Bully by the Horns

The subtitle of Horn's treatise indicates just how much psychological ground he manages to cover in this encouraging how-to. Not just for kids on the playground anymore, bullying can have serious consequences for adults: violence, lawsuits, abuse and even death. Many of the ""28 Ways to Lose Your Bully"" strategies Horn (Tongue Fu) outlines are common sense, the same advice parents might give children after a rough recess: ""Put Up a Brave Front,"" ""Get Out of My Space,"" ""Screw Up Your Courage."" The number of mini-quizzes and aphoristic sayings make the book read like a large-scale PowerPoint presentation (not surprising, as Horn is a veteran of the corporate seminar circuit). Yet there's a realism here that is convincing: Horn's example situations include spouses who hit or cheat, spouses' bosses who grope, coaches who berate, false friends who cajole confidences, business partners who steal, neighbors who instill fear and people who chronically hit up family members for bail money (or ""deja moo""). Role playing ""Action Plans"" for conversation help firm up psychic independence and avoid pointless, draining argument.