Hidden somewhere, in nearly every major city in the world, is an underground seduction lair. And in these lairs, men trade the most devastatingly effective techniques ever invented to charm women. This is "not" fiction. These men really exist. They live together in houses known as Projects. And Neil Strauss, the bestselling author, spent two years living among them, using the pseudonym Style to protect his real-life identity. The result is one of the most explosive and controversial books of the year -- guaranteed to change the lives of men and transform the way women understand the opposite sex forever. On his journey from AFC (average frustrated chump) to PUA (pick-up artist) to PUG (pick-up guru), Strauss not only shares scores of original seduction techniques but also has unforgettable encounters with the likes of Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Heidi Fleiss, and Courtney Love. And then things really start to get strange -- and passions lead to betrayals lead to violence. The Game is the story of one man's transformation from frog to prince -- to prisoner in the most unforgettable book of the year.

2007-07-03 'The Game' is a good book that held my attention in certain areas

Strauss had written 1/2 of a fascinating account of the subculture of pickup artists, and how he transformed himself into one of the best (or so he says...). Whether it's strictly true or not, the story is entertaining and funny and odd, but halfway through this book really goes downhill.

I was slightly put off by the objectification of women in the beginning also. I didn't like the chase, the hunt, the scoring, the comparing notes. I thought anyone who signed up for a seminar to become a predator was a big loser (and many of them were, in fact, big losers). Then I started to look at the techniques as a way to "win friends and influence people" instead of score with chicks. Many of the techniques have to do with being charismatic and comfortable in new situations with a bunch of strangers. Even someone who doesn't want to have a gazillion one-night stands could learn something from the ways to warm up a group of strangers and impress them with your charisma.

The second half is a list of Style's conquests, complete with name dropping, a sudden interest in name brands (when Courtney Love wakes him up in the middle of the night, somehow he knows she holding a Prada shoe in her hand--what?) and a bitter sort of humor. The author really lost my sympathy when he started making fun of a lover who told him she had herpes--very 14 year old boy humor, and hey, it's greatly to her credit that she told him.

By the end of the book, Style seems to have turned into a sort of wanker/narcissist in Diesel jeans, with a Mercedes-driving girlfriend who informs him "I could have anyone." In reply, he dumps out all his collected pickup phone numbers and says: "Of all the girls in LA, I choose you." Clearly, they deserve each other. And his hero is the biggest crazy narcissist around, Tom Cruise. Give it a shot and see how it strikes you.