Neil Strauss

The notorious international bestseller. In The Game, New York Times and Rolling Stone journalist Neil Strauss reveals the bizarre world of the pick-up artist (PUA)—men who devote their lives to mastering the techniques of seducing women. Neil Strauss spent two years travelling in what is known as the ‘seduction community’, a secret society of men committed to becoming PUAs. He entered a world of bizarre and compelling characters, night after night approaching countless new ‘targets’ until he had developed the ability to connect, almost immediately, with any woman who crossed his path. Within a matter of months, Neil Strauss—once a self-described average frustrated chump (AFC)—had transformed himself into Style, the king of the PUAs. Hysterical and harrowing by turns, filled with cameos from Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Tom Cruise, Courtney Love, Heidi Fleiss, and others, The Game is the story of what happens when one man harnesses the power to seduce the most desirable women in the world—only to fall head over heels for a woman who can beat him at his own game.

Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick-up Artists

The Game

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.

Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists

Simone Felisati

Good book, definitely a controverse topic. It uses a storytelling approach about Style's experience which sometimes gets too slow for my taste since I prefer straight-to-the-point narration.

Keven Wang

Just realized I cannot give zero stars on goodreads

Michele

As a female this is an unusual book to add to my reading list so I feel like it warrants a review.

I liked Neil's writing style. He's smart and he really seems to understand what's going on underneath the folks he describes in his book. He also sprinkles the book with very smart (occasionally obscure references). In the end, he falls for a girl who doesn't fall for any of the PUA bullshit but who knows, maybe he just ended it that way so that the general public (females) wouldn't feel entirely bad and/or wouldn't hate him

Overall, I didn't find most of the techniques inherently offensive (except for perhaps the negging) but the context and the community itself does seem toxic (which Strauss indicates as well). 

In spite of it's potentially offensive topic I still found it an interesting read.

The Game Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick-up Artists

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