NEGOTIATE THIS! By Caring, but Not T-H-A-T Much

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 mélange 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. (Sept.)