Dating, Mating, and Manhandling: The Ornithological Guide to Men [Hardcover]

Lauren Frances (Author), Konstantin Kakanias (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2006

When it comes to your love life, “winging it” is for the birds.

Are you puzzled by the complex mating behaviors of the modern male? Stop winging it! Dating expert Lauren Frances’s hands-on research has proven time and again that men are like wild things. They’re easily startled by fast moves, are content to sing your praises until talk of commitment begins, and often flee in an attempt to resist (emotional) arrest! So, how best to catch and keep your Lovebird?

In Dating, Mating, and Manhandling, you’ll get the most up-to-date romantic research and learn essentials like:

• Flirtatious field techniques

• The best places to man catch

• How to decipher male sexual sign language

• How to tell the difference between the Marrying Man and the Hardened Bachelor

• How to get men eating out of the palm of your hand!

You’ll also learn guidelines for successful man selection. Find out if he’s a:

Nightingale. This smooth talker sings your praises but develops laryngitis when it comes to making a commitment. Are you being wooed or worked?

Chicken. This commitmentphobe would rather drown in the rain than get back in the barn. Learn how to spot a “flight risk.”

Pterodactyl. Is an extinct lover from your past ruining your present love life? Stop being hexed by your ex!
With Lauren Frances’s Romantic Rules and Manhandling Techniques under your (garter) belt, you’ll go from mere boy-watching to dating, mating, and manhandling in no time!


Has Your Love Life Gone To The Birds?

Dating, Mating, and Manhandling demystifies modern male courtship behavior and offers practical advice designed to help you catch and keep your Lovebird. Solve your dating dilemmas by learning:

• The power of Flock Appeal: Learn fabulous flirt techniques and the best ways to work the field.

• Date interrogation: How to assess whether he’s Mr. Wrong or if he’s flying right.

• The secret bargaining power of your exclusivity: How to have “the Talk” about monogamy, and when to give him a timely ultimatum.

• Manhandling Tips and Romantic Rules: Nip bad behavior in the bud by learning effective boundary-setting techniques.

• “Magic words” guaranteed to soothe your savage beast.

Whether you’re looking for a date or a mate, or just want to “get flocked,” dating expert Lauren Frances, Ph. Double D shares her up-to-date relationship research in this comprehensive guide to modern romance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Frances, a columnist for Flaunt magazine, describes herself as a dating expert with a Ph.Double-D. This sets the tone for the rest of her first book, an awkward amalgamation of wink-wink, nudge-nudge teen magazine articles on how to get a boyfriend and more brazen guides to dating and sex. Using a clever classification system that equates men with birds, she presents several dozen types, from the "Clay Pigeons" who "won't take the hint to buzz off" to the "Baldheaded Eagle" who is "bossy, controlling, and pervy, in a very good or completely pathetic kind of way." The rest of Frances's book, split into sections on dating, sex and couple-hood, thinly disguises inane clichés about dating as rules: "If a man has taken your phone number, but he's also managed to slip you his, you must always wait for him to call you. Period," and "although men should be on time, women are always allowed to be a little late." This field guide to men is best taken as a lightly humorous guide.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“If there were a Nobel Peace Prize in the war between the sexes, Lauren Frances would win it hands down. Buy this book and you’ll never be lonely again.” —Anne Beatts, SNL writer

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Crown Archetype (August 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307238040
• ISBN-13: 978-0307238047
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #616,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, amusing resource, November 10, 2010

By 

Rosie Hirst (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dating, Mating, and Manhandling: The Ornithological Guide to Men (Hardcover)

I love this book. With a highly original and amusing angle, Lauren Francis teaches women much about men, relationships and what doesn't come naturally to us.It is axiomatic that we cannot know how another type of being thinks, yet still women think men think like women do, + men often make the same error. There are quite a few mentors teaching both men + women how to understand +work with the mysterious other gender. Lauren Francis has a fun approach that shows us what works, what doesn't, and specific instructions in negotiation with men in relationships or other sexual encounters. Well worth a look if you find relating fascinating as I do.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Clever, but not a revelation, May 3, 2007

By 

opinionista "opinionista" (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dating, Mating, and Manhandling: The Ornithological Guide to Men (Hardcover)

The woman who wrote this book is clearly quite clever. Her associations of men to birds is truly amazing. There are quite a diverse number of birds out there, from eagles to doves to peacocks. This book is entertaining, but I can't say it changed much about the men in my life (or how I deal with them). I'd buy it for the humor, but not for the self-help aspect.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun & unique, but there's better out there--, April 23, 2011

By 

DANDT (U.S.A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dating, Mating, and Manhandling: The Ornithological Guide to Men (Hardcover)

This book is an enjoyable, sometimes hilarious, read, and brings to light that men dont think the way women do,
which I found very intelligent point, but I didnt find much value in it as far as how to catch and keep a man. Though Lauren Frances is quite a mankiller with her looks and adeptness at manipulating (not necessarily in a bad way), I think the books/videos by Ginie Sayles, the trailblazer in catching and keeping a man, is still by far the BEST. I loved How to Marry The Rich (video), which shows not only how to captivate a man, but how to get him to the alter and keep him beyond that. Body language is such a HUGE part of that! Comparing Lauren to Ginie, I would say Ginie has a more genuine (or should I say less detectable) way of relating to men when strategies are involved, and found her (many) books more real world applicable.