Boys and Their Toys: Understanding Men by Understanding Their Relationship with Gadgets [Hardcover]

Bill Adler Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 14, 2006

"The key to understanding men is in understanding how they relate to their gadgets. Just because they may seem to show more interest in their computers...or their remote controls...or their fancy watches or their power mowers or their stereos...doesn't mean that their toys are really the most important things in their life. In Boys and Their Toys, bestselling author Bill Adler, Jr. explains how men use toys to assert their independence and freedom, relieve stress, connect to their lost childhood, and even express their nurturing side (without having to admit it). Written in Adler's fun, humorous style, the book reveals how women can: * learn how a man's interest in particular "toys" can be used to predict his behavior * know when a guy's passion for gadgets crosses the line into obsession and what to do about it * take advantage of the human-gadget relationship to improve the human-human relationship Smart and funny, Boys and Their Toys helps readers understand what makes their men tick...and grow closer with them in the process."

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

"The key to understanding men is in understanding how they relate to their gadgets. Just because they may seem to show more interest in their computers...or their remote controls...or their fancy watches or their power mowers or their stereos...doesn't mean that their toys are really the most important things in their life. In Boys and Their Toys, bestselling author Bill Adler, Jr. explains how men use toys to assert their independence and freedom, relieve stress, connect to their lost childhood, and even express their nurturing side (without having to admit it). Written in Adler's fun, humorous style, the book reveals how women can:

* learn how a man's interest in particular ""toys"" can be used to predict his behavior

* know when a guy's passion for gadgets crosses the line into obsession and what to do about it

* take advantage of the human-gadget relationship to improve the human-human relationship

Smart and funny, Boys and Their Toys helps readers understand what makes their men tick...and grow closer with them in the process."

About the Author

Bill Adler, Jr. (Washington, DC) is the president of Adler & Robin Books, Inc., a book packaging company. He has written more than a dozen books, including the runaway bestseller Outwitting Squirrels. He has been featured on NPR, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, The Maury Povich Show, Hard Copy, and many other nationally syndicated programs.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 15 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; 1 edition (November 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081447344X
• ISBN-13: 978-0814473443
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,162,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Part gadget book, part pop psychology and all fun, November 30, 2006

By 

Larry Kahaner "www.AK-47book.com" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boys and Their Toys: Understanding Men by Understanding Their Relationship with Gadgets (Hardcover)

The author of this book contacted me some time ago for my input about gadgets because he had heard that I am fascinated by the latest and greatest stuff. After we talked, he asked if I would write a few paragraphs about my favorite toy. I think he expected some electronic gizmo but instead I wrote about my motorcycle.
Here is, in part, what I wrote:
"One of my passions is riding my motorcycle, a Honda 750 Aero. I know it's a cliché but riding is freedom and excitement. When you're on a motorcycle you can't think of anything else other than the ride. You are forced to be in the moment and pay attention to the least stimuli. Unlike being in a car, you have excellent visibility coupled with vulnerability. Your senses are constantly bombarded. You feel every crack in the road and every odor in the air. Rain and road debris are not just inconveniences, they are life threatening challenges. In our digital age, motorcycling is analog, Taking a sharp curve is not ones and zeros, it's in betweens and shades. A little throttle here, a little lean there. Conditions change every nano-second."
Well, this made it into the book among the other boys and their toys.
What's great about this book, is that it explains to women what makes men tick, and especially why they like gadgets. Adler shows how you can learn about a guy's personality through the kind of gadgets he buys (or doesn't buy), and I have to say that the author nailed it. But the book goes beyond merely explaining men's behavior. It's tells our wives and girlfriends that toys and gadgets are important for men. For example, they give us a sense of (and sometimes real) freedom; toys let us relive parts of our boyhood; toys relieve stress.
This is part gadget book, part pop psychology and all fun to read. This book is a winner (and not just because I'm in it!).

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An appealing pick, February 8, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boys and Their Toys: Understanding Men by Understanding Their Relationship with Gadgets (Hardcover)

BOYS AND THEIR TOYS: UNDERSTANDING MEN BY UNDERSTANDING THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GADGETS provides a fun, light survey of how men use gadgets to make statements about freedom, knowledge, independence and even lost childhood. From telephones to remote controls, differences between male and female perspectives and usage offers insights into behavior, choice, and marketing to men. Academic and public library Business Studies reference collections will find it an appealing pick as suitable for business pursuits as for light general-interest reading for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the psychology of men and their attachment to technology.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

5.0 out of 5 stars Men and Boys, Their Toys and How it Relates to Women, June 3, 2007

By 

Frederick S. Goethel "wildcatcreekbooks" (Central Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Boys and Their Toys: Understanding Men by Understanding Their Relationship with Gadgets (Hardcover)

As a male, I was truly unaware of how I connected with gadgets and how I connected with women through my connection with gadgets. When I sat down to analyze what the author had written, I realized that he has hit, dead on, how males function with the world around them. Written in a light style, this book is a must for all women who want to figure out why men seem to be more connected with their toys than they are their marriages. Buy it...you won't regret it!