Editorial Review

It's hard to imagine any wedding detail that could have escapedinclusion in the pages of Read more

Reviews (54)

Excellent wedding source
This book was the number one resource for us while we were planning our wedding. We had many wedding magazines and books, but this was the by far the best. Eventually the others were pushed aside and we relied on this as our only source. There are many great tips for weddings of all types and sizes. The authors gave great advice and tips while offering humor (which is well-needed during the stressful times such as narrowing down the guest list). I highly recommend this book to couples looking to purchase one source to cover it all! Thanks Laura!

words to the wise
It certainly covers a lot of ground, evenly and fairly concisely.I am an older male and I read a lot, but knew absolutely nothing about weddings.My partner suggested I buy the book,wise woman .If you are a man and feel trepidation around this largely female undertaking, read this book, and read it well.It is up to date and as a core virtue is not attached to selling you something you do not want or cannot afford.It only asks that you be satisfied and happy with your informed choice.Besides covering the rather effete items such as dress,and who goes where when, the nitty gritty onprenups, how to handle the caterers and who gets paid when, are also included. Read it again as the weddingdetails and decisions start to fall into place and you will be of some help to yourself as well as her.Occasionally you will be asked what you think.Occasionally you will have to weigh in to save your sanity.These things do need planning input by guys,and its a life learning experience -for most of us pleasantly, I hope!If you put yourself out of the loop, you really are a dummy. Together you actually can do it, and this is a good exercise.

Wedding planning made easy!!!
It is a very handy reference even for a small wedding.Gave a lot of great ideas for the wedding and reception.The wedding etiquite advice included in this book was also very helpful! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Customs & Traditions    2. Family & Relationships    3. Family Relationships    4. Family/Marriage    5. Manners And Customs    6. Marriage    7. Planning    8. Reference    9. Weddings    10. Reference / Weddings    11. Self-Help & Practical Interests   

Reviews (8)

academic in nature
This book is well written. It was written to be used in a class room setting (the book states this) If I would have know I wouldn't have purchased it. I was looking for a more personal,engaging insight on the way of life in Japan. The book is laid out nicely and still a good read, just a bit too text like.

Well-written, literate, useful...
My wife and I found this book very helpful, prior to our first trip to Japan.We have been somewhat fearful of this trip, because of langugage and obvious cultural differences.Nevertheless, thisbook added to our understanding of current cultural traits, ideas, and ideals in Japan; their historical origins; their meaning to both Japanese and first-visit foreigners; and the countervailing Western forces eroding at the "pure strain" traits or ideals.All in all, this book is a fascinating synopsis of Japanese thinking about unique Japanese traits.
Exploring tolerance and understanding
I stumbled upon this thoroughly enlightening book at the end of my third year of living in a small bucolic town in the mountains of rural Japan.While it is intended as an overview and introduction to various things that can make the Japanese seem different and enigmatic to outsiders, many of the topics are discussed from their historical evolution, which helps to construct them in a much fuller and as a more complete figure. Moreover, the subjects covered are often unobservable to the casual visitor and neophytic foreign transplant, yet are central to understanding the Japanese character.Where I had just simply witnessed and pondered over many baffling and seemingly contradictory actions of the people whom I was residing amongst at first, after reading this book I came to understand them in a much clearer and tolerant way.Another result, incidentally, was it also helped ease me through an extremely delayed case of culture shock.We should note that problems arise not through stereotyping (which, despite our fanatical political correctness at times does tend to be accurate more often than not), but when we use these generalizations to assert a cultural superiority, or inferiority as the case may be, and to define differences as being anything other than such.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Asia - Japan    3. Characteristics, Japanese    4. Civilization    5. Customs & Traditions    6. History - General History    7. Japan    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. Asian studies    11. Cultural studies    12. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (6)

Witty and biting, but dated and geo-specific
I have read several of Hiaasen's novels and have enjoyed them immensely.From reading this collection of his columns, I now know where he gets many of his ideas for characters and ridiculous plotlines.Truth is truly stranger than fiction in South Florida!Developers run amok, politicians are on the take from everyone, criminals of all stripes don't even bother to hide what they're doing.Hiaasen exposes it all in his inimitably sarcastic way.I did enjoy many of the columns and appreciated Hiaasen's skill.However, most of the columns were from several years ago, with many of them being from the 80s.Also, not having spent a lot of time in South Florida, I couldn't always relate to the issues at hand.I would probably have been satisfied with a collection half as long.But I did enjoy reading about the madness that is life as usual in South Florida.

Even Better Than His Best Novels
I wish I could say I was a rabid Carl Hiaasen fan like a lot of people who seem to love all of his novels, because I love to read and love good writing, and Hiaasen's writing style is always excellent. I loved "Tourist Season", "Sick Puppy", and "Stormy Weather", but thought that he was pushing it a little in some of his other novels like "Lucky You" and "Native Tongue" where the plots were, at least in my opinion a little contrived. So when I got this book, which is a collection of his newspaper articles for the Miami Herald, I wasn't sure what I was going to think about it. A crusader with a sense of humour
I love this man's writing! I started with his fiction and having devoured all there was of that at the time I stumbled on his first book of Miami Herald columns. I bought Paradise Screwed as soon as it was out.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Anecdotes    3. Customs & Traditions    4. Essays    5. History - General History    6. History - U.S.    7. Humor    8. Journalism    9. Literary Collections    10. Miami-Dade County (Fla.)    11. Politics and government    12. Social conditions    13. Social life and customs    14. United States - State & Local - General    15. Humour    16. Literary Collections / General    17. Popular culture   

Reviews (4)

Informative, but somewhat misguided
The basic thesis of all essays in "The Invention of Tradition" is that many of the mass, public traditions in various societies of the world (from Scottish kilts to the very concept of tribes in Africa) are well-crafted ("invented") constructs of the 18th/19th centuries, and are not as ancient or immemorial as they are generally believed to be. Parenthetically, the very expression "invention of tradition" is somewhat redundant, since all traditions, as products of human behavior and human imagination rather than the result of natural forces, are invented in one way or another. All of the essays in the book show how this is so, providing an excellent analysis of the origins of these traditions. As such they are very valuable contributions to contemporary social/political history. However, although the tone of the book is that such "invented traditions" were frequently almost imposed and/or used as instruments of political manipulation, it can't be denied that they also very often gave expression to very real feelings - as editor Hobsbawm concedes in his concluding essay. Thus, rather than demonstrating some sort of arbitrary "invention" and manipulation, Prys Morgan's chapter on the Welsh also shows how previous traditions in Wales were revived, reformulated and continuously adapted from the late seventeenth century on to meet various political, social and cultural challenges, thus making the process of invention seem quite "natural." On the other hand, Terence Ranger's essay on Africa is almost disturbing in that it seems to imply that almost every aspect of African politics and society today were bequethed by the continent's former European colonial masters. Hugh Trevor-Roper's chapter on Scotland is useful in that it pinpoints the exact origins of the "highland tradition" and all outer, visual identity markers used by the Scots, but the overall implication seems to be that now that the sham is revealed, the Scots should discard their kilts and bagpipes in shame. It would have been more useful if he had provided an explanation of why Scottish patriots, and others, so eagerly accepted these "invented traditions," and why they are so deeply entrenched and stronger than ever today. This goes for the entire book: it's main value may be in (unitentionally) showing how all traditions are in fact invented in one way or another, and that they become traditions because, at least at the time of their inception, they serve strongly felt political, social, cultural or even economic needs.

The truth behind the tartans!
Hugh Trevor-Roper's contribution to this book is priceless.In his chapter "Invention of Tradition: The Highland Tradition of Scotland", he details for the reader where the supposedly "ancient" costume of Scotland came from.The kilt was invented by an English Quaker about 1726 to allow his Highland workmen to more easily move while smelting the iron ore he was extracting.The kilt was thus an expression of the Industrial Revolution rather than an ancient freedom of the heather. The real stuff of legend
The principle argumentative thread running through each of this book's essays is that the traditions Europeans hold dear about their respective cultures date back merely to the turn of the 20th century.Far fromlegendarily old, things like Scottish tartans and the English monarchical love of pomp and circumstance date back only to the Victorian era.More tothe point, many traditions aren't even native to the land which celebratesthem.Tartans, the book concludes, are actually northern English ideas,and the "British" love of pageantry comes more from India than fromanything deeply rooted in the gardens of the House of Windsor.Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Cultural And Social Anthropology    4. Customs & Traditions    5. Folklore    6. History    7. History: World    8. Manners and customs    9. Origin    10. Reference    11. Rites and ceremonies    12. Social Institutions    13. World - General    14. Anthropology    15. History / World    16. Sociology    17. World history   

Reviews (2)

In the Sumptuous Time of Autumn
Stuart L. Schneider's dynamic Halloween In America: A Collector's Guide With Prices spectacularly captures the spirit of the classic years of the American Halloween tradition: the period from the turn of the century through the end of the nineteen-fifties. Though the book includes more recent material, Schneider wisely focuses on what he recognizes to be the holiday's glory days in this country, when its spirit hadn't moved too far from its agricultural roots and American culture was predominantly positive, forward-looking, and uncynical--and its Halloween decorations charming and vividly imaginative. For the Halloween lover
This is much more than a book for collectors of Halloween.This is the best book on the subject. I've read all the others and this is the bible of Halloween. If you have only one book on Halloween, this has to be the one. It brings back childhood. This book is really a look at what Halloweenmeans. Ghosts and goblins, fall colors, adventure and childhood fears. I'veread mine over and over and over again. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Americana    2. Antiques & Collectibles    3. Antiques / Collectibles    4. Antiques/Collectibles    5. Catalogs    6. Collectibles    7. General    8. Halloween    9. Holidays (non religious)    10. United States    11. Antiques & Collectables    12. Customs    13. USA   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Customs & Traditions    5. Dictionaries    6. General    7. Management    8. Management - General    9. Marketing - General    10. Planning    11. Special events    12. Management of specific areas    13. Reference / General    14. Trade fairs & exhibitions   

Reviews (9)

Vive La France!
Is not the words "Joie de Vivre" French for joy of life? Qui!
fluff history
Some more rigorous historical analysis would have turned this 'lite' read into something worthwhile.The crude translations of 17th-century France into modern-day America, irrespective of different economic systems and radically discrete cultures, turn what could have been an inspired thesis into the kind of chatter you'd expect to hear from grandma.

"stylish" social history
This was such a pleasant, historical read.I'm very interested in all things stylish, if not fashionable.This title interested me at once.It really describes how so many things we use today date back to the era of Louis XIV. Today's obsession with luxury goods really has its roots in France's history.Louis XIV wanted every aspect of his life, including those around him, to be luxurious.Today, many middle-class (and sometimes lower class) working person thinks they deserve a Louis Vuitton bag or Lexus SUV.Living in style is a privilege, but can be obtained with some creative thinking and budgeting, just as long as we have our priorities straight. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 17th century    2. Cookery, French    3. Customs & Traditions    4. Europe - France    5. Fashion    6. France    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Louis    11. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    12. Popular Culture - General    13. Social History    14. Social Science    15. Social life and customs    16. Sociology    17. XIV,    18. Social Science / General   

Reviews (3)

Very solid contribution!
Rarely does one edited volume do such a good job of covering the essential essays about a topic.Counihan and Van Esterik do just that in their well-wrought _Food and Culture_.They skillfully offer food in an anthropological and historical perspective, giving attention to feminist, structuralist, semiotic, and other approaches.The essays themselves are effectively trimmed down by the editors, and the resulting book is consistently rewarding. A useful text
I assigned this text almost unseen as a course book because it included so many of the classic essays which one might have ended up xeroxing.The students found the book very useful. I would have liked a more historicalfocus but that's because of my own training. I will assign the book again.

Interesting collection.
Food and culture are examined in 28 essays by noted anthropologists and other social scientists in this uneven but valuable survey.Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Customs & Traditions    3. Food    4. Food habits    5. History: World    6. Social Science    7. Social aspects    8. Sociology    9. Anthropology    10. Cultural studies    11. Food & Drink / Cookery    12. Social Science / Anthropology / General   

Reviews (13)

A reader from Atlanta
I have just discovered this very charming book The Thanksgiving Ceremony.In these extraordinary times "new traditions for America's Family Feast" is a glowing jewel.I am reminded that "it" is not about polished silver, starched linens, the right amount of sage in the stuffing, the side dishes, desserts or wine selections, who gets to carve, and whether or not you-know-who will embarrass everyone."It" is about our past and our future, fellowship, commitment, joy, perseverance and progress.And about faithful thanksgiving - every day.
THE GREAT AMERICAN TRADITION
In many ways, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.Even though retailers are now jumpstarting Christmas even before Halloween, Thanksgving is still the true kickoff to the Holiday season.
Afocused, dignified andmeaningful Thanksgiving
Celebrated New York Times columnist William Safire, in his foreward to Edward Bleier' "The Thanksgiving Ceremony" Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking / Wine    2. Customs & Traditions    3. Entertaining - General    4. Manners And Customs    5. Seasonal    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. Thanksgiving Day    9. Social Science / Customs & Traditions   

Editorial Review

Fulghum, author ofAll I Really Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten, turns his inspirational ponderings to therituals that fill and inform our daily lives, from brushing our teeth to thegrand rituals responding to birth, life, and death. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Absolutely Wonderful!
This book has so much hope, and exudes respect for human experience. In essence, rituals are spiritual and they are found all the time in the lives we lead.Until we recognize this we will be less aware of the spiritual magic of being alive each and every day.Fulghum illuminates this page by page.He has a very philosophical view of life that is quite contagious.His presentation style is much like Garrison Keillor in the audiotape of this book I listened to. Soothing, but it jolts us awake with spiritual truths time and time again. I also like his sense of humor and his accepting of life and death. Fantastic Book!
This book is a great book to remind you of why we do certain things in life but moreso, to stretch your imagination to think of how you could bring new meaning to significant points in your life.There is an exceptional chapter on weddings.I've read and reread this book a couple of times!a great buy.

For the stories and the attitude...
The only parts of my own wedding I regret are those I didn't personalize enough; I wish this book had been around back when I was doing my planning.Fulghum doesn't provide concrete suggestions, so much as great stories,illustrations of the impact of ritual on our lives (in which he standsfirmly with Jossepoh Campbell) and a wonderfully outrageous attitude towardmaking those rituals fit us, not the other way around.You won't take awayexact ideas of what to do for your own ritual, but you will get theinspiration to make your own ritual fit you as perfectly as some of theones described fit their participants.Read more

Subjects:  1. Conduct of life    2. Miscellanea    3. Religion    4. Religion (Specific Aspects)    5. Rites and ceremonies    6. Systems Of Ethics    7. Self-Help / General   

Reviews (11)

An Essential Background Into Samba
If you are interested in learning the true roots of Samba and Brazilian Carnaval(and not just the obligatory blurbs that you see in guidebooks), then this book is an absolute must for you to read. Alma Guillermoprieto does a superb job describing the rich religious, historical, and socioeconomic roots of Brazilian Carnaval and Samba - both of which have become famous around the world, yet remain remarkably poorly understood. A Social History of Black Brazil
Guillermoprieto is both a skilled writer and a serious scholar.That combination makes this erudite, and exceedingly detailed study of the black underclass in Brazilian society both readable and engaging.She employs an inductive approach, using the culture surrounding the Samba and Carnival in Rio as a base for exploring the status of blacks in Brazilian society and the many contradictions and ironies in light of their prevailing influence in all levels of Brazilian culture. samba
For an author whose first language is spanish, her skill in writing in english has to be commended -but she ain't Borges. Planning a research trip/adventure for a year in Rio, and then writting about her life there obviously demonstrates Guillermoprieto's ability to earn money by doing what she likes. Her style is journalistic and if you've never visited a third world country you can get a good idea from her observations of what living in one, as an average citizen, is like, eg. people accustomed to little prosperity evidently will go to great lengths for entertainment, and to achieve a feeling of importance. If you want to learn about samba, well- guillermoprieto is not omniscient. Conclusion: If you want to read something, you could do a lot worse than this book, but it's not a keeper. get it from the library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Brazil    2. Carnival    3. Customs & Traditions    4. Latin America - South America    5. Rio de Janeiro    6. Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)    7. Samba (Dance)    8. Social conditions    9. Sociology    10. South America    11. Travel    12. Dance    13. Pageants, parades, festivals    14. Sociology, Social Studies    15. Travel / South America   

Reviews (11)

My dreams come true
I have had great difficulty in finding good information about Japanese soaking tubs of the kind that I saw in Japan. This book, written for the U.S. market, not only contains a plethora of wonderful pictures and ideas for the tub I was planning for my bathroom, it included suppliers and other resources that have proven invaluable.

This has changed my bathing habits forever...
I love the concepts in this book, so much so that I long to have a house with two bathrooms, one with toilet, one without, with a separate bath and shower area, and if I can't have a view with a nice garden, I could at least have a great overhead skylight. Now, doesn't that sound like heaven?!
Loved this little book Japanese Baths
Loved this little book. Great pictures. Very interesting reading detailing the whys and hows of the traditional Japanese style of bathing. Was originally looking for information and ideas on building my own ofuro and Japanese bath. Gained a lot of info from this book to come up with my own ideas and plans..... If you are trying to de-stress your life and live more peaceful and zen like, you will like this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Bathing customs    3. Baths    4. Beauty & Grooming - General    5. Customs & Traditions    6. Decorating    7. Fashion & Grooming    8. Interior Design - General    9. Japan    10. Remodeling & Renovation - Bathrooms    11. Home furnishing & decoration    12. House & Home / General   

Reviews (9)

Tour of Happiness
I took a year long course titled The Human Situation.The first semester consisted of antiquity and the second semester studied modernity.Darrin McMahon's book Happiness would have been the perfect capstone - or perhaps appetizer - for the course.He leads the reader on a wondering tour of the last two and a half centuries of happiness, stopping along the way to lucidly explain who the great minds were, what they believed, and how they moved the concept of what happiness is and how it is that one can achieve it.Starting with ancient Greeks, McMahon makes his way to the modern "prozac nation" with stops at many interesting times, places and people.Among the sojourn the reader will be introduced to the hedonists Marqee de Sade and La Mettrie, the founders of communism and the American Founding Fathers with their "pursuit of happiness," and some of the more inaccessible German philosophers.Happiness reaches a nice compromise between a truly academic paper, which bores all people including those who have to read PhD dissertations, and making the subject too simple, which by the nature of the subject matter it simply cannot be reduced to.McMahon does not have the answer to happiness, he has them all.He has laid them out on a table for you to inspect, peruse, ridicule, consider, and adopt.While John Stuart Mill will tell you as soon as you "ask yourself whether you are happy . . . you cease to be so," if you are going to ask, let McMahon guide you through the dialectic.

Too mechanical - happiness is about people

Happiness, The History of
This book is an interesting depiction of the different eras of the worlds history as it relates to happiness. The authour says we have for ages believed that Happiness was and is a retrevable item that it is available for all who sought her. And indeed it is. It is as we make it to be as far back as the Romans and Tutankumun.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Customs & Traditions    2. Happiness    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Social History    7. Social aspects   

Reviews (7)

Start here sociology student
This is still considered the first book on sociological theory.Not only does Durkheim provide us with a working model to use social statistics to draw very strong inference but if one reads carefully between the lines, he provides us with theoretical rhetoric as well as the afore-mentioned practical design.Durkheim was overall pessimistic; he saw the forces of society as overwhelming to the individual and makes little or no provision for escape (unlike Marx).Suicide, in Durkheim's view, was merely a symptom of a greater sociological ill.But unlike those who had come before him, Durkheim based his sociological assertions on solid empirical evidence and helped create an entire new science, which like the "hard" sciences, was based on the collection of data and research.Next time you read a report which links household income to education attainment, or prison rates among African Americans to a never-ending drug war, remember Emile Durkheim.He was first.

The best and first tutorial to the sociology
Durkheim says at the beginning; the sociology is the current science, but nobody knows what it is.Even now, his words sound contemporary.This study aims at introducing the necessity and importance of the sociology to the public, but not at sophisticatedly professional people. PIONEERING WORK IN SOCIOLOGY
This is the work considered the pioneer of modern sociology, with its author hailed the father of sociology.The innovative nature of the work lies in putting together all the methods of social analysis available at his time and providing a comprehensive view of the nature of suicide in society.Read more

Subjects:  1. Customs & Traditions    2. Sociological aspects    3. Sociology    4. Sociology - General    5. Suicide    6. Social Science / Sociology / General    7. Sociology, Social Studies   

Editorial Review

Now in its 13th printing, Read more

Reviews (8)

When Christmas Preparations Overwhelm, Try This Book
At Christmas time, the busy wife, mother and career woman kicks into overdrive.She feels the need to maintain her usual roles while bringing the magic of a perfect Christmas to her family, work place, and church.
a little too cliche
I thought this book was a little too cliche, because it tends to go with the stereotypes of women and men's traditional roles and attitudes towards Christmas.Also most of the ideas are rather obvious and don't promote any significant change.
This book withstands the test of time
I am delighted to see that Robinson and Staeheli have updated their material in this new edition . . . I've been using this book as an inspiration for workshops and talks since it first came out in the early 1990's. Consistently, people are empowered to claim their OWN approach to the Holidays after working through the concepts.Read more

Subjects:  1. Christmas    2. Christmas decorations    3. General    4. Inspirational    5. Inspirational - General    6. Manners And Customs    7. Personal Growth - Happiness    8. Self-Help    9. Simplicity    10. United States    11. Christmas books    12. Self-Help & Practical Interests    13. Self-Help / General   

Reviews (3)

Poorly Written
While the subject matter of this book is intriguing, it is poorly written. Kingdon continues to make the same points over and over and over and over. His sentence phrasing and choice of diction lull you to sleep. This man could have benefitted from taking an intro level English course, or an editor who cared. Once I got through the book, though, I did take his thoughts into consideration. But he could have condensed his thoughts into a few pages.

a good required reading
I actually had to read America the Unusual for my intro to american goverment class and I actually enjoyed the book a great deal because it dealt with issues that need to be looked to understand why our goverment the why it is and how our goverment is different from that of Western Europe even though many american came from those countries and some of the samethinkers influenced both American and Western European goverments.

Good facts, but opinions open to debate.
I disagreed with many of the authors opinions in this book, but I will give him credit.He does at least give a fleeting glance at his opponents and dissenters.Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Customs & Traditions    4. General    5. National characteristics, Amer    6. National characteristics, American    7. Political Science    8. Political planning    9. Politics and government    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Public institutions    12. United States    13. Political Science / General   

Reviews (5)

A simple, three-step process for meeting any woman
A happily married, 37-year old attorney residing in Houston, Texas, Kenneth Scott has spent years studying the subject of male-female relationships and how men can improve their dating lives. Now he has distilled what he has learned into an informed and informative dating guide filled with practical, insightful advice on how men can greatly expand their possible dating options by learning to meet women anywhere. Readers are provided with a simple, three-step process for meeting any woman, plus learn how to strike up a conversation with any woman without an introduction, and even learn how to continue the conversation -- including asking for her phone number. Thoroughly "user friendly", Scott provides several sample dialogues of en approach women that show exactly how to successful do this. Also included is are detailed results of a survey of women answering exactly how they feel about being approached by men. If you are new to the dating scene, or returning to it after an absence of years, then give a careful reading to Kenneth Scott's Take Actions: How To meet Women And Get Dates.
Best Dating Book for Men Available
I have read a lot of books on this subject and Take Action is by far the best.It made me understand how important it is to understand the woman's point of view.The chapter with sample dialogues was really good.Overall, it really motivated me to get out there and try to meet girls, instead of just thinking about it.

Very Helpful
This book was very good at helping me to focus on the basics of meeting women.No silly theories or women bashing, just the ABC's of going from seeing a good-looking girl to approaching her and getting her number.I especially liked the section on the survey of women.I'd recommend it to any guy who would like to meet a lot more women. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Customs & Traditions    2. Family & Relationships / Love & Romance    3. Interpersonal Relations    4. Love & Romance    5. Love / Sex / Marriage    6. Personal Growth - General    7. Self-Help    8. Dating (Social customs)    9. Family & Relationships    10. Man-woman relationships   

Editorial Review

Lovers everywhere will -- of course -- love this playful, passionate, and practical guide to the art of the kiss. Mmmmm.... Written by the author ofThe Art of Hugging. ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Just wait until you read about the Trobriand Islands kiss!
How do you turn a complete amateur into a confident kisser? Read this book, that's how. I got it the summer before I started college. I never dreamed I'd have the confidence that a lot of my roommates seemed to have, but after reading this wonderful book I was a different person. I wasn't dreading kissing, I was actually looking forward to it. You learn not only all the different kisses - there are about 35 - but you also learn what the opposite sex likes and dislikes about each one. I'm now happily in a relationship, and my boyfriend tells me I'm the best kisser ever. (I taught him the Trobriand Islands kiss!) My sorority sisters are always borrowing my copy of this book, they get such a kick out of it.

A self-help book that *really* helps!
Believe it or not I was 22 before I had my first kiss, and I got this book to help me get over my shyness. Omigod did it help! After I read the first twenty-five pages I was like ready to run out and corner this guy I had a crush on and try a biting kiss on him. So it turns out we were at a party and I got the opportunity. Before you know it I'm using the ideas from the book and had my first kiss, did the biting kiss (he loved it), then went for a french kiss (which he complimented me on), and finished off with a vacuum kiss. Needless to say the book helped me. If you love to kiss, you owe it to yourself to get *this* book. It worked for me, and then some!

What a book!
They don't call him the world's leading authority on kissing for nothing! I saw the author on the Today show and that's why I bought this book. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it would simply be a bunch of quotes from old poets on kissing, like so many of the other books on the subject, or some simplistic instructions, but THE ART OF KISSING is not just another run of the mill "how to" book. If you're like most people, you probably want something helpful, something you can learn from. This book is the real thing. Over 200 pages of solid advice on everything from lip-o-suction to the french kiss (a whole section!) To the sliding kiss and more. My boyfriends