Customer Reviews

A Boy Should Know How to Tie a Tie: And Other Lessons for Succeeding in Life

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am going to take a little different reviewing turn here, and concentrate on the hints and tips sections of this book, instead of the "life lessons" portions.

Ok, we start out by learning to tie a tie. This is not easy to find, kind of hidden up front in the Introduction, rather than in the `Clothes make the man" chapter. However, it teaches "how to" simply and well, showing the Half-Windsor. He has a simple set of illustrations and detailed step by step instructions. What's nice is that he doesn't go on to show a full Windsor or a bow tie, or any of the other stuff that usually clutters up and confuses other guides. He's right- you need to learn to tie a tie, so learn one knot and learn it by rote.

Next we have a simple and easy to follow guideline for trimming men's nails, including the very important advice to keep your nails fairly short.

He follows this with an excellent stroke by stroke guide to shaving. I mean, this is so good, every male needs to read this. Antwone importantly adds the advice to not use a alcohol based aftershave, and to stay away from strong scents.

The author goes on to shoe selection & care and a very well written guide to doing a good shoe shine. I have a couple quibbles here- he brings in styles like the derby and blucher, which I think add trivia and are a little confusing. He also prefers a cloth to buff while I prefer a soft finishing brush, but that's just personal style. Again- a useful and well done section.

Important tips on buying and wearing a suit, and business wear are next. Also chock full of useful advice- including the wide differences found in "business casual", which can be a pitfall for a new employee. Solid practical advice. I don't know how many young men will ever iron their own shirt, but there are times when it's useful to know this.

A good part of another chapter is devoted on setting a budget and other good solid practical basic financial advice. This section would be good for any reader, including advice on buying a car, budgets and credit cards.

I have to admit I have not yet tried any of the few simple recipes in the back, but I agree young men should know at least the basics of cooking.

All in all, the "hints and tips" portions of this book are very practical, presented in a clear and helpful and no-nonsense style. I am impressed. I admit I missed having an index, however. Perhaps the next edition will add that.

Author Antwone Fisher penned a timely self-help book that clearly explains how important the basic things in life that pertain to life and living it successfully. The things that most people would not think are important really are, as they build character, self-esteem, self-worth and provide lessons on one's way to succeeding in life. Simply, it begins with the basics.

Drawing from his own life experiences, Author Fisher shares how important it is to know how to tie a tie and what it means to a young boy. From hygiene to clothing to developing life plans to inventing yourself, the basics of doing these things are an integral part of who you will become. Discipline, starting with taking care of your body, keeping yourself clean and presentable, from your haircut to the shoes you wear, even the food you eat and how you care for the spiritual side of yourself.

Personal experiences and suggestions are not what make this book; it is the illustrations and instructions on how to tie a tie, how to shave, the type of clothing every young man should have in his closet, how to ensure that your clothing is clean and what to do when traveling, and a host of other very basic ways of living that would help a young man to not only put his best foot forward, but to present who he is the first time someone makes his acquaintance. This very detailed, very frank and open-hearted book reveals that the basics may seem simple at first glance, but they are indeed the foundation and blueprint that will help our young boys become the men they endeavor to be.

I recommend this book to boys everywhere, boys youth groups and men who never had the opportunity to learn these important life lessons from their own fathers.

This book was provided to me courtesy of the publisher for review purposes.

Review by Sharel E. Gordon-Love

APOOO BookClub

Since the title of this book says right across the front "A Boy Should Know", I figured it was for a boy, not a teen becoming a man. This book is most definitely aimed at an older "boy"; I would guess 16-20 yr olds.

This book is full of good information, especially if there is no male role model around to teach it. A lot of these things I know I learned from my Dad. Guess I was a lucky one. That being said, the book really does hold a wealth of information for a good basis in any older teens life or even just a written reminder.

Most topics are general life skills and knowledge. Everything from cleaning, keeping clean, clothing one's self and looking sharp, taking care clothes, making a plan for your life, inventing and reinventing one's self, finding good role models, statistics on obesity and how to eat well, getting organized, managing money, car facts, everything in moderation, and developing a spiritual side. These are just the general topics but most are discussed in detail for instance, keeping things clean entails; what to clean, when to clean, how to clean, and what to buy to clean. This is a well written book that slides from one topic into another adding tid-bits of information around every corner.

I like that Fisher wrote this on a personal level with stories about his family throughout along with all of the good advice.

I had high hopes for this book because I work with foster children, so I was hoping that this book could offer some great pointers. Although this book has some good advice, it doesn't really live up to the title like I expected. Instead, the book focuses more on Antwone Fisher's life with lighter coverage of practical advice for young men. I know that when giving advice it helps to share personal stories to make the advice connect with young men, but Fisher's takes the personal stories too far. And often when advice is given, it's not a specific as it needs to be to teach a young man. Take tying a tie for the Windsor knot for example: the diagram on the cover is the same diagram he shows later in the book. A three step diagram with no arrows? If you Google 'Windsor knot' and you find 5-6 step diagrams out there with a step-by-step instructions telling you how to do it much better. Fisher would rather spend time telling us how the Pickett's did him wrong (so numerously in the book to the point of dwelling on it). This book is inspirational and contains some good advice but I'd primarily recommend it for those who want to learn more about Antwone Fisher. I'm sure there are better titles out there to help guide young men.

It's amazing how basic deeds in life an be directives for measures of success. But tying a tie?! So says author, Antwone Fisher who in his book A Boy Should Know Hot to Tie A Tie, he gives concise and fundamental ways to give common bonds in life with ten chapters. Even the subtitle, `Other Lessons for Succeeding in Life' gives fair warning for subjective analysis. In reading this essential work, I came away with awe in how he gave poignant, but clear missives in how boys can get ahead, stay there and use a plain structure for maintaining confidence to be what one would aspire to be. He further surmises that, "the book you (will) hold in your hands is part instruction manual, part guidebook, and part reflection." And so it is.

As I give you an analogy of this book, please don't be deterred or turned off by the title. There's messages therein that I feel are not only important but sorely needed for all young boys transitioning to responsible men should abide by. These life lessons are artfully displayed in the author reliving his past life as a Navy recruit realizing in retrospect how admiration for his foster father and what was instilled in him the premise for this book. But in assessing the aforementioned, it wasn't until Fisher was enlisted in the military that he realized his detailed-oriented and smartly dressed father had never taken the time to teach him how a first impression was necessary to reflect on the outside the man he needed to become on the inside. This impressionable ideal came to a head when his company commander demanded as a prerequisite that, "A boy ought to know how to tie a tie." The requirement was the navy's revered half-Windsor knot.

The first chapter starts out judicially admonishing the value of self-worth in developing it, learning the tenets of how materialism can ruin the best laid plans, and finally how relative it is to value anything worth achieving for good results. If value is part of the process to get from here to there, then intuition cannot be ignored in this scheme. It's about making good discernible options for choice to manifest trust and understanding in anticipating deterrents. Chapters three to ten are a cornucopia of different precepts from how to stay groomed, to balancing a budget to developing a plan for life, including inventing/reinventing self and most importantly, creating a spiritual awareness. If the authors intent is to bring a closer edge to boys realizing how identity is apropos for any advancement, he succeeds here as all the "hints and tips" portions of this book are very practical, pervasive and presented in clear and helpful ways where a no-nonsense style is evident. I am impressed and duly cognizant of how this book can help any young man coming to grips with self. As such, I feel that this is a MUST read and recommend this book to boys in every echelon of their growing experience and to other young men who may have never had the opportunity to learn these quality living aspects to foment a meaningful existence for self, family and community. Thank you Mr. Fisher for such an insightful and thoughtful book -- it's sorely needed!

I was pretty impressed with this book. It is WELL written, very well written. Originally, I got this book so I could go over a few things with my son, as tying his tie. But the book doesn't really have pictorials, although a few illustrations are sprinkled throughout. The book title is a larger metaphor about how to get on in life. My favorite part was towards the end, when Antwone dives deeply into his take on Christianity and G-d and things spiritual. Although we could not be further apart on the Nielsen demographic tables, he gives an elegant voice to many of the same ideas, notions and thoughts that I have entertained my whole life. Wow. Imagine that. I buy a book to teach my son about dressing and cleaning and I leave with a philosophical look on spirituality, culture and world perspectives. Now THAT is great writing!

to others.

The author is the product of a foster care system, and he alludes to some of the difficulties and cruelties that he suffered at its hands. One of the most telling incidents: he watched his foster father dress immaculately day after day, particularly focusing on his ties and various ways of tying them perfectly. Years later he realized that his foster father never taught him how to tie a tie -- he learned that in the Navy. Lesson: teach your son how to act and how to dress.

The book is very much a mixture of how to do it and autobiorgraphy; it's clear that the Navy instilled important values in the author, ones that he lives with today. In a real sense, the Navy served the role of his real foster parents.

Many people will find the carefully structured life and the complex and precise rules to stifling. I had that feeling from time to time, but nonetheless, it's a well thought out way of life, well presented here so that it is easy to emulate those features that one is comfortable with.

At the very least, it's well worth reading to understand how a bright young man took advantage of the few benefits he received as he approached and achieved manhood.

Robert C. Ross 2010

...to not follow the example of Bill Clinton. I'm not really sure if an endorsement from Bill Clinton about how to be a man was supposed to be funny... See the rest of my remarks about Clinton at the bottom of my review as that is a bit of a digression.I admit that I have not read anything else by Mr. Fisher, nor have I seen his film.

If you have not had any military training, you may need to read this book.

If you need to learn how to value yourself and what you can do, you may need to read this book.

If you need to get started with building confidence in yourself, you may need to read this book.

If you have not ever studied anything about being a Boy Scout, you may need to read this book.

He says he was in a neglectful home situation when he was young, but he seems to have overcome his victim's mentality and `gotten over it'. We pretty much have to take his word on all that happened to him. Some of the book is about his personal experience for those unfamiliar with it, and the rest is instructions on how to perform tasks so you can `be you own man' so to speak. Much of this is stuff a kid should learn (maybe in past eras this was all mandatory), so much so that this book may need to be issued to boys upon entering high school.

The section on finance may be the most helpful, only a start about what you need be on the lookout for in life's traps. I, for one, will certainly review this information with my own sons as I think it may be best studied with the assistance of a man who can mentor a younger man. It is also a good `hint book' for dads to review with their sons so they can make the best of themselves.

The only problem I have with the whole thing is that he may be a bit metrosexual... or maybe he is trying to stay away from mentioning that to keep from being labeled one himself. Or he is perhaps a dandy, I don't know, I have not yet met him.

As far as Clinton...remember he not only was in a relationship with Monica Lewinski, but he lied about it as well and is one of only two presidents to be impeached. However, Clinton also may not have had much `fathering' as his father died before he was born and his stepfather was supposedly abusive, so he may have a good bit in common with Mr. Fisher.

Bottom line: a well-MANicured thumbs up!

Although the subtitle says "Other Lessons For Succeeding in Life", it might also be "How the Navy Taught Me to be a Man". Antwone Fisher grew up without anyone to teach him how to be a man. His foster father basically ignored him. It wasn't until he joined the military that he learned how to tie a tie, the reference in the title, as well as generally take care of his appearance and respect himself.

He goes through many topics that parents often neglect to teach their kids, including the basics of men's fashion (especially for the business world), setting life goals, taking care of finances, housecleaning, proper diet, and many other things. Even kids with attentive parents often aren't taught these things. Indeed, many people who show up in the military learn these tasks for the first time while they are in their initial training when they have to learn to take care of themselves in the absence of parents, spouses, or siblings.

Curiously, I think the best market for this book is the college graduate, who often shows up in an office workplace unaccustomed to appropriate dress and behavior having spent their school days in extremely casual dress in all situations. Maybe someone will give them this book sooner, though, so they don't feel uncomfortable in their first suit they are wearing for the first time during a job interview. Ideally, though, this is something most boys should start thinking about junior high or high school so they show up in adulthood ready to be an adult rather than learning how to be an adult.

Although this book does have some advice that isn't necessarily just for boys, it is targeted at boys.

This is a great book for any boy who is a teenager or even older. But I'd say this book would be great for a single mother who has a son and there is little to no contact with a father/male figure. This book makes a great gift to give to him teo explain why he should keep his nails cut, hair cut on a regular basis, shave, etc. And as the title says, how to tie a tie :-) And lets face it, all boys will tie a tie sometimes and unless they prepare beforehand (do a search on how to tie a tie) they're probably not going to know how to tie it.

And there are many other chapters that will come in handy in helping prepare for life.

Great, great book!!