The Action Heroine's Handbook [Paperback]

Jennifer Worick (Author), Joe Borgenicht (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

Get Some Action!
 
For every woman who wants to be as tough as Lara Croft, as nimble as the Bionic Woman, and as babe-a-licious as Charlie’s Angels, The Action Heroine’s Handbook shows you the essential skills you’ll need to conquer the bad guys and save the day without breaking a sweat.
 
Find out how the real action heroines do it, directly from a host of experts, including stuntwomen, jujitsu instructors, helicopter pilots, detectives, forensic psychologists, survivalists, primatologists, and many others.
 
Learn to:
 
     •  Profile a serial killer
     •  Outwit a band of home intruders
     •  Navigate white water rapids
     •  Go undercover as a beauty queen
     •  Outrun a fireball
 
And dozens of other Tough Chick Skills, Beauty Skills, Brain Skills, Brawn Skills, and Escape Skills. Special sections and appendices feature the top action heroine hairdos, handbag essentials, and the best footwear for every action situation. With step-by-step instructions and easy-to-follow illustrations, The Action Heroine’s Handbook will prepare you to save the world, one baddie at a time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Worick (The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating and Sex) and Borgenicht (The Action Hero's Handbook) offer girl-power advice for Charlie's Angels wannabes that ranges from the eccentric (the tips on "how to survive as a mob wife" include "do not ask your husband too many questions" and "become familiar with state and federal law") to the efficient ("how to give birth under pressure," where readers learn to have two towels on hand and to breathe slowly). Although seemingly far-fetched, the how-tos are actually backed up with legitimate advice from professionals, so a stuntwoman explains how to win a catfight ("put your hair up and out of the way to avoid a vicious hair-pulling"), a zoologist describes how to protect your child from a ferocious beast ("draw the beast's attention to you") and a speech and language pathologist offers advice on eavesdropping from a distance (determining the topic of conversation beforehand helps). Line drawings spruce up this alternately goofy and serious book.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Jennifer Worick is the co-author of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex. She lives in Philadelphia. Joe Borgenicht is the co-author of The Action Hero’s Handbook and The Baby Owner’s Manual. He lives in Salt Lake City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Quirk Books (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931686688
• ISBN-13: 978-1931686686
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #961,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Worick is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex and The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: College. In addition, she has co-authored or written more than 20 hilarious and helpful books, including Simple Gifts, Beyond the Family Tree, The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life, Backcountry Betty, The Action Heroine's Handbook, and Nancy Drew's Guide to Life. In addition, she writes a humor blog (thingsiwanttopunchintheface.blogspot.com), assists companies and individuals with social media strategy, and is an all-around crafty gal.

An accomplished public speaker, Jennifer delivers Worst-Case Scenario: Dating, S@# & College lectures/slide shows to college students nationwide and teaches publishing workshops with fellow author Kerry Colburn. Find out more about these workshops at The Business of Books (bizofbooks.wordpress.com).

Jennifer has appeared on such television shows as The Today Show, Montel, and ABC's World News Now, and regularly is interviewed on NPR. She lives in Seattle.

www.jenniferworick.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superwoman meets couch patato, March 19, 2006

By 

Kali "bengaligirl" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Action Heroine's Handbook (Paperback)

Another thrift shop bargain and what a bargain it was!

I laughed myself silly when I read this book, however I did enjoy reading it even if it did take itself too seriously at times but perhaps this was a subtle tongue in cheek gesture, I don't know but it was fun!

Each major section starts with a quote from either a Chick Flick or a film that has a strong female protagonist, I liked this touch and one of my favourite films "Aliens 2" appeared in it a couple of times with some excellent quotes that most of us would recognise.

This is a book for all you girls out there who secretly want to be Lara Croft, Buffy, or the next Darkangel, it give you such tips as how to drink a man under the table, escape from kidnappers, how to get your hair like your favourite heroine, surf like a demon, survive in the wilderness with nothing more than matches, a bit of string and a paperclip, as well showing you how to be someone else for a research project.

My favourite mini section in the book was on how to bluff your way into the world of the working girl, the hot tips given in the book actually came from a working girl who knows the ropes and at the time of publication she was working in the famous Bunny Ranch in Nevada.

This is the sort of book you would take on a long trip with you, it will keep you entertained that is for sure, and it is also the sort of book you can browse through again and again and some of the tips and suggestions in it are actually quite useful though I don't think I will be trying out "how to be a superwoman" tip any time soon!

A crackingly good book for the couch patato hero in all of us who is just dying to get out and show the world what she is made of...if she had the energy that is!!!!!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, December 29, 2004

By 

Kristy Howard "Student" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Action Heroine's Handbook (Paperback)

Great book with real live advice about survival techniques. Similar to the other Survival Handbooks with First Aid-type illustrations, this is handy for those who would like to find out how real live people like stunt doubles, firefighters, and police officers survive perilous situations. Other recommended books: The Action Hero's Handbook, Queen B's Guide to Being a Superheroine, Worst-Case Scenario Handbook, SAS Survival Handbook, and Spy Survival Handbook.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun gag gift, quick distraction, July 25, 2005

By 

Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Action Heroine's Handbook (Paperback)

This is a great gift for the she-woman in your life, and a fun one to pass around among friends. If you are familiar with "The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook" and the others of the like, you'll know what fun you are in for (the author actually wrote "The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex").

There are some memorable lessons in here, all accompanied by terrific illustrations. Don't expect this book to change your life, but it will give you a few laughs and perhaps some tips on getting out of sticky situations.