The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick-Up Artists
by Neil Strauss
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Nearly every major city in the world has them: hidden underground seduction lairs where men gather to trade the most devastatingly effective techniques ever invented to seduce women. This is not fiction. For two years, bestselling author Neil Strauss lived among these men. Using the pseudonym Style to protect his real-life identity, he began his remarkable journey from AFC (Average Frustrated Chump) to PUA (Pickup Artist) to PUG (Pickup Guru) -refining his approach, sharing unforgettable show more encounters with the likes of Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Courtney Love, and ultimately transforming himself from frog to prince . . . to prisoner. And then things started to get really strange. One of the most explosive and controversial books in years, The Game is guaranteed to change the lives of men and transform the way women understand the opposite sex forever. show lessTags
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See, I've been putting off reading this for a long time (even when I read all the other Neil Strauss books a couple of years back), because I knew this would happen. I would enjoy it, and now what? Now I'm a person who actually enjoys The Game of all fucking books. How do I live with myself?
Tbf, everyone sells this book as 'that book that teaches guys to be mean to women to get laid' and that's not really what it is. It's not surprising people think that, because it was sold to EVERYONE like that, and the author himself is extremely douchey about it in the beginning of the book. But that's the point, of course. You gotta pretend, you gotta get into it to really get to the bottom of what it's about.
And yes, parts of it is about negging show more and doing dumb shit, but when you get down to it, the PUAs have really only figured out three things: 1) women like to have sex almost as much as men, 2) if you actually talk to women about interesting things and don't creep on them all night your chances of having said sex will increase with 1000% percent and 3) ... okay I don't have a good third thing but point two is long enough to count. But really, that's all there is. Talk to women, give them space to breathe occassionally and take a chance and you're good to go. Oh wait, the third thing is confidence!! Act like people are gonna like you and they probably will.
It's not rocket science.
But ofc, these dudes can't leave it to that, because you can't take 1500 dollar per workshop by only selling those three points, so they add all the unnecessary shit, like long scripts, stupid clothing and magician acts because it's not a lifestyle if it's not dumb. And if it's a lifestyle and online, lonely dudes are gonna find it, and two years down the road you're gonna realize that you did get a lot of sex women but you also found yourself in the gigantic online group wank with a bunch of other dudes. You won't have made any lasting or interesting connections.
And that's the point everyone who shits on this book misses, that in the end Neil Strauss doesn't find his girlfriend by playing The Game. Yes, playing the game put them in each other's spheres, but that's how it is with life experiences, they will change you. But it wasn't negging or scripts or fancy hats that made them find each other, it was being social, interesting and real. It's not exactly subtle in the end, but of course, people want to have opinions.
Don't get me wrong, the book is gross in many ways, but not everything has to be pretty. Sometimes you meet some fucked up but interesting characters along the way, and that's a good story to read.
I would like to read a follow-up to this, not about hard it was for Neil Strauss to form lasting relationships afterwards like he did, but how this book has shaped the insane incel culture and male entitlement that is now rampant online. I have feeling those things are deeply linked. show less
Tbf, everyone sells this book as 'that book that teaches guys to be mean to women to get laid' and that's not really what it is. It's not surprising people think that, because it was sold to EVERYONE like that, and the author himself is extremely douchey about it in the beginning of the book. But that's the point, of course. You gotta pretend, you gotta get into it to really get to the bottom of what it's about.
And yes, parts of it is about negging show more and doing dumb shit, but when you get down to it, the PUAs have really only figured out three things: 1) women like to have sex almost as much as men, 2) if you actually talk to women about interesting things and don't creep on them all night your chances of having said sex will increase with 1000% percent and 3) ... okay I don't have a good third thing but point two is long enough to count. But really, that's all there is. Talk to women, give them space to breathe occassionally and take a chance and you're good to go. Oh wait, the third thing is confidence!! Act like people are gonna like you and they probably will.
It's not rocket science.
But ofc, these dudes can't leave it to that, because you can't take 1500 dollar per workshop by only selling those three points, so they add all the unnecessary shit, like long scripts, stupid clothing and magician acts because it's not a lifestyle if it's not dumb. And if it's a lifestyle and online, lonely dudes are gonna find it, and two years down the road you're gonna realize that you did get a lot of sex women but you also found yourself in the gigantic online group wank with a bunch of other dudes. You won't have made any lasting or interesting connections.
And that's the point everyone who shits on this book misses, that in the end Neil Strauss doesn't find his girlfriend by playing The Game. Yes, playing the game put them in each other's spheres, but that's how it is with life experiences, they will change you. But it wasn't negging or scripts or fancy hats that made them find each other, it was being social, interesting and real. It's not exactly subtle in the end, but of course, people want to have opinions.
Don't get me wrong, the book is gross in many ways, but not everything has to be pretty. Sometimes you meet some fucked up but interesting characters along the way, and that's a good story to read.
I would like to read a follow-up to this, not about hard it was for Neil Strauss to form lasting relationships afterwards like he did, but how this book has shaped the insane incel culture and male entitlement that is now rampant online. I have feeling those things are deeply linked. show less
Hilarious and depressing. Hilarious because the lengths these guys will go to score are absurd and the stories will make you laugh despite yourself. Strauss's description of this underground world of pickup artists makes them look pathetic. But seriously, is this what the American male has been reduced to?
[This review also appears on FingerFlow.com, a site for review and discussion of creative works.]
There's a good chance I wouldn't have believed some of the extreme claims made in this book if I hadn't seen VH1's reality show, The Pickup Artist, first. Whether you believe it or not, Neil Strauss' The Game is a fun and hilarious book that will suck you in and keep you reading until you hit the back cover.
The gist of the book is as follows: Neil Strauss is asked by an editor to investigate the underground PUA (pick-up artist) community. Like most people, Strauss doubted that he would find anything legitimate, but decided to look into the assignment, partly out of self-interest. After learning some PUA techniques from Mystery, creator of show more the Mystery Method of seduction and perhaps the greatest PUA, and finding some success, Strauss takes on the alias "Style" and totally immerses himself in the lifestyle. Style uses the skills honed by years of writing and journalism to study the many schools of seduction and eventually emerges as one of the world's greatest pick-up artists, rivaling and perhaps even surpassing Mystery.
Strauss packs in plenty of hilarious details about the encounters of various PUA's in many different situations, various episodes concerning Mystery and his emotional and mental disturbances, and the events leading up to the collapse of Mystery's ambitious Project Hollywood. Most importantly, Strauss provides his own insightful commentary on all the things the PUA community has completely wrong, namely the misogynistic tendencies of many PUA's, the lack of originality and individual thought amongst PUA's and the complete absence of any "techniques" for staying in healthy, long-term relationships.
Despite Mystery's self-defeating personality, the lawlessness of Project Hollywood and having a large number of PUA's turn against him, Style manages to keep his head on straight and even lands himself the girl of his dreams-without using any seduction techniques (they have quite the opposite effect, actually)!
Even if you don't believe in the powers of the pick-up artist, this book is worth checking out if only for Strauss' wonderful story of developing confidence in himself and finding happiness. And if you do think there is something to this seduction thing, then this book is a good starting point for learning some things and how to not let yourself get carried away. show less
There's a good chance I wouldn't have believed some of the extreme claims made in this book if I hadn't seen VH1's reality show, The Pickup Artist, first. Whether you believe it or not, Neil Strauss' The Game is a fun and hilarious book that will suck you in and keep you reading until you hit the back cover.
The gist of the book is as follows: Neil Strauss is asked by an editor to investigate the underground PUA (pick-up artist) community. Like most people, Strauss doubted that he would find anything legitimate, but decided to look into the assignment, partly out of self-interest. After learning some PUA techniques from Mystery, creator of show more the Mystery Method of seduction and perhaps the greatest PUA, and finding some success, Strauss takes on the alias "Style" and totally immerses himself in the lifestyle. Style uses the skills honed by years of writing and journalism to study the many schools of seduction and eventually emerges as one of the world's greatest pick-up artists, rivaling and perhaps even surpassing Mystery.
Strauss packs in plenty of hilarious details about the encounters of various PUA's in many different situations, various episodes concerning Mystery and his emotional and mental disturbances, and the events leading up to the collapse of Mystery's ambitious Project Hollywood. Most importantly, Strauss provides his own insightful commentary on all the things the PUA community has completely wrong, namely the misogynistic tendencies of many PUA's, the lack of originality and individual thought amongst PUA's and the complete absence of any "techniques" for staying in healthy, long-term relationships.
Despite Mystery's self-defeating personality, the lawlessness of Project Hollywood and having a large number of PUA's turn against him, Style manages to keep his head on straight and even lands himself the girl of his dreams-without using any seduction techniques (they have quite the opposite effect, actually)!
Even if you don't believe in the powers of the pick-up artist, this book is worth checking out if only for Strauss' wonderful story of developing confidence in himself and finding happiness. And if you do think there is something to this seduction thing, then this book is a good starting point for learning some things and how to not let yourself get carried away. show less
Psychologically horrifying, tastelessly taboo, yet 100% fascinating sociologically. This book is one of the ultimate epitomes of a book that you can't put down even though it disgusts you, and one that can help guys know which of their friends are misogynist jerks. Hint: anyone who recommends it for its message and tips, not its actual content.
This book is sad, brutal, and very well written. [a:Neil Strauss|588|Neil Strauss|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1296513251p2/588.jpg] is an amazing author, able to daringly pull his reader through the pages, feel his anxieties, chuckle over his blunders, and ultimately cry over the trashy, pointless end to a grand social experiment.
He wanted to become successful with women. . . and he did, beyond his wildest dreams. In the processes, he became a hero, a mentor, a guide to hundreds of young acolytes. Will he be able to keep his success and find true happiness? Or will he discover, in the end, that it is he who has been played?
He wanted to become successful with women. . . and he did, beyond his wildest dreams. In the processes, he became a hero, a mentor, a guide to hundreds of young acolytes. Will he be able to keep his success and find true happiness? Or will he discover, in the end, that it is he who has been played?
Neil Strauss is a journalist, and The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists is probably his most famous work. It’s autobiographical.
The plot:
The book follows Neil Strauss from his initiation into the Seduction Community to his drop-out as a master Pick-Up Artist two years later, mostly thanks to Mystery (and yes that’s the guy from the MTV show). It’s not only a memoir, but also explains the techniques of these guys.
This book is a complete mind-fuck, to be honest. You sit there and your chin’s right about where your knees are and you’re afraid to shake your head lest you break your jaw but you still can’t stop reading. No matter what you think about the whole Pick-Up Artist-shtick (and I don’t think too show more much about it), it’s a fascinating read, even if only because it’s so fucking insane.
Read more about it at my blog: http://kalafudra.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/the-game-neil-strauss/ show less
The plot:
The book follows Neil Strauss from his initiation into the Seduction Community to his drop-out as a master Pick-Up Artist two years later, mostly thanks to Mystery (and yes that’s the guy from the MTV show). It’s not only a memoir, but also explains the techniques of these guys.
This book is a complete mind-fuck, to be honest. You sit there and your chin’s right about where your knees are and you’re afraid to shake your head lest you break your jaw but you still can’t stop reading. No matter what you think about the whole Pick-Up Artist-shtick (and I don’t think too show more much about it), it’s a fascinating read, even if only because it’s so fucking insane.
Read more about it at my blog: http://kalafudra.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/the-game-neil-strauss/ show less
I hate this book. I hate myself for reading it. (I tried not to.) I hate Neil Strauss and I hate every idiotgirl who slept with him or gave him her number. It's true that I love to hate and that would be reason enough not to drop kick this book into the nearest dumpster. (Also, I got it from the library so that would be rude and I'd have to pay for it anyway.) But I actually enjoyed it, God help me. The author put an astronomical amount of time and energy into bamboozling people and dammit it worked. He's a pathetic little man but he's actually kind of likable. Grrr!
I'm ashamed of the women who've fallen for all this pick-up artist bullshit and I'm ashamed of the men who wasted actual brain-power on learning how to do it. I don't want show more to believe that there are hundreds of thousands of men out there who want, more than anything else in life, to be able to nail chicks that are way too hot for them. What a pathetic life's ambition. How sad for society in general.
There has to be a way to end this. Prostitution should definitely be legal. Not just legal, but socially acceptable. Also, beautiful women need to be less stingy with the goods. Throw these social rejects a bone, so to speak. Their unchecked macking is a danger to us all.
Now please excuse me while I try to restore my faith in humanity by watching Remember the Titans, Return to Me*, and The Blindside.
*I know that one's not based on a true story but I like to pretend that it is. show less
I'm ashamed of the women who've fallen for all this pick-up artist bullshit and I'm ashamed of the men who wasted actual brain-power on learning how to do it. I don't want show more to believe that there are hundreds of thousands of men out there who want, more than anything else in life, to be able to nail chicks that are way too hot for them. What a pathetic life's ambition. How sad for society in general.
There has to be a way to end this. Prostitution should definitely be legal. Not just legal, but socially acceptable. Also, beautiful women need to be less stingy with the goods. Throw these social rejects a bone, so to speak. Their unchecked macking is a danger to us all.
Now please excuse me while I try to restore my faith in humanity by watching Remember the Titans, Return to Me*, and The Blindside.
*I know that one's not based on a true story but I like to pretend that it is. show less
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The Game sends out a very mixed message to wannabe PUAs: You’ll get laid a lot, but you may try to commit suicide..., lose your job, or like Strauss almost alienate the love of your life. Not to mention herpes!
added by Shortride
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Author Information
20+ Works 5,620 Members
Neil Strauss is the author of The Game and Rules of the Game. He is also the coauthor of several celebrity memoirs including The Long Hard Road Out of Hell with Marilyn Manson, The Dirt with Mötley Crüe, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale with Jenna Jameson, and Don't Try This at Home with Dave Navarro. He also writes for show more Rolling Stone and The New York Times. He won the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for his coverage of Kurt Cobain's suicide for Rolling Stone and his profile of Eric Clapton in The New York Times Arts and Leisure section. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pick-Up Artists
- Original publication date
- 2005
- People/Characters
- Mystery; Style
- Important places
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Epigraph
- "I could not become anything: neither bad nor good, neither a scoundrel nor an honest man, neither a hero nor an insect. And now I am eking out my days in my corner, taunting myself with the bitter and entirely useless consol... (show all)ation that an intelligent man cannot seriously become anything; that only a fool can become something." /. Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground
- Dedication
- Dedicated to the thousands of people I talked to in bars, clubs, malls, airports, grocery stores, subways, and elevators over the last two years.
If you are reading this, I want you to know that I wasn't running game... (show all) on you. I was being sincere. Really. You were different. - First words
- The house was a disaster.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Real life beckoned.
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- DDC/MDS
- 306.73 — Social sciences Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Culture and institutions Sexual relations General institutions
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- HV6584 .S77 — Social sciences Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Crimes and offenses
- BISAC
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