Roger the Cabin Boy
8th September 2006, 22:29
The Alphabet of Manliness (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?link_code=ur2&tag=bigfootycom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&location=%2FAlphabet-Manliness-Maddox%2Fdp%2F080652720X%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fqid%3D1157718161%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbook s)
A Review
I am fully convinced after reading the entire A-Z of The Alphabet of Manliness (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?link_code=ur2&tag=bigfootycom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&location=%2FAlphabet-Manliness-Maddox%2Fdp%2F080652720X%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fqid%3D1157718161%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbook s) that the author of its 26 essays, Maddox, is a nerd. And not just because he correctly alphabetizes the entries, but because he can recite the names of every Castlevania game, talks about hacking and IP addresses and various mathematical theorems, and has just spent way too much time analyzing in minute detail every aspect of the penis, its functions, and its influence on the male brain. However, Maddox's lack of bulging biceps may actually be a positive thing. Because having him become the symbol and policy-maker of all things alpha male just may be one of the most subversive byproducts of the Internet since file-sharing.
If you are new to the world of Maddox and unfamiliar with his website www.thebestpageintheuniverse.com (http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.com), here's how you will react to the book: When you read the dedication--"to the love of my life, my soul mate, and the greatest person in the world: me"--you will think for a moment that you have encountered one of the most unlikable narcissists in the world. When he calls a woman a "bitch" on page 2, you may actually begin to hate him. But if you stick with it, by the time you get to the middle of the book and are fully immersed in his over-active, over-systematic, testosterone-addled imagination, you will begin to realize that Maddox just may be the Andy Kaufman of his time, in possession of the driest wit you've ever encountered. The middle of the book also happens to be the home of Maddox's finest essays. In his contribution to the geek canon of Chuck Norris worship, he spuriously notes that Norris uses hippies as firewood, intercepts letters to Santa Claus to use as toilet paper, and eats "bread, cheese, some tomato paste and a handful of basil, which sounds like pizza, but it's not because Chuck Norris doesn't want to give the Italians the credit."
In general, there are two types of humor in this book: things that are funny because they're wrong ("a pirate's semen is indestructible") and things that are funny because they're right (his entire essay on urinal etiquette).
By the time you get to his views on the quickie, in which he describes a sexual encounter with his girlfriend that involves her never showing up and him passing out drunk and getting robbed, you may be bookmarking his website. And by the time you turn to the last page, you'll be flipping back to the first, reading it again and looking for the jokes you missed because you were too busy being shocked, offended, and slightly titillated. In short, The Alphabet of Manliness (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?link_code=ur2&tag=bigfootycom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&location=%2FAlphabet-Manliness-Maddox%2Fdp%2F080652720X%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fqid%3D1157718161%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbook s) just may be one of the smartest paeans to stupidity ever written. -- Neil Strauss (Hey, I said "A Review", not "My Review".)
THIS is my review:
Starting at Ass-Kicking, working through the alphabet including such milestones as Female Wrestling, Norris (Chuck), Knockers, Urinal Ettiqutte and finally arriving at Zombies, The Alphabet of Manliness (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?link_code=ur2&tag=bigfootycom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&location=%2FAlphabet-Manliness-Maddox%2Fdp%2F080652720X%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fqid%3D1157718161%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbook s) redefines the modern male, offends the modern female and makes Maddox a bucket of cash in the process.
Bravo, Sir. Bravo.
A Review
I am fully convinced after reading the entire A-Z of The Alphabet of Manliness (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?link_code=ur2&tag=bigfootycom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&location=%2FAlphabet-Manliness-Maddox%2Fdp%2F080652720X%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fqid%3D1157718161%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbook s) that the author of its 26 essays, Maddox, is a nerd. And not just because he correctly alphabetizes the entries, but because he can recite the names of every Castlevania game, talks about hacking and IP addresses and various mathematical theorems, and has just spent way too much time analyzing in minute detail every aspect of the penis, its functions, and its influence on the male brain. However, Maddox's lack of bulging biceps may actually be a positive thing. Because having him become the symbol and policy-maker of all things alpha male just may be one of the most subversive byproducts of the Internet since file-sharing.
If you are new to the world of Maddox and unfamiliar with his website www.thebestpageintheuniverse.com (http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.com), here's how you will react to the book: When you read the dedication--"to the love of my life, my soul mate, and the greatest person in the world: me"--you will think for a moment that you have encountered one of the most unlikable narcissists in the world. When he calls a woman a "bitch" on page 2, you may actually begin to hate him. But if you stick with it, by the time you get to the middle of the book and are fully immersed in his over-active, over-systematic, testosterone-addled imagination, you will begin to realize that Maddox just may be the Andy Kaufman of his time, in possession of the driest wit you've ever encountered. The middle of the book also happens to be the home of Maddox's finest essays. In his contribution to the geek canon of Chuck Norris worship, he spuriously notes that Norris uses hippies as firewood, intercepts letters to Santa Claus to use as toilet paper, and eats "bread, cheese, some tomato paste and a handful of basil, which sounds like pizza, but it's not because Chuck Norris doesn't want to give the Italians the credit."
In general, there are two types of humor in this book: things that are funny because they're wrong ("a pirate's semen is indestructible") and things that are funny because they're right (his entire essay on urinal etiquette).
By the time you get to his views on the quickie, in which he describes a sexual encounter with his girlfriend that involves her never showing up and him passing out drunk and getting robbed, you may be bookmarking his website. And by the time you turn to the last page, you'll be flipping back to the first, reading it again and looking for the jokes you missed because you were too busy being shocked, offended, and slightly titillated. In short, The Alphabet of Manliness (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?link_code=ur2&tag=bigfootycom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&location=%2FAlphabet-Manliness-Maddox%2Fdp%2F080652720X%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fqid%3D1157718161%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbook s) just may be one of the smartest paeans to stupidity ever written. -- Neil Strauss (Hey, I said "A Review", not "My Review".)
THIS is my review:
Starting at Ass-Kicking, working through the alphabet including such milestones as Female Wrestling, Norris (Chuck), Knockers, Urinal Ettiqutte and finally arriving at Zombies, The Alphabet of Manliness (http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?link_code=ur2&tag=bigfootycom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&location=%2FAlphabet-Manliness-Maddox%2Fdp%2F080652720X%2Fsr%3D8-1%2Fqid%3D1157718161%2Fref%3Dpd_bbs_1%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbook s) redefines the modern male, offends the modern female and makes Maddox a bucket of cash in the process.
Bravo, Sir. Bravo.