Manslations: Decoding the Secret Language of Men
Comedian Mac wants to cure women of their confusion about how men think and what their words really mean. His book, relying heavily on broad comedy—which mostly works—and wearisome clichés of the man as caveman, is at once entertaining and disturbing. An analysis of the first date and a handy glossary of terms to decipher the real meanings of I give great massages and of course I wasn't looking at her are entertaining and uncomfortably accurate, but the author unwittingly turns his own gender from simple to simpleminded in his portrayal of men as profoundly uncomplicated creatures primarily motivated by sex. On occasion he lets women in on some valuable truths: for example, men don't fear intimacy, challenging women or commitment—unless they don't like you—or that men are capable of having sex with women they actively dislike. He does a fine job of warning women against certain unsavory types as well as alerting women to their own bad habits—participating in flattering delusions (he's not calling me because he's scared of how much he likes me).(Jan.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.