Product Description
Most dating books are written for women -- what a mistake that is. Women know how to date . . . It’s men who need the help! At last: a blithe, bold, and bawdy guide to building a better boyfriend

At some point, every guy -- player, geek, mama’s boy, "regular Joe" -- meets a woman who makes him want to be a boyfriend. A good boyfriend. Problem is, unless he’s had some first-rate training (by a previous girlfriend, a sister, a mom), he probably doesn’t even know what that means. Felicity Huffman and Patricia Wolff come to the rescue with a rollicking -- and whip-smart -- handbook to navigating the minefield of male-female relationships.

Directed at men (though of course it’s women who’ll buy it, then leave it at their boyfriend’s place -- accidentally on purpose), A Practical Handbook for the Boyfriend lays out the many steps involved in becoming a good boyfriend, while still maintaining guy-dignity. It covers issues like:

-Who decides when you become a boyfriend (answer: She does.)-How to look like you’re listening, even when you’re not (If you’re busted, just say "You’re so pretty, I’m distracted.")-Ten things never to say on the first date (#4: "I just did that to freak you out.")-Finding the middle ground between too cool (think third grade) and too eager (think surprise visits)-Why becoming a good boyfriend is a lot like training for the A team

Filled with humor, ribaldry, common sense, and assorted outdoor skills, A Practical Handbook for the Boyfriend is the next dating guide to dominate the bestseller lists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Well written, but hardly comprehensive or inspired
While I agree with many of the reviews that this book is rich, funny (don't take it too seriously), stylish, and deep, I find it disappointingly traditional.First, know before you read it that it's a guide to being a boyfriend, and therefore the material on getting a girlfriend is hardly step-by-step or inspired.If your problem is that you're a doormat for women, this book won't help you a ton either because it's a borderline feminist guide to treating women better. It also relies a bit too heavily upon the "you'll never understand girls fully, just try to cope" assumption, avoiding a deeper discussion of women psychology. Finally, one of my biggest complaints, at times it reads like a categorized list of horrible ex's, as if the author was too afraid of sounding picky to really challenge men.In short, I found it often took the easy and standard route when I, and many others, needed something else.
That's ok because this book addresses other subjects excellently.It takes a comedic stand, reminding me a lot of Ben Goode's Understanding Women It says all the unattractive things you do that your gf would never have the guts to tell you (and some she would). It could easily save your romance, and make any girlfriend of yours proud.It also, as mentioned earlier, is written in a rich, retro style with tons of color and flair.The advice is conversational and funny, with applicable stories.It's well written, but not quite what I was looking for.

Male Trainer with sense of humor
I found this book to be an eye opener that left me with a smile. As a man, I recognize we aren't always on top of our game when it comes to women. This book helps make both parties happier in the end.

Very entertaining!
From start to finish this is a hilarious read. It is a great novel for both single men and single women, but I believe it's best for a couple just looking for a laugh. I'm not sure the book as a whole is supposed to be looked at in any other way than in a humorous manner. For all those negative reviewers calling this book "stereotypical" and "cliche", are taking it too seriously. No one should really be using this as an actual handbook or a guide to real relationships. It's all in good humor, people!

Good Info for Women BUT...If only Guys Would Read
I found this a very fasinating and enlightening book.Fun for me to read, however when I gave to to the Man in my life at that time, I think it scared him off, as the truth hurts.If only they would read, they could learn a lot.Yes MEN ARE REALLY FROM MARS

Wow... Just Wow...
So I got this book because a good friend of my suggested because HE loved this book.I'm a girl and he knows how much I love reading fun relationship books (I really liked he's just not that into you) so he thought I would like this one.

To be honest I didn't like this book at all, it was funny at time but really it sort of made me feel sad for the authors if this is how they think a guy and a girl in a relationship should treat each other and act because it really did play on gender roles when it comes to dating.

If you get this book please take it with a grain of salt, I tried to and it was still hard to read this book all the way through without being annoyed.

It doesn't have the same charm or style as "he's not that into you" so if you are buying this book because you hope to find something similar, move on. ... Read more

Product Description
If you've ever been fired, you're in good company. That's what actress and writer Annabelle Gurwitch discovered when she was fired by her idol Woody Allen, who added, "You look retarded." In confiding her tale of woe to others, she realized there is a world of people out there with similar laugh-out-loud experiences. How did Bob Saget learn he was being phased out of his job on The Morning Program? "One day I showed up and my hosting chair was gone!"

A collection of anecdotes from people who've all gotten the ax, the boot, or been canned at some point in their lives, Fired! boasts an all-star cast from Tim Allen to Jeff Garlin and features contributions from people all over the country. Uproariously funny and refreshingly true, this book proves it's not the bounce that counts, it's the bounce back. ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lynette Scavo, the hectic Super-Mom on the ABC show Desperate Housewives, which earned her an Emmy Award. A year later, her role as a trans woman in the independent film Transamerica earned her a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination, and was praised by many critics. ... Read more

Product Description
American Airlines in-flight magazine. ... Read more

Product Description
If you've ever been fired, you're in good company. That's what actress and writer Annabelle Gurwitch discovered when she was fired by her idol Woody Allen ("You look retarded"). She confided her tale of woe to her friend Felicity Huffman, who made Annabelle laugh with her own stories. Annabelle realized that there was a world of people out there waiting to laugh at the experience that virtually everyone shares, and she began to collect stories of being fired from friends and colleagues. Soon she was contributing regular "Fired!" segments to Day to Day on NPR and gathering friends to appear with her in sold-out performances of Fired! in Los Angeles and New York. Fired!, her documentary film inspired by these stories, comes out in 2006.

This book is a collection of hilarious but true tales from people who've all gotten the ax, the boot, or been canned at some point in their lives. In "That's a Fact," Andy Borowitz tells the story of being fired as a writer for the television sitcom The Facts of Life after being informed that he just didn't "get" Tootie. "Take that hanger off your head, you idiot!" were the last words Jeff Garlin heard before being fired from Spec's Music store after only one day on the job, just one of the many firings he recounts in "That Garlin Boy." In "Jimmy the Idiot," Dana Gould sums up his firing from the cast of the sitcom Working that led him to become a producer of The Simpsons: "In the second episode, I was a math genius, in the third -- a motocross racer, and in the fourth episode I was replaced by a chimp, but nobody noticed." In "Poor Judgment," Illeana Douglas tells about being fired after a few hours of working as a coat check girl: "How is it possible to be fired from hanging coats? I have arms. I know what coats are. I don't come home and throw my coat on the floor. I hang it in a closet. I have experience." How did Bob Saget find out he was being phased out of his job on The Morning Program? "One day I showed up and my hosting chair was gone!"

With an all-star cast from Tim Allen to Morgan Spurlock, from Anne Meara to David Cross, and contributions from people from all over the country, this book proves it's not the bounce that counts, it's the bounce back. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Funny Showbiz Stories of Being Fired
Some books are a like a fine four-course meal. You take your time. You appreciate every bite. You savor each delectable mouthful. When it is over, you feel like you've had an experience.

Some books are like comfort food. They fill you up and make you feel good inside. You crave more, and they make you feel better when you are feeling down.

Some books are like candy bars. They are sweet, easy to eat and gone in no time.

This book was a candy bar.

Now don't get me wrong -- I LOVE candy bars. (I love them a lot.) I gobbled this book up in record time and felt a little guilty about it because it wasn't real "good" for me -- just like when I eat a candy bar. These are the type of books I read after "coming down" from a four-course meal book like The Economist Book of Obituaries.

Now I know the title may sound a bit ominous or depressing. "A book about people losing their jobs. In this economy. I don't think so. That sounds like the last thing I want to think about." But you should know that the people who lost their jobs in this book are some of the best comedy writers, comedians and actors/actresses in the business. So their tales of losing their jobs are just downright funny and amusing. Did I mention that some of the contributors include Tim Allen, Andy Borowitz, Bill Maher, Bob Saget, D.L. Hughley, Harry Shearer, David Cross, Morgan Spurlock, Felicity Huffman, Patricia Heaton, Anne Meara, Judd Apatow, Andy Dick, Matt Walsh, Jeff Garlin, Paul F. Tompkins, Tate Donovan? I'm sure you've seen some of these names somewhere. The ones you might not be familiar with write for, act in or produce such little shows like The Simpsons, Late Night With Conan O'Brien, The Daily Show, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The book is broken up into five sections:

1. The Job So Terrible You Can Only Hope to Be Fired
2. The Firing You Didn't See Coming
3. The Time You Deserved To Be Fired
4. The Time Getting Fired Leads You To Something Better
5. The Time You Had To Fire Yourself.

Each "chapter" has about 10 or 12 mini-essays or interviews. And not all the contributions are about being fired from jobs; the essay by Rob Cohen called "Attractive In A Bad Way" is about how he needs to fire himself from dating because he is "that guy....the one responsible for all those late-night crying jags" and he dates women "...who are incredibly appealing on the outside, but soooooo not on the inside. Like a Godiva's chocolate...full of scorpions with diarrhea."

Here are some other lines in the book that gave me a chuckle.

From Annabelle Gurwitch's essay "Crimes and Mythdemeanors": I just couldn't believe Woody Allen was ruining my Woody Allen experience.

From Bruce Cameron's contribution "Remodels Your Redundancy": My friends have said I have a "dark gift," because instead of getting angry, most of the people I fired seemed worried for me.

From Dana Gould's "Jimmy the Idiot": I figured I'd become a movie star and use it as a springboard to writing. Is there not a more difficult route? It was as if I wanted to be a pastry chef and entered politics to do it. After all, once I'm president of the United States, I can bake anything I want.

From Maxine Lapiduss's essay "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service": ...and I didn't make a million bucks or become an instant hit on Letterman. But foolishly that wasn't what I had asked God to do for me. I'd asked for a below-minimum-wage job and some costume assistance, and that's exactly what I got. Next time, I'll be more specific.

About The Author/Editor
The book was edited by Annabelle Gurwitch -- an actress who had the distinction of being fired by her idol Woody Allen (a story she includes in the book). After that experience, she began gathering stories about being fired from her friends (and she's got some funny friends). The stories turned into a contributions on Day to Day on NPR, a show, a documentary, and a web site. She is perhaps best know as the cohost of the cult TV hit Dinner and a Movie on TBS. She is currently working on a book about marriage with her husband called You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up.

Final Opinion and Giveaway
This was a fun, easy book to read. It was pretty humorous, and I enjoyed it.

Celebrate!You've been Fired!
Even though I wrote a story for this book, I CAN BE OBJECTIVE because my contribution is only two pages.(The best two pages, by the way.)

Anyway, this book is a PERFECT gift for any friend or coworker who has just been fired and is not thrilled to bits about it.(The last job I was fired from, I WAS thrilled to bits because I had already taken another job and was facing the prospect of "calling in sick" until all my sick days were used up, but that's another story for another book.)

Anyway, this might also be a great gift for employers to give out as a parting gift to the employees they are about to fire."Fired!" will make your fired employees feel like they have finally joined the ranks of the Truly Talented and Funny people who have fired stories to tell - and it might make you feel as if you have given them a promotion instead of a kick in the pants, so it's a win-win kind of gift.

This book will help the fired feel as if they are in good company (FABulous people have written their Fired! stories in this book!) and that they can overcome the firing to be happy, productive and funny people, with a good story to tell -- which is what life is all about anyway, right?

Quick, amusing
A quick, amusing read of true stories (mostly by comedians and entertainment writers) about getting fired

Very entertaining
After I heard the author being interviewed about this book on NPR, I had to get it. It's a quick, and very enjoyable read, most of the stories are really funny, and self depreciating. As the cover makes clear, the book focuses mainly on celebrities that have been fired, and later found success.

I laughed out load at the stories!
This book is full of short stories about the experience of being fired. I loved it and found myself laughing out loud and sharing the stories with my family at the dinner table. It's not a great inspirational read but it takes a lighthearted look at "losing a job" and sometimes thats just want we need! ... Read more

Product Description
Campbell Scott plays a green young technocrat who invents a secret and highly successful high-tech process that, it appears, most of the free world would like to get their hands on. His own company may not be dealing with him fairly, and competitors are lurking around every street corner and kiddie carousel in New York (not to mention Caribbean hideaways) hoping to steal, cajole, or trick him out of the formula. The plot is as full of switchbacks as a mountain highway, and the delights are in watching it unfold around Scott, who is not so much of a naif that he doesn't catch on that not only his formula, but his life, are in dire danger. Steve Martin is consummately assured--and scary as hell--as a wealthy big shot determined to come out on top. David Mamet's script is refreshingly free from his trademark mannerisms; it's his most satisfying film since 1987's House of Games. --Anne Hurley ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Semana, published by Thomson Gale on January 29, 2006. The length of the article is 435 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Trans-mission: Elizabeth Peña in Transamerica.(motion picture)
Publication: Semana (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 29, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 12Issue: 674Page: S3(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more