Rating: 
Summary: A Helpful Book for Men to Read!
Review: This book is pitched as one that is helpful for women. I am sure that is the case. Not being a woman, I have to share its benefits from my perspective.I have been a mentor for many working women, and this book does a nice job of addressing the kinds of issues that the women have brought up with me as well as the ones that I have brought up with them. In the past, I have provided copies of How to Be a Star at Work as a way to assist these women. In the future, I will provide this book, as well. Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman does an excellent job of explaining how relationships and results need to be balanced at work. That is a juggling act that seems to confuse many women, and I found this book to be accurate and constructive in this area. Interestingly, I find that a lot of men miss these points, too. I would also recommend this book to male colleagues and subordinates, both to make them more effective and to improve their understanding of how to communicate with female colleagues. Basically, the book is all about miscommunication and misconception stalls that occur at work, especially the ones that tend to occur among men and women. The book is very effective in exploring those stalls and inproviding sound advice for overcoming the same stalls. The only weakness I found in the book is that some subtle points about business interactions were missed. A lot of male aggressiveness and bluffing was described as just being acceptable, while the same thing by women is unacceptable. What Ms. Evans missed is that there is usually a kind of kidding humor involved to let everyone know that the aggressor is simply indicating a strong desire to play, backed up by self-confidence. That takes the sting out of the aggressiveness. When some women are aggressive, they often forget to use the kidding humor that makes the aggressiveness tolerable to all. Perhaps the greatest strength of the book is that it permits the reader to choose her/his own goals (and those may not be material success or power) while adapting the advice to one's own personality and preferences. Basically, any advice we get that suggest we act like the individuals we are is good advice. Well done, Ms. Evans!
Rating:
Summary: EVERY DAUGHTER SHOULD GIVE THIS BOOK TO HER MOTHER
Review: If you are a woman and have ever needed a reason to stop taking everything everybody says or does personally, this book says it. This is the guidebook to business that baby-boomer-females-in-the-businessplace never had. Gail Evans has lived what she preaches and speaks in a language women can understand. I was shaking my head "yes" throughout the book, as I recognized my own situation and frustrations in workplace. I knew it had something to do with my gender, but other than pointing the finger of blame at all men, I could not pinpoint what was happening in this male-created domain. I guess I thought I was the only person (read woman) who couldn't figure out the rules for success in the workplace. I also needed to hear the words from a very successful woman who learned by doing. I learned that I can still be a woman, but succeed in the male-created, male-dominated business world, and not feel like an imposter...which is exactly what one of her chapters deals with. You don't have to be a sell-out, but quit taking everything so damn personal....this is business. This is not a book written by a man who thinks he knows what women are thinking. And, it is not a book written by a woman who is so well-connected, or glamorous and beautiful, that you would wonder how she could not be a success in the businessplace. This is a book written by "one of us", and concentrates on exactly why many women struggle so hard to succeed in her job, no matter what that job is. If you are a manager, or a clerk, or anything in between, this book will help you as a female. I am giving a copy of this book to every working woman that I know...with a few exceptions; those who have already figured out the rules. Now I know why they are so successful, and it has nothing to do with their luck and my unluckiness. I feel so much better and unburdened after reading this book. I am going to keep it at my bedside and use it as my affirmation support..."I will not personalize workplace issues...I will not.....".
Rating: 
Summary: Raters with "how this relates to MY life" as the criteria:
Review: In contrary to what a lot of negative response I've read on here, that had denoted the book's values due to the fact that it carries sexist qualities, shows no sympathy to a woman's choice of lifestyle, and that the book is not written for a generalized community in a last-generation point of view: This book is not meant to be a pat on your back to make you feel better about your womanhood. If you want that, there are soap opera magazines out there teaching you how to raise your children. There are also other great books out there that are targetted towards the younger generation. Gail Evan did not once say "this book is targetted for everyone". She's talking to the women who wants to succeed in the business sense, in a man's style. It represents her insights from her long travel, and it is her belief from experience that these are the issues that held women back from achieving the status they want. This book is for the women out there who is willing to make a change in life so to reach to a higher level in the game. It's not for sulking women who wants to juggle the 12098723 priorities of family and friends before business. (In that case, the book for you is "the 7 habits of highly effective people) Women who decides to rate this book should first put themselves in a mindset that this is not Oprah. As the title reinforces Gail Evan's standpoint: PLAY LIKE A MAN. Most men who play in the field don't COMPLAIN that they want to stay home 8 hours a day for their children, and they don't relate themselves to their bar buddies' private life in every conversation. The book simply gives you the unspoken jargons men made up and Gail's interpretation of the terms. It doesn't tell you "THIS, is the lifestyle that'll be your ULTIMATE LIFE-LOVING experience."
Rating:
Summary: Great overall picture of women in the corporate culture
Review: Evans who has been a CEO for CNN expresses herself in easy to read, fun examples. She follows the Pat Heim/Betty Harragan concept of the corporate life as a playing field and builds on this idea. She describes four basic areas for women to understand in the corporate world: You are Who You Say You Are,
One Prize Doesn't Fit All
Work Isn't a sorority
You're Always a Mother, Daughter, Wife, or Mistress Her discussions are full of energy and interesting ways of looking at the world of business. The book has two major disadvantages:
First, there is no index. I would love to refer to her writing more than I do, but can't due to lack of a simple, basic index. Second, she fails to give credit to all who went before her. Obviously she has been influenced by Betty Harragan, Pat Heim, Deborah Tannen, but she does not mention their books nor give credit to their impact on her thinking.
Rating:
Summary: Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman
Review: Could be subtitled; How Not To Shoot Yourself in the Foot. I'd like to join in with the positive reviews of this book. I'm a business school student and I read this book on the recommendation of a visiting female executive. I've since lent it out to my classmates and have watched it be passes around from woman to woman. We love it! Evans offers simple, easy to relate to examples of behavior women adopt in the workplace that can be "career limiting." She openly challenges the reader to see which of her observations fit and which don't to each woman's unique situation. A well balanced, honest set of suggestions and observations that will benefit any woman seeking to advance in her career.
Rating:
Summary: A woman preparing to enter the industry
Review: I'm in a woman studying Computer Science in Engineering at Cornell right now. As I'm preparing to enter the industry (2 more years, I'm a junior now) where the majority of the jobs are working with men, I found this book really helpful in getting myself ready. I could relate myself to many of the traits a woman has that the book mentioned. This book gives me more confident in succeeding in the future and knowing that I'm not at alone.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous, right on target, well worth the read
Review: This book is an easy read because it contains so many BFO's: brilliant flashes of the obvious. Have you ever wondered why so many intelligent, well-educated men act the way they do at the office? This book spells it out. It lays out what's going on in their minds, thereby leveling the playing field. It's a must-read for any woman in business today.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ FOR WOMEN...
Review: I WISH I HAD THIS BOOK WHEN I GOT OUT OF COLLEGE... IT WOULD HAVE SAVED ME A LOT OF HOURS PLANING THE DEMISE OF A LOT OF THEM MEN I HAVE HAD TO WORK WITH. THE AUTHOR GIVES VERY GOOD EXAMPLES ON HOW MEN AND WOMEN SEE AND DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY. MANY OF HER EXAMPLES I HAVE LIVED THROUGH... I PUT ONE PIECE OF HER ADVISE INTO PLAY ALREADY AND IT WORKED... READ THIS BOOK IT CAN ONLY HELP YOUR CAREER... THIS BOOK SHOULD BE GIVEN TO ALL WOMEN AFTER THEY HAVE SPENT A YEAR IN THE WORKFORCE...
Rating:
Summary: worth the money
Review: I applied the principle mentioned in this book and it worked! I conjured up my courage and asked my superior that I want to do a certain task. I was not sure if I can do it, but this book seems to have pushed my back. And he said "OK". This book changed my life. Thanks a lot.
Rating:
Summary: A little dated but still worth the read
Review: I found this book more of a reaffirmation of things I'd been taught for years rather than a fountain of new knowledge. Having said that, you can never hear some of the advice inside the cover of this book enough if you are a woman competing in a man's world. Be warned if you are 35 or under. You may, like me, find that some of the author's stereotypes about men's viewpoints are more in tune with your own than the women's viewpoints. I never played dollhouse as a girl and if you are under 35 and you did, you need this book much more than me.
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