I had a hard time cracking open this book to read it.  First off, it looks like a bible.  Seriously, like a big King James Bible with a ribbon place marker like every other expensive bible I've seen.

Second, you know those gross guys who go to nite clubs with velvet ropes, adorning sunglasses on their heads, wearing tight pants and silk suits.....reminding you of Steve Martin & Dan Akroyd as the Czech brothers on SNL.  That's almost exactly who the guys in the book act like....not as cheesy........but with the same goofy effort of the comic duo.

So.  I received a copy of the book, the bible-looking book, and threw it in the bathroom.  There were some cool pictures in it.  Sometimes, when doing my business, I would flip through it..... look at the pictures and be done with my business.

BUT.  When my business slowed down because of excessive cheese intake, I started reading THE GAME.

I was surprised that this book had heart.  Don't get me wrong, this IS a manual that encourages slimy behavior to get the goal of bedding women.  While Strauss investigated this world, he improved his self awareness, became a better person, improved his social skills and even had advice on meeting and breaking barriers with people who one may not care to advance the relationship to a sexual level.

Neil Strauss, while learning these pick up techniques, was himself quite disgusted when intelligent, beautiful women ate out of his hand when he applied the skills he learned in workshops.  It completely freaked him out that he could work some voodoo NLP [neuro-linguistic programming] and it had success. 

The character Tom Cruise played in Magnolia was based on the very workshops and mentors that Strauss used in the research of this book.  And, when I say research, I mean his complete integration to the cult-like world of pickup artists.

There are some similarities to Fight Club....the comradery of the men (one who even nicks himself Tyler Durden), the secretiveness of the society and the worship of the leaders of the group who took new recruits out on the town and showed them exactly what they needed to do to obtain their goals.

One of the greatest pickup artists had a complete nervous breakdown halfway through the book.  It turned out he had suicidal tendencies for years and was in and out of institutions.

Strauss got down to the gritty on these characters...frankly discussed their backgrounds, and himself reaped the rewards of his new found knowledge on his prey.

If that doesn't strike your fancy, at least buy the book because it'll look like you have a bible in your house so when your Catholic grandmother comes to visit she can have a shred of hope that you'll be saved from the fiery depths of hell.

I'm off to buy that silk suit I had my eye on at the mall earlier today.
 

Literary love,

Tony DuShane