Miss Manners' guide to excruciatingly correct behavior

A little too strict for me, and only covered, in all those pages, manners. Well, yes, but manners are, after all, rather superficial. Many more of us need much better advice on a daily basis with significant issues. The question is not whether or not to smile at the woman your ex-husband married at your daughter's wedding, but whether or not to smile *every day* at your co-worker who is having an affair with the boss's daughter, as I see it.

Then again, I was raised with a basic understanding of etiquette, and most of the ppl I know were, too. Though it usually comes down to myob & have good intentions, I imagine there are some unfortunates who need more guidance than that.

Thank you, Judith Martin! Miss Manners Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior has been such an important book in my life. I still have my original copy; purchased before I left high school as an investment in my future. I have to attribute some of my social and business successes to this book.

Since I am an anti-social person I limit my social intercourse to 3 levels: 1)Work - I'm in sales; tact and diplomacy are 2 important tools in every salespersons bag of sales techniques, right up there with presenting your product or service as desirable in every way. 2)Community Volunteer - While we all work together to make our community a better place, we all have our own ideas about how to make that happen. Once again, tact and diplomacy are show more key. 3)Special interests - My interests have lead me to participate in different activities: Book Club, 4-H Club, field events for dogs, equestrian competition, raising poultry, gardening, Archery Club, Historic Homeowners Restoration Support Group,etc. These interests attract a wildly divergent array of personality types; in order to enjoy ourselves we have to get along.

Having been a student of this book has helped me in all of the above situations. It has also made me more aware of the rudeness of others and how subconscious it often is. The good behavior I learned in this book has often provided me with a subtle, manipulative weapon to force good behavior in others.

It all boils down to one thing; being well groomed and appropriately attired, poised and unflappable in every situation gives you a definite advantage. Forget self-improvement books and get-rick-quick schemes; a cheap used copy of this book is all you need. (Reading Machiavelli is also recommended) show less

As a woman living in the South who had tea parties with her grandmother on a regular basis, this book made me laugh so loudly at times that any company I had would assume that I was not a lady at all. In all seriousness, this book puts a spin on the "traditional" answers that well-meaning ladies and gentlemen seek when trying to understand how to behave in polite society.

This is an honest-to-goodness etiquette book, but Judith is hilarious. I love her examples, the noms de guerre of her model family, and her precise tone that sounds prissy, but hints at a well-mannered wanton underneath!

Writing in the persona of Miss Manners, Judith Martin manages to be simultaneously tongue in cheek and in deadly earnest. Throughout her book she skewers pomposity and snobbery, while fighting for the maintenance of gracious and generous good manners. She shows that one need not be wealthy to conduct oneself well.

Entertaining, but the question-and-answer format seems to leave some things out, and lends itself to a result that is less of an etiquette guide and more of a snappy answers to stupid questions sort of thing. Sometimes it is difficult to tell when Miss Manners is kidding, but more importantly, sometimes it is difficult to tell, even after reading, what the correct thing to do actually is. Her guide to a surprisingly dignified wedding does rather better in this regard. Useful and disappointing at the same time. Also: it's a doorstop, so not for the mildly curious, probably.

So much fun! It gets five stars from me because it has held up over the decades as a continual source of pleasure and (at least some) wisdom. Useful for illustrating to others with what "rules"I was raised.