Review: I approached this book with some trepidation.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 3, 2014
I have a degree in psychology and sociology, so I approached this title with some hesitation. Pop-psych and I aren't the best of friends.The author name 'Strategic Lothario' didn't help. To label yourself as a Lothario is somewhat misogynistic and demeaning on some level. I would know - I used to be one. Sort of. Working on fixing that. It's a bad lifestyle choice, okay?Flipping through it, however, I felt it had enough valid points to offset some of the feeling I had towards it on those grounds.Much of the advice is sound. There are a few points where it's almost advising you to be paranoid, but I did have to agree with many of the points - women do make you wait to see how you react, they do drop little bombs and ask questions out of nowhere. They do use emotional manipulations and cold shoulders to make you beg for their attention. Most men don't realize that they have the power to do this as well - this is a good introduction on how to use your own 'masculine wiles' to bring women to their knees for you - both figuratively and literally.Some of it was completely foreign to me, however - but that is a lifestyle choice of mine. I am a Dom - women trying to dominate me is laughable.For the average Joe, however, it lays out clear guidelines on how to approach problems women often intentionally pose in a relationship to see if their man is worth keeping around - their man being you.The answers put forth are not so much about 'mastering' these s*** tests, but how to avoid them - that's one way of getting around issues, but the end result makes this book very specific to a certain culture - the one night stand, two week fling culture - I didn't see much in this that would help men who are in a dedicated, long term relationship. Avoiding things in a long term relationship often causes it to end nastily - a rug can only cover so much.As with another reviewer, I did feel this book came across as a bit cynical. He somewhat made it sound like all women are asinine b**ches - this is not the case.What the author failed to point out is that most women crave to be controlled on a primal level - this should have been one of the first things he points out in his book. They want to be shot down, stepped on and be made to beg for attention. Not cruelly or abusively, mind you, that's called 'hey dude, you're an a**hole.' But in a way that makes them feel like they're important - you punish them when they hurt you - it shows that their actions matter. You have a hard time finding time for them - when you do, it's that much more special. It's the same things they do to us, but they do it so we will step up to the plate so we will do it to them - the natural order.It's the number one reason an a**rag of a book like 50 Shades is the number one book in America lately - who are the biggest readers? Women. Who wants to be controlled? Women. What is the book about? Women being dominated, both sexually and domestically. (P.S.: 50 Shades of Crap is about the worst intro to BDSM you can put your hands on.)Overall - I feel this book is something that men aged 18 - 22 could use on a daily basis - don't get married that early. Stick your dipstick in everything moves. Be stupid. Get your heart broken. Break a few hearts. Read this book. Just don't make it's advice into habits, or you'll end up very lonely. Use it to pick up a few girls and then - grow up, learn how to make a relationship work and learn to be honest and open - women crave that as much as, if not more, than a man who can make them weak in the knees with a stern glance. Learn to combine the two and you're golden.Having said that, you could feasibly learn to APPLY some of the ideas in this book to make a real relationship flow smoothly - but it is by no means a bible for relationships.It has lessons that can be learned that can be used, but honestly, I feel if you tried to apply this to a long term relationship or a marriage to the letter, you can probably be expecting to sleep on the couch. A lot.For it's clientele base, however, this is an excellent book with excellent advice. Looking to get some play? Constantly getting shot down at the bar? Got a face like a frying pan? Then this is the book for you.