Supermanship

by Stephen Potter

The latest gamemanship pamphlet to emanate from the new headquarters of the Lifemanship Correspondence College, Station Road, Yeovil, teaches advance students 'how to continue to stay top without actually falling apart'. It's slippery at the top, and the good superman must be able to keep his grip whilst administering discreet kicks at the heads pushing up around him.
If a Countryman, learn to keep the Townsman in his place. If a Chairman, study to be one up on the Lecturer. If a Reviewer, to be one up on the Author. If a Baby, on Grown-ups. And, in all cases, vice versa. For this is Life - a peaceful coexistence of muted aggression.
Stephen Potter and his able staff have drawn on the latest research in gambules and ploylets to suggest ways which will help bring the top man out top.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Stephen Meredith Potter was a British author and broadcaster. He popularised the term 'Gamemanship'.

Reviews

[Manny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Authoritative dismissal of a book you cannot remember at all

Gattling-Fenn was a master of this ploy, and his method deserves careful study. Rather than admit total ignorance, he would invariably sidestep into talking about a different book, while somehow conveying the impression that the first one was too unimportant to be worth discussing. If pressed, he could comfortably repeat the move two or even three times. Here is a particularly striking example:

MAN AT PARTY: So what do you think of Supermanship, Gattling?

GATTLING-FENN: Ah, those Stephen Potter books are marvelous, aren't they? I virtually know Gamesmanship by heart. Thanks to the Potter Gambit, several people now believe I am an expert chess player...

MAN AT PARTY: But is Supermanship any good?

GATTLING-FENN: I think Lifemanship is just as accomplished as its predecessor. His advice on wine - brilliant, isn't it? "Red wine is red, white wine is yellow." And that phrase "boldly meaningless". He really captures something there...

MAN AT PARTY: Very well, but what about Supermanship?

GATTLING-FENN: Needless to say, it was impossible to keep it going for ever. All the same, Oneupmanship has its moments, don't you agree? "Giving embarrassing presents" - quite wonderful. And I can never leave a train without recalling his classification of the different types of passenger...

WIFE OF MAN AT PARTY: I'm afraid we need to be making our goodbyes, dear.

GATTLING-FENN: Oh, what a pity. Your husband and I have just discovered our shared admiration for Stephen Potter. We'll have to talk about Supermanship next time. There are a couple of thoughts I absolutely must share with you...

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not up to the level of the earlier works. Quite funny in spots, though.

[Jeff Crompton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth book in Potter's Gamesmanship / Lifemanship series. If you enjoyed the earlier ones, you'll appreciate this one as well. For the novice, these fields of study explain how to win at games (and at life) by using psychological ploys to throw others off balance, so that you are "one up" and they are "one down."

It's all pretty funny, if you can get inside Potter's dry, slightly misanthropic world. In some ways the series is a sly parody of academia: the work of Lifemanship is purported to take place at the Lifemanship Correspondence College on Station Road, Yeovil. There is a regular cast of Lifemen; Gattling-Fenn, Cogg-Willoughby, and the vaguely unsavory G. Odoreida are all on board in Supermanship. Maybe the humor is little thinner than in the earlier books, but not by much. Start with Gamesmanship and Lifemanship; if you find them funny, move on to One-Upmanship and Supermanship.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

He keeps punchlines coming without their becoming tired. Perhaps because he knows when to quit.