Customer Reviews

Real Men Don't Eat Quiche

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

 

 

I don't know if anyone remembers this book, which burst upon the scene in 1982 and instantly made its authors the current talk of the airwaves. It became a many-week bestseller, and one of them (I'm not sure which), proceeded to make the rounds of the talk shows, where he came off as intelligent, articulate, and funny, poked fun at his own book, and showed that the book really wasn't meant to be taken seriously in the first place. The scathing and well-written review by my fellow Top 50 reviewer E.A. Solinas notwithstanding, this shows they completely missed the point of the whole book. The book is a total satire, and pokes fun at the then raging battle between the sexes back in the 70s and 80s, when the traditional male role was under constant attack by feminists individually and the media collectively, and formerly secure, macho men who had never questioned their roles or behavior before were coping with a newly found insecurity and looking for a new definition of homegrown, American beefcake and maleness. That quest continues today in more subdued form (and with less existential angst), but whatever the ultimate fate of feminism, there's no doubt that it had a telling effect on many American men who examined their traditional roles for the first time. (Perhaps it could be said they finally realized they had delusions of gender). :-) This little book now stands as one of the funnier outposts along the ages old warpath in the battle between the sexes, especially in how that debate took shape and was framed in the U.S. during its earlier years.

I first read this in 82 and used it as a teaching tool for young Marines. The point of the book is real men don't change their thoughts, opinions or behavior based on those of others. A Marine Gunnery Sergeant at the time, it made perfect sense though I didn't need this book to know that. I recently bought it again as a sort of teaching tool for my youngest son and oldest grandson with the following instructions: Read it, tell me what you think it means. Their answer: Always try to do the right thing and don't worry about what others think. Grade? 100%

I read this back in 1982 and considered it harmless satire on macho masculinity. Sure, there are a lot of knuckle draggers who really believe this stuff, but everyone is entitled to their own idiotic opinions. You're certainly not going to change anyone's attitude by telling them they're morons. Honestly, folks who take this seriously ought to remember that "real men" are too self-assured to care about other people's benighted definition of "real men". Bruce Feirstein had his moment in the sun, and now he's a footnote in feminist backlash. It doesn't matter whether he actually believed this stuff. I would guess he probably wrote the book just to get people riled up. Seems to have worked, too.

Overall the book is funny and a good read. Just don't read too much into it.

This book is not for everybody, but if you are a typical guy who upholds a macho ethic, this is for you. The pictures and material will have you laughing hard and I remember a few ripoff books came out after this one to capitalize on the fame of the original. This is the original and the best.

REAL MEN DON'T EAT QUICHE started out as a humor piece in PLAYBOY and became a runaway bestseller. A hilariously funny satire on the seemingly-desirable "sensitive male" of the late 1970s and early 1980s (as prototypified by Alan Alda and Phil Donahue), REAL MEN DON'T EACH QUICHE humorously re-enshrined the 1950s macho male stereotype, showing young men of the time (like myself) that there was nothing particularly wrong with having a set.

Of course, it's all an over-the-top goof on what passes for masculinity in our culture. It's prototype "Real Man" is named Flex Crush. He is a nuclear waste long haul driver who eats two dozen eggs and a pound of bacon at breakfast and lives on Ring Dings, pretzels and beer otherwise. He's nobody's idea of "real," and his habits and comments are so absurd that it's a sure bet Flex will never reproduce.

This book WILL make you laugh, and laugh hard.

Still, REAL MEN DON'T EAT QUICHE also pokes fun at the "soft" male who seemed to be evolving at that time, showing us that neither extreme is really workable. In that respect, this satire speaks to the gender and role confusion many men felt (and feel) in the face of a changing society.

The first sequel, a cookbook with substantial recipes, REAL MEN DON'T COOK QUICHE, is really misnamed. The fact is that REAL MEN AREN'T AFRAID TO EAT QUICHE.

Ever.

I got this slim little book of one liners to explain to my Lady friend on how real men operate. Instead of it being thrown at me it gave her a few honest chuckles. If one wants a few good non PC laughes, then you should check it out.

Classic book highlighting all that is masculine.
A must have for any teenage male about to take off for college - guaranteed to address any problem you'll encounter both at school and in your professional career.

This is the ultimate guide to all things MAN. It is the I-Ching of Manliness. My self (a Man)and my friends (also Men) refer to this tome of greatest wisdom and "The Book of All Knowledge". We put on on our wingtips, crank up the Chevy Straight 8, and and say "To hell with the enivornment, its full speed ahead"

This book is so ludicrous that I suspect that it was intended to be satire. The gist of it is that American men have been losing their masculinity over the last 20 years or so. "Masculinity" here is seen as something that I consider pathological, i.e., brutality, insensitivity, sexism and so on. It does have some value in that both males and females in our society are having to cope with changing gender roles and their attitudes towards traditional roles must be altered to a degree. This is something that the public has not heard a great deal about . . . we have often heard of the plight of females having a hard time in their roles of mother, provider, employee and wife in that they often feel conflicts as to how to remain "feminine" while using traditionally masculine traits that are necessary in today's work environment. Nevertheless, I really hope that most men don't take this atavistic crap too seriously.