts. If you are an introvert and your husband or wife is an extrovert, there is much to be said about how to maintain or improve your relationship. If you are raising a child who is an introvert, it is important to understand how to encourage the child to follow his/her innate abilities.

Back in the 1940's and 1950's, Alex Osborn was plagued by the lack of creativity in his advertising agency. So, he wrote some books introducing the concept of "brainstorming". The idea is for people get together in groups and toss out ideas without fear of ridicule--the more ideas, the better. The problem is, in the 1960's, studies showed that brainstorming is not efficient; you can get more, good ideas if people simply think creatively in solitude. Committees simply are not as productive as the sum of individuals working alone. We are so inculcated with the idea that brainstorming is best--but this is really just a reflection of the dominance of extroversion in our society.