Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't be a player, just play the game
Comment: In his acknowledgments for this book, Neil Strauss thanks his agent, who hopes that the author will one day write something "high-brow." But while The Game might not be an exemplar of the non-fiction novel on the level of Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson, or Truman Capote, it's not exactly tabloid fare either. Strauss is a fearless reporter and a master wordsmith, and his book is thought-provoking and engaging.

Strauss, a writer for the New York Times and Rolling Stone, ingratiates himself into a secret society of "pick-up artists," men who have turned the art of picking up girls into a science, replete with its own methodology and technical jargon. In a few short years, he manages to become one of the best and most respected PUAs in the field--second only to Mystery, the patriarch and poster boy.

Strauss doesn't hesitate to portray the dark side of the community and lifestyle, even while displaying the benefits and reaping the rewards. Mystery, now the star of his own VH1 reality series, in particular comes off in a bad light. The book also deconstructs the psyche of a male too focused on pick-up, and how a skill based on social dynamics can have an oddly dehumanizing effect.

But Strauss is sure to point out that pick-up artists aren't just cynical, manipulative jerks who take advantage of women. As he remarks at one point, Mystery's "religion" is Darwinism. To this end, becoming a PUA can be a formative step in a man's social evolution--from innocence to experience, uncertainty to self-actualization--but certainly not the final result.

As T.J. Mackey (Tom Cruise in "Magnolia") says, "Respect the c**ck!"

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Funny but True
Comment: Completely reflective of any successful pickup attempt ever made. Takes freak incidents chalked up to a player's luck and makes it an artform with sequenced rules to playing the game. Still not peacocking, but I understand.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great, but I expected more step-by-step guide
Comment: The book is great, excellent introduction to the PUA world... but note that this is not a step-by-step guide, it contains the basics of the Mystery Method and other techniques, but you have to isolate it from the story itself (the book is about all the process that this guy, Style, had to make to become a mPUA and things that happened after that)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Story - But Not For Learning the PUA Skills
Comment: Not sure what else I can say that hasn't already been said. But its a great story that was very inspirational to me. I learned some things new things, but was mostly entertained about how a guy who had a high profile still wasn't successful with women until he came to Hollywood and met Mystery. I agree with the last reveiwer, it's not a "how-to" manual. If you want to learn step-by-step all of the techniques in The Game, read Secrets of the A Game: How to Meet and Attract Women Anywhere, Anyplace, Anytime.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: good story but there are better "seduction" manuals out there
Comment: This is a great story. I think it's worth it for that alone. You get to peek into the lives of people you would not normally get to watch. In my opinion though, there are better "seduction" manuals out there.

To me, this is like a "big picture" book that shows what can be accomplished when you start living this stuff. It's worth it for that. Don't get it if you're just looking for pickup lines though.

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