The Gentleman's Guide to Life: What Every Guy Should Know About Living Large, Loving Well, Feeling Strong and L ooking Good

by Steve Friedman, Michael Crawford (Illustrator)

It's all here, everything guys need to know to survive and thrive with style, from buying a suit to losing love handles to throwing a decent dinner party. Here are answers to questions concerning how to dress well, the right haircut, performing the perfect situp, bluffing one's way through a wine list, professing true love, and much more. 25 line drawings. National ads/media.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Personal Development, Reference

176 pages, Hardcover

First published May 6, 1997

About the author

I'm a New York City-based journalist and the author of five nonfiction books: The Gentleman's Guide to Life, Loose Balls (with Jayson Williams), The Agony of Victory, Driving Lessons, and most recently, Lost on Treasure Island.

A regular contributor to Runner’s World, Bicycling, and Backpacker, I've also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Esquire, GQ, New York, and Outside. My stories have been anthologized in The Best American Travel Writing and The Best American Sports Writing.

Reviews

[Tharindu Dissanayake · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Definitely avoid old white wines from California."

"Find a therapist if you think the Unabomber went a little too far, but he had the right idea."

“More fashionable” is another way of saying “there’s a good chance that in a few years you’ll want to throw away the photographs of you in it.”

I'm still having a hard time stop laughing after reading this. Who knew a guide book could get this fun? Filled of witty and sarcastic remarks, Friedman's guide is one of the most hilarious works on a gentleman's etiquette.

"Watches: The simpler and less digital, the more elegant. Watches that tell you five time zones, square roots, and when the next lunar eclipse will occur also tell the world that you’re kind of strange."


"When you’re a guest Bring a gift and offer it when you arrive. This is not a bribe, but you hope it will serve as one."

"Get thee to a shrink if you’re certain that the woman who dumped you would definitely take you back if only she could taste the new scrambled-egg dish you have named in her honor, and that certainty has led you to mail her samples of the dish on a weekly basis."

[Bianca]

It was a snarky overview of what I mostly assumed was common sense. But it was worth the time -- fast read.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Already a little outdated (in 2024), and clearly for males, (I’m not one.) meh. It was whatever. Could have been worse. Wished it was better.

[TheCrusader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is a pretty solid read for a guy. Some of the takes are outdated, especially the ones about technology, but it has some good advice. It isn’t too heavy handed about what you should think or believe, and it’s quite comedic. It doesn’t have to be taken to heart in order to be a good one to put on the shelf, and with big font, pictures, and being very short, you’ll finish it in no time.

[Googz · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's decent advice here and therewithin, but ultimately I'd offer the same caveat I would about tarot cards and your horoscope: they should be read for entertainment purposes only. I'd venture that the author knows this, considering at one point he's advocating abstinence from alcoholic beverages, and pages later he's talking about buying girls drinks. So maybe he knows it's just for fun. Or maybe he knows that you're not going to listen to him anyway. Either way, I approve of the attitude.

Alex Younger gave me this as well, some decade-plus ago, and it's a fun book, sure. It might even inspire me to get back to regular workouts. Not surprisingly from a one-time (or perhaps current? I don't know) editor of GQ, a lot of the material is...well, a little GQ. Resultantly, particularly in the fashion-recommendations section, basically most or all of my wardrobe would be tossed out the window by any adherent to this volume. It advocates muted colors and high style. I advocate "whatever you happen to like." If you have to force yourself to wear a certain kind of clothing in order to meet women or impress your boss or whatever, then you're probably living a pretty disingenuous life, and I couldn't possibly condone any part of that for anyone! On the other hand, if you genuinely don't give a crap what you're wearing, then sure, take Friedman's advice, become a just-like-every-other-person clothing-drone, and hit the town.

All the same, it's an entertaining read, as I say, and has some good suggestions for working out, some good literary recommendations, and doesn't take itself too seriously at any point, which is critical.

[M. Badawy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun read to me, a very rewarding one as well, Friedman really hits some high notes on many aspects accompanied with his swift humor. There were parts where I'd really wished I read that book only a bit earlier, and would definitely revisit some of them still.
Also I think your life with many of those wimps you occasionally come across would've been a bit sweeter if they gave this a read.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is over ten years old, but it's hard to argue with a lot of the advice here. Kind of like reading a copy of Men's Health Magazine, but with more humor and organized focus.

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good primer for today's young man (or butch dyke) but really there are better versions out there. I'm a fan of (especially men's) ettiquite books. This one was just ok.

[Bruce Bieber · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a little dated, but it's still a good book.

[Kichi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly informative but never sacrifices wit for bare and boring data. Will definitely go grab more of Steve Friedman's books.