A Gentleman Entertains A Guide To Making Memorable Occasions Happen [Hardcover]

John Bridges (Author), Bryan Curtis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2000

Practical and unpretentious, A Gentleman Entertains includes

• 15 essential preparations before entertaining
• 100 things every gentleman should know about being a host
• Ideas for twelve specific parties complete with more than 20 fool-proof recipes
• Tips on dealing with inevitable, inescapable, really ugly disaster moments.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 180 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1st edition (May 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558538127
• ISBN-13: 978-1558538122
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #499,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gentleman Entertains by John Bridges, June 21, 2000

By 

Joan Brasher (Nashville) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gentleman Entertains A Guide To Making Memorable Occasions Happen (Hardcover)

"A Gentleman Entertains" takes a surprisingly unpretentious look at men entertaining, though the book is by no means without merit for women readers. The practical advice and simple, elegant recipes cover a broad range of entertaining scenarios, from casual cocktail parties at home to dining out, to family reunions. The South is perhaps the only place left where it is still fashionable to be genteel, and Bridges lives up to his Southern upbringing without coming across stuffy. Leaving no stone unturned, the book touches on everything from tipping to starting a charcoal grill to choosing the wine. Though the title suggests a certain level of sophistication, the author is just as quick to advise readers to use paper plates when the situation dictates as he is to recommend the proper way to garnish a cocktail. Bridges writing style is crisp and on the wry side, though he had more room to shine in "Keeping Up," a delightful series of essays on his upbringing in Slapout, Al., as well as witty observations on life and martinis. I would have liked to have seen him cut loose in this book a little more stylistically, but being the proper gentleman that he is, he wrote a respectable book suitable for any coffee table. It is a fine follow up to his previous outing, "How to be a Gentleman." I recommend it to anyone who is looking for the kind of practical advice on entertaining that bears repeating and never goes out of style.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great and Useful Purchase, February 12, 2005

By 

Jim 'n Em (Law-Law Land) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gentleman Entertains A Guide To Making Memorable Occasions Happen (Hardcover)

This is a rare book that actually deserves 5 stars.

Most books in this genre (including some in this series) are too superficial to be of any help but Bridges does a great job of filling each page of this little book with helpful, practical hints.

There isn't much in the way of recipes or cooking specifics, but that isn't the idea here. Spend $12 on this and $12 on a cook book and you will be set.

In conclusion, the two best things I can say for this are: 1. I have not had to call my mom for any entertaining, non-cooking questions since I got this book. 2. My wife has looked things up in this book.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Book on Entertaining Guests, January 15, 2012

By 

Jeremy - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gentleman Entertains: A Guide to Making Memorable Occasions Happen (Hardcover)

This book is a good reference for hosting people. It contains a wealth of information on entertaining people. The authors cover a wide variety of things for entertaining people: preparations for entertaining, 101 things about entertaining covering a MULTITUDE of aspects, glossary of terms, advice for disasters and a list of basic equipment and other items for entertaining people. The bulk of the book is dedicated to speaking directly on how to host particular events: 1) cocktail parties, 2) romantic dinners, 3) holiday dinners, 4) dinner parties, 5) TV / movie parties, 6) tailgating, 7) cookouts, 8) bruch, 9) business lunch, 10) dinner at a restraunt, 11) hosting out of town guests and 12) full-house cocktail party. In nearly each of these entertaining scenarios, the authors provide information in the following order: 1) practical advice (what to do), 2) hot to make it happen and 3) recipes. They also have advice for specific parts of enteratining in those scenarios (e.g., how to set a table and how to serve dinner). The consistency of organization in those sections is very helpful. Overall, this is a great source of information for how to entertain people for specific events. They give advice that seems to cover every aspect of entertaining. Although I do not agree with everything that they say, most of it is practical and helpful.