This is the latest book from the Emily Post Institute, the established authority on all things etiquette. Some might wonder about the relevance of an etiquette book to the 21st century, but in her introduction, author Peggy Post explains that the Institute continues to receive thousands of questions every month. In this book, Peggy sets out to answer some of the most common of those questions, ranging from the more traditional ("What do I do when I'm introducing someone and suddenly forget their name?") to the thoroughly modern ("I met my boyfriend through an online dating service...").
Post has organized one hundred of the most popular etiquette questions into fifteen main categories: Conversations: The Good, The Bad, and The Awkward; How Rude!; "Delighted to Meet You"; Manners at Work; Getting the Word Out; The Perfectly Polite Date; Family Matters; Kid Stuff; Let's Eat!; "Reservations, Please"; Out and About; It's Party Time!; Gifts Galore; Wedding Bells; and In Sad Times. Each section contains anywhere from two to twelve or more questions about that topic. The general format is that the question is presented ("When eating family-style, which way should food be passed?"), the basic answer is given ("Technically, food is passed around the table in a counterclockwise direction, or to the right."), and finally, some additional information/guidelines are included ("Top Dinner-Table Manners Goofs").
Given this book's extremely easy-to-read format and rather short length (<300 pages), I was able to finish it in just a few hours. I found it to be interesting, engaging, and even amusing at times, but on the whole, there wasn't really much here which I found all that new or revealing. Maybe these things aren't common knowledge in today's culture, but personally, I already knew that avoiding white past Labor Day was unnecessary, that it IS necessary to be on time for job interviews, that I should use the outside fork first, that you really don't have up to one year after a wedding to send a gift, etc. Where this book was most helpful was in giving suggestions on how exactly to word responses in a wide variety of particular circumstances, but because each of these situations was so specific, I found that most of them didn't apply to me.
So, although this is a well-written, generally likable little book, it is probably not a necessary or relevant one for most people. However, if you find yourself frequently facing etiquette dilemmas and at a loss for exactly how to respond, this simple manual might be just what you need. So, 4 stars for quality, 3 stars for content, and an overall score of 3.5 stars.
