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Summary: For those who find manners and civility "sickening" . . .
Review: . . . Miss Manners, a.k.a. Judith Martin, is the cure for the more fundamental illness of which those feelings are symptomatic.Young people do sometimes think they are being "idealistic" in holding that there is something phony and delusive about etiquette. (One is tempted to imagine them with battered and dog-eared copies of J.D. Salinger's _The Catcher In The Rye_ stuffed into their back pockets.) Unfortunately they could not be more mistaken. Civility and politeness (which derive respectively from the Latin and Greek words for "society") are absolutely necessary in order for human beings to live together with a minimum of social friction; there is nothing whatsoever "idealistic" about supposing we can dispense with them. On the contrary, this supposition will probably, in practice, defeat every ideal you hold. Again, the best cure for this disease is to read Miss Manners herself on the subject. Those who have not read her books may not realize that in her hands, etiquette is _not_ a completely dreary affair involving nothing but superficial mannerisms and polite phrases. But it will take only a few pages for even the skeptical reader to realize that etiquette is simply the conventional means by which we maintain, and convey, genuine respect for one another as human beings.
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Summary: An armed society is a polite society
Review: An excellent text. This broad really knows what she's nattering on about.
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Summary: I'll be Honest - I haven't read it
Review: I haven't read this book, just read the magazine and reader reviews, but the idea of a book that tells us to replace honest communication of facts and feelings with vapid pleasantries is sickening. If your friend is pregnant and doesn't want to be, why *shouldn't* you say "You can still do something about it"?!! Don't tell her it's "wonderful" - it's not, and you both know it. If someone asks you "How are you?" and you tell them "terrible" instead of lying with "Just fine, thanks," then it's their fault for asking! If they weren't prepared for an answer, they should have ignored you - that's what they want to do anyway. I'm 20 years old and maybe too idealistic. Maybe I'll slip into the same rut of self-delusion and public acting that most adults are in. But for now I can say with perfect honesty: Miss Manner's idea of "communication" is sickening!
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Summary: very disappointed; waste of money
Review: I only read half-way through this book before finally tossing it into my "box to charity". Miss Manners writes in such a convoluted manner that i had to read everything twice before finally having somewhat of an understanding of the point she was trying to make. Why this book wasn't written in a down-to-earth, normal manner is beyond me. I have read other etiquette books that are very well written and straightforward; this is not one of them. I will give her credit for at least pointing out basic (and extremely unnerving) etiquette no-no's such as saying "you look terrible" to a friend, co-worker, etc., regardless of how she/he actually looks. If you want to read this book, don't waste your money. You're better off borrowing it from the library or from a friend.
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Summary: lot of good advice...
Review: presented in a light, amusing manner . . . makes me now want to read author's other books!
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Summary: No better Reference Guide
Review: This is and extremely practical and useful resourse guide to daily situations. Everything is in this book! There are fabulous descriptions of the differences between Rudeness and Honesty with tact. In a society that has become so ME based, I feel everyone needs to read this book. THIS BOOK MAKES A GREAT GRADUATION GIFT!
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Summary: Not up to Miss Manners' par
Review: While this book is moderately entertaining and serves as a reminder to anyone who has forgotten how to stay out of other people's business and how to nicely keep other people out of their own, it's substandard for Miss Manners. There's a great deal of repitition and narrowness of approach, and because of this, the book is not as funy or as useful as it otherwise might be.
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Summary: Think before you speak
Review: Yes, this book is absolutely unnecessary for those who understand the principles of consideration and tact (which follows from consideration, actually). I don't know when honesty seemed to have become the principal virtue of life -- many people seem to think that the "honest" bit of "brutally honest" outweighs the "brutal" part. Guess what. It doesn't. And Miss Manners tells you why. This slim volume would probably not stop the tactless person from informing a young, grieving widow, at her husband's funeral, that her mother-in-law must feel this more deeply than her, for the death of a child is worse than the death of a spouse. Any person who thought for a moment would realize this is an extremely thoughtless thing to say. However, this may come in handy for the parent who is trying to come up with arguments for =why= their teenagers shouldn't say certain things. And it's definitely helpful for the people who are trying to be polite in the face of unbelievable rudeness (like the event I mentioned above.) Miss Manners can be extremely cutting to those who deserve it -- those so self-centered that they care not what effects their words will have on others.
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Summary: Think before you speak
Review: Yes, this book is absolutely unnecessary for those who understand the principles of consideration and tact (which follows from consideration, actually). I don't know when honesty seemed to have become the principal virtue of life -- many people seem to think that the "honest" bit of "brutally honest" outweighs the "brutal" part. Guess what. It doesn't. And Miss Manners tells you why. This slim volume would probably not stop the tactless person from informing a young, grieving widow, at her husband's funeral, that her mother-in-law must feel this more deeply than her, for the death of a child is worse than the death of a spouse. Any person who thought for a moment would realize this is an extremely thoughtless thing to say. However, this may come in handy for the parent who is trying to come up with arguments for =why= their teenagers shouldn't say certain things. And it's definitely helpful for the people who are trying to be polite in the face of unbelievable rudeness (like the event I mentioned above.) Miss Manners can be extremely cutting to those who deserve it -- those so self-centered that they care not what effects their words will have on others.
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