Dating for Dummies

Rating:
Summary: Fun and easy to read, but effectiveness remains to be seen
Review: About 1/3 or so of "Dating for Dummies" by Joy Browne is very good. It is easy and fun to read with a lot of the advice serving a purpose both within and/or outside the realm of dating. Much of that portion of the book is useful for all general human social interaction, particularly male-female interaction on various levels. The only problem with this aspect is that you can get most of this advice in hundreds of other books.

The other 2/3 are just OK. When you start to get into the sections strictly applied to dating, which is why you would likely buy this book to begin with, it starts to get a little disappointing. As another reviewer said, many times Dr. Joy puts considerably more emphasis on the female perspective than that of the male. In her sections on the best and worst life situations in which to be dating, she also often does a disservice of sorts to her own gender while discouraging males by attaching some implied truth to the theory that women care more about money, wealth, success, etc. than being with a good guy. You should never use dating as an actual cure for personal problems, like losing a job or a family member or friend, but at times, she kind of implies that everything else in your life should simply be ABSOLUTELY PERFECT before you even consider dating. Aside from the fact that perfection is non-existent, this is not healthy advice. I don't know exactly why having someone special in your life couldn't be a cause of motivation in these areas, and not just a result. In other cases, the book becomes a printed advertisement for her profession as a therapist.

Read this book at least just for the sake of having something fun to read and again, to glean some good information about everyday social interaction. With its minor flaws, it is still better by a longshot than "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Dating", but being that the book is entitled "DATING for Dummies", the effectiveness of the content in a dating context should be tested with caution.

Rating:
Summary: Covers Dating A-Z but not all the best advice
Review: All of the stuff in this book is very superficial. It would work great if we lived in the world of Donna Read and Leave it to Beaver but we don't. After reading this book and studying it for quite some time I came to the conclusion that unless you are a wealthy charismatic handsome individual living in some small bible belt town you would end up looking like a fool following most of the advice that this book gives.

Rating:
Summary: A Note from a Villanova University Senior Thesis
Review: Amazon.com Review for Dating for Dummies
(...)This review was completed by a group of five college seniors from Villanova University. We spent a semester researching and reviewing best-selling self-help books on the subject of romantic relationships. We evaluated five texts after reviewing academic literature specifically on the topics of commitment, trust, conflict, verbal communication, and intimacy. In order to make you a more informed consumer, we hope to provide you with a review of Dating for Dummies.
The author's intent is to provide information on and fundamental ideas about dating so that everyday individuals are able to learn more about themselves. Then, the author helps one find a date, and provides helpful tips and insight in order to make the dating experience more enjoyable, less stressful, and a complete success.
This book is written individually for both men and women of any age group. Whether an individual is 15 years old and going on his or her first date, or 90 years old and rejoining the dating scene with grandchildren, this book provides information on the dating game. The only other prerequisites for reading this book are that individuals be heterosexual and dating in America. Also, Browne specifically notes that this book is designed to be in use from the time that one decides he or she wants to begin dating up until six to nine months after the first date. This book stops when couplehood begins.
Dating for Dummies reads similarly to a manual that is written in a casual, humorous style. In order to grow towards a relationship, Browne works to direct an individual into helping his or her self so that he or she can be a good date.The book provides useful advice and does so in a way that incorporates practical, everyday situations. It is user friendly and is designed to make an individual the best that they can be without being somebody else.

We evaluated how the following five topics were approached in the book:

Commitment- Commitment was in fact addressed in Dating for Dummies. However, it was addressed indirectly in a whole chapter as it is defined in terms of casual, serious, and heavy dating relationships. Dating for Dummies was very practical in its discussion of commitment, but not very thorough. It outlined what level of commitment should be inherent in a relationship, which depends on whether the relationship is casual, serious, or exclusive, etc.

Trust- Trust was found in the index, which indicated discussion on developing trust through self-disclosure, trust as a factor in breaking up, and being able to trust someone enough in a relationship to know that one is safe. Specifically, the book was very detailed on developing trust through self-disclosure and provided examples and tips for making that happen more effectively.

Conflict- Dating for Dummies did address the topic of conflict. While there were no sections mentioned in the index, there were four brief paragraphs that addressed conflict from a very common sense approach. With only four paragraphs to discuss conflict, there were not many examples or exercises for acceptable behavior in dealing with conflict.
Verbal Communication- Dating for Dummies discussed verbal communication skills by providing guidelines on how to communicate when out on a date. It limited itself to providing examples of lines and ideas of what to and what not to talk about. Also, it gave a lot of useful tips for conversations to have when one first meets someone of interest. It definitely targeted the general public with real examples that can one help truly understand and relate to the book.

Intimacy- Intimacy was addressed throughout Dating for Dummies in the context of self disclosure, expression of thought and emotion, listening, and making positive verbal statements. As such, this book provided specific examples of things to tell immediately, a list of things to tell eventually, things to tell before sex, and things to tell if asked or pushed. Also, the book provided rules on sharing feelings, including an example for each rule. Finally, the book provided specific topics that should not be disclosed such as sexual stories, previous love affairs, and flings with the boss, just to name a few. Also, in the case of positive regard, the book provided specific body parts to compliment and specific compliments to give about those body parts.

This book is best for the subject of intimacy.

(...)

Rating:
Summary: Try this for Starters.
Review: Fun, but it can get kind of narrowed in its scope. It seems to be written with a woman's point of view in mind only. The man's perspective is seemingly an afterthought. This book is probably too simplistic for anybody who may be having real problems. However, this is a light and entertaining read just the same.

Rating:
Summary: Truly a book for dummies!
Review: This book is awful. It's full of trite comments and anecdotes; with very little real useful information. I'd pass on this one. If you want a book that really works then take a look at How to Date Women by Don Steele.

Rating:
Summary: Book too General
Review: This book is like an encyclopedia for dating. It covers the entire process of dating from A to Z (well, at least from Abstinence to Yawning). It covers such frivolous topics as hygiene on the day of your date ... to very serious topics like date rape. And of course it covers just about everything in between.

Dating for Dummies is full of bullet points and checklists, which makes this huge book much easier to read than you might expect. For the person who thinks dating in today's world is as difficult as reading hieroglyphics, this book will help you get you over the hump.

As a dating expert who has spent my career as a matchmaker and singles coach, there are a few idiosyncrasies that remind you that Dr. Joy Browne is indeed a psychologist first and foremost. For example, she urges you not to date for an entire year after your divorce (to make sure you're emotionally whole) and not to wear perfume or cologne on a date (after all, you wouldn't want to offend your date or set off an allergic reaction).

Bottom Line - This is a great basic introduction to dating. If you're new to the dating scene (or if you haven't had a date in a decade), then this book will help you get started.

Rating:
Summary: Good info, a bit tedious
Review: This was somewhat helpful, though I was not motivated to follow any advice; in fact, the moment I put the book down I had no desire to keep reading or come back to re-read.
Also some advice is too much on the surface, this book did not explore the feelings that are present when dating. Now you can see why I'm back on Amazon.com looking for a better book on dating.
I did like the organization and ease of reading though, even if it was a bit too on-the-surface and simplistic.

Rating:
Summary: Good information
Review: Written from a woman's point of view this book has lots of good matter of fact information about the mysteries of dating. Dating advice books written by men tend to be either outright wrong or just plain stupid. Ya gotta learn what women want to understand dating, fellow dudes.