Customer Reviews

The Von Hoffmann Bros.' Big Damn Book of Sheer Manliness

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Before "The Man Show" the Von Hoffman brothers hit the male on the head with this direct and honest look into the testosto-morphic world of the male (nestled quite comfortably between Java and Australeopithicus man). I saw these guys on the Today show a few years back. My favorite quote was "Any guy that doesn't think that Maureen O'Hara,in The Quiet Man is absolutely IT, might as well put on a house-dress and call it a day!" I laughed so hard, my wife immediately went out and bought me this book for my 40th birthday. It's got it all. Movies: The 25 best guy films. Munitions: Potato guns (Guys like to blow stuff up). Art: Dogs Playing Cards. These guys have been to center of the male psyche and drank enough beer to tell about it. Gentlemen start your engines! No habla YA YA Sisterhood. We're guys and we don't care and we walk upright so we can use our hands for other things (like beer?).

This is truly a great book. From Potato Cannons to instructions on how to play craps, this book has a great deal to offer many different types of people. A baby boomer male? This is a trip down memory lane, and will elicit lots of fond memories of childhood fads. The wife of a baby boomer? This book will give you some insight on those things on which he spent his wastrel youth. The child of a baby boomer? You'll get a glimpse of the ways your old man raised hell when he ws a kid/teen/young adult.

It's a shame this book is out of print. It ought to be re-introduced (and even updated.)

It HAS been updated! While I've not yet read the "Bigger, Damner Book of Sheer Manliness", I'm sure that it's true to its roots. Don't skip it!

I swear on a jar of Lawry's Lemon Pepper that every boy should be given a copy of this book upon entering puberty. Women have "Our Bodies, Our Selves", and we have THIS!

I gave a copy of this book to my father, who rarely if ever reads books at all, and he read it cover to cover, three times!

Everything that is TRULY masculine is here! From classic manly films ("Sparticus", "The Quiet Man", "Rollerball", "Blade Runner", "Citizen Kane", "Road Warrior (Mad Max 2)"), to recipies for salt steak and "colon cleaner chili" (burns going in AND coming out!), to detailed info on booze, fighter planes, cards, catapults and spud cannons, Nevada's (legal) brothels, fishing, Coleman camping supplies, Swiss Army knives, guns, cigars, WD-40 and (gotta love the name) Corry's Slug and Snail Death (!), this book has it ALL! There's even biographies on John Wayne, Victor McLaglen, the greats who played in John Ford's films, and even Cassius Marcellus Coolidge (the genius who painted the poker playing dogs)!

If this book had a chest, it would have hair and tattoos! It's like every bar-room boast, "first dirty joke you've ever heard", boy scout camp fire story, beer commercial and pick-up truck in one!

So, come on! Park the amphibious 4X4 in the garage, put down those power tools, fire up that BBQ grill, open a cold one, and read the most politically incorrect tome to grace a coffee table. By God, this book is a work of genius!

The Von Hoffmann brothers have nailed what it is to be a man. They have included in one volume all there is about the manly art of being a man. Women may not get insight into us, but men will grunt and howl in appreciation and agreement. A fantastic unapologetic look at all the things and people we love. Well done boys! It's sad that it's out of print. Get a copy wherever you can. Great stuff!

Make this the cornerstone of your manly library. This book is like a fine wine. That's only an assumption, because being manly as I am, I don't know much about wine. However, your first contact with the Big Damn Book will leave you amazed by the depth and breadth of the Von Hoffman's insight into what is manly. But over time, you will savor the true beauty of the what the brothers have done by showing that men are truly multifaceted creatures. We like WD-40 and Duct Tape! Do yourself favor, and buy several copies. You will want at least one for yourself, but undoubtedly your friend Joey will "borrow" your copy and not return it.

I recently bought this book for my soon to be seventeen year old son. On my way home, two of my friends reviewed it with me over a beer (one a Navy jet pilot the other an Oxford graduate). We howled all the way throught the book (and bought another couple of rounds of course). My friends both went out and got copies of the book for themselves, sons and wifes.

The next day my youngest brother (I have six of them) and I put together a manliness starter kit for my son's birthday present using ideas from the book. Who couldn't use a can of WD-40, 10 of the movies from the best movies of all times list (Spartacus, The Magnificent Seven, Seargent York, Animal House, Blazing Saddles, etc.), baked beans, Blackcat Fireworks and more? We packed it all in a big Cory's Snail and Slug Death box and wrapped it in brown paper and rope. I'm not sure my son appreciated all the fun we had doing it, but he will one day.

This book is a real hoot, and in our experience pretty damn accurate. Let the male bonding begin.

My brother bought me this book a while back and it is freaking phenomenal!

When I got it, this was the FIRST book I had EVER read that said it was okay to like the things it mentioned. Every other book I was force fed in school and beyond was about exploring feelings and being the tough yet sensitive male....blah, blah, blah.

It was nice to see that other people appreciate the sense of manhood conveyed by John Ford, John Wayne, Victor McLaglen etcetera....

And it was nice to see them mention the greatest ACTRESS of all time, Maureen O'Hara. The woman doesn't get enough credit for being an independently minded woman in the group of strutting males that was the John Ford Production Company. SHE is what a woman and feminist should be. (i.e. not hateful of, but respectful of the differences between the sexes)

By the way, it has a FANTASTIC steak recipe in it as well. Along with other such things.

I really, really, really recommend this book to anyone who is a man or any woman who likes them. If you are a man, you'll suddenly feel far more validated and as you read say things like "YEAH! That's right!" . If you are woman who just likes men, it might explain them to you a little better.

I'm one of those women who love men...so shoot me! After reading my (horse) trainer's copy, I went and bought several, for the wonderful men in my life. It's ALL true...and I loved every moment of it. Funny, enlightening, and even highly entertaining. I kept one for myself, just a reminder during those moments when my man is about to drive me crazy. These guys hit every nail on the head. And the recipes are OUTSTANDING! A definite must for every woman who wants to know "why????". And it's a great "coffee table" book...makes for some wonderful party conversation!

This book can be talked about in mixed company and the females have no clue what types of feelings and emotions pass between the guys. Any one word can create an entire discussion of men, movies, wars, planes, guns, women, and memories. Every reader will leave with not only lots of warm feelings but a list of things to be covered in book two - Steve McQueen, Carhart jackets, Winchester Model 94 and the infamous road trip.

Bought this for myself for Christmas a couple of years ago. Terrific! Fellas, we can drink beer, look at babes, own great guns (bet theirs don't have plastic frames!), see guy movies... AND IT'S OK TO DO THIS! Leave your sensitive side at the door and enjoy.