Customer Reviews

I See Rude People: One woman's battle to beat some manners into impolite society

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Rude people beware: Amy Alkon may see you, and if she does, it is unlikely to be a pleasant experience for you. Car thieves, "underparenting" parents, cell-phone users, and telemarketers have all attracted her ire, and she has responded with persistence and ingenuity in ways that most of us can only dream of. But this book is not just a rant about the unmannered. Alkon skillfully weaves in learning from the fields of psychology and anthropology (among others) to explain why we face such a scourge of the impolite. People have always been "grabby, self-involved jerks," but the anonymity of modern society means that they are no longer constrained by the norms of the small groups that traditionally kept those jerky tendencies in check.

This a book for everyone. Those burdened by the impolite may learn defensive strategies, or at least learn that they have a champion in Amy Alkon. If we're lucky, the impolite will learn that what they do is actually impolite, causing them to change their ways; at the very least, however, they will learn to look over their shoulders.

"I See Rude People" is delightfully entertaining. Those familiar with Alkon's advice column ([...]) will recognize her wit and energy. After reading "I See Rude People," those not familiar with her column will be impelled to make it a regular destination for an "Alkon fix."

I've been reading Ms. Alkon's column for many years, and I was prepared to enjoy her book. Amy probably snapped at about the same time I did in regards to 'rude people'. I will quote from page 120: "I thought kids and I had a deal: I'd stay out of Chuck E. Cheese if they stayed out of the martini lounge." This hits me at home from both sides, and I am still laughing.

This book is even better than my expectations. As much as I enjoy visiting her blog, I get involved in the discussions there and sometimes forget that Amy is there. And this book really was an evening with Amy. She's sassy, precocious, and absolutely fabulous in the way she relates her stories and views.

Ms Alkon makes you laugh and makes you think. And from her precisely sharp wit she provides us all with courage to make the world a little more friendly, and a better place.

The advicegoddess is my new Dave Barry. And with much better hair. I can't wait to send copies of her book to friends and foe.

Amy Alkon is one of the cleverest writers out there. Her wit is a sharp instrument, and she uses it not just to get a laugh here and there, but also to make you think. She's fearless as she calls rude people on their behavior - from the guy talking on his cell phone and holding up the line (because he's talking, not paying) to telemarketers who unashamedly call all hours of the day. In addition, she also goes into detail about some of the reasons we're seeing an increase of rudeness and selfish behavior in society today. Ms. Alkon's book is a great read, and a lot of people on my Christmas list will be getting a copy. Hopefully they won't think I'm hinting that they're rude ;-)

Totally refreshing and fabulous book. Amy Alkon does a wonderful job of creating a fun to read, entertaining book that is also practical and slips in the science as well. No one is surprised that there are rude people out there, we deal with them every day. But Amy's insights are entertaining and helpful...and very topical, like the discussion of people big and rude enough to annex half your plane seat. :-)Totally worth the price and more.

Amy Alkon is sassy and to-the-point. No beating around the bush for this lady! Her style is full of zingers and truths.

This is not an etiquette book... she is not Judith Martin or Emily Post. This is not a book to teach you how to be polite. This is a book on how to deal with rude people. Sometimes people are too afraid of offending others to stand up for themselves... this is a book to encourage the spineless to speak up and not let people walk all over them.

Amy doesn't always tell people what they want to hear, but what they need to hear. She is not afraid to deal with the difficult truths. She's tough, but it's tough love, because she is a woman who truly wants to help people.

I also recommend reading her advice columns which you can find on her website, or in some newspapers.

...because Amy Alkon will knee-cap them with crow-bar of her searing wit.

Ms. Alkon writes of her efforts to save us from the the petit sociopaths of society: the cell yeller, the anonymous Internet character assassin, and the child-controlled parent.

This book is plain cover-to-cover funny. I was impressed by her social and psychological analysis of humankind's roots and de-evolution of its ill-behavior. Our barely post-Paleolithic brains are not handling modern tools too well and we're not behaving too well outside of the cave.

Buy, read, laugh, and learn.

I've read Amy's blog for quite some time so I was eager to get the book. I'm not only not disappointed, I'm delighted. Amy's conversational tone in the book is not particularly different from her (dare I say?) cheeky blog style. So apart from it being one-sided, it's like a having a friend over for a good conversation.
One thing I particularly like is that while she accumulates facts and figures, her personal anecdotes really animate the book.
I would hope that a lot of people read this as she is absolutely right that public interaction is increasingly abrasive with people not giving a bit of consideration to others. She goes after the inconsiderate and I respect her gutsiness in doing so. As for me, I'm going to try to live so that if Amy sees me, she puts me in the next book for conspicuous gentlemanly behavior.

The brief review: Buy this book! Read it! Make other people read it! Politely of course.

There is a new Queen of Social Commentary and Comedy--Amy Alkon!

The point of "I See Rude People" is that we don't have to take the rude behavior we're faced with every day. Author Amy Alkon rams this idea home with witty prose that helps frame unjust, rude behavior in smart new ways. Here's an example, from a paragraph describing the motivations behind her telemarketing vendettas: "Now a lot of people think I'm nuts to respond to telemarketing calls the way I do. While I'm putting in some serious time chasing these jerks down--far beyond what it would take to simply hang up--that's me choosing how my time is spent; I'm not letting some golden-parachuted freeloader yank it away without my permission. Of course, my response pales compared to the hubris of executives who think it's perfectly acceptable to serially annoy 100,000 total strangers at home. And while the liberation from their home-invasion annoyance would be a prominent feature in my personal Utopia, there's a larger ethical issue here: How different is some executive who electronically breaks into your home and steals your time from some hood who physically breaks in and steals your TV? Theft is theft--even if the weapon being used to hold you up is your own telephone." (p.147-8)

My favorite part of the book was the vicarious pleasure I enjoyed while watching Alkon put countless nasty people in their place--yes, even the thief who stole her car. Her throwaway asides alone are worth the price of the book, as with (pg 11) "Of course, in recent years, air travel has become like flying below Greyhound--in the baggage compartment under the bus. There are those who still find coach seats adequately roomy; mainly small-boned children under eight, and armless, legless midgets. Better hope you have one of the latter seated next to you, and not some 300-pound man who wordlessly annexes half of your seat like he's Germany and you're Poland."

This is a tremendously witty book that flays modern sensibilities about "doing your own thing" when your own thing involves thoughtless rudeness. If you care about people, like to think, and enjoy brilliant humor, buy this book!

Amy definitely covers some of the more obnoxious situations that arise in our society. She writes with wit and humor, and you'll probably recognize some of the situations she decribes. I would definitely buy this book!

We've all had to deal with them. We all know who they are. They're the guy with the cell phone who insists on using it, full voice, in any venue, including quiet coffee shops or movie theaters. Or they're the parents who refuse to even try to reign in their children as they shriek and run tearing through the restaurants, disrupting everyone's dining experience. And most of us have simply endured this in silence, smoldering in our resentment.

Now, enter syndicated advice columnist Amy Alkon. With inimitable acid style, she shares with us her own experiences confronting the "rudesters" (her coinage), in her own clever, creative and determined fashion. Many of these accounts are laugh out loud funny, such as her friend's passive-aggressive approach to dealing with parents in her social circle who refuse to deal with their out-of-control kids, or her victory in small-claims court over a telemarketing agency who interrupted her dinner, or how she effectively and anonymously scared a man into taking his loud cellphone calls outside.

While these accounts are the most entertaining aspect of the book -- and these anecdotes abound --, Amy also shares some impressive research, backed by professionals in fields such as evolutionary psychology and sociology, explaining why people are rude, and why it is we're inclined to simply put up with it. But Amy leads by example, and shows us many ways to deal with these thoughtless louts and bring some consideration back into shared environs.

Those of us familiar with Amy's column and blog will instantly recognize her scathing wit. Her love of puns also sneaks in; for example, the chapter entitled "The Mobile Savage," (about loud cell phone users) or a section in the first chapter, "Meaner Pastures."

The book is a rapid-fire page-turner, at once educational and empowering. It not only shares the reasons for rudeness and her own confrontations with the rudesters, but it encourages us to take up the cause. I myself, after reading the book, decided to finally confront the gentleman who made a rather disgusting show of exfoliating with a loofah mitt in a local gym's steamroom, slapping the mitt upon the bench to remove the dead skin.

While it is too soon to predict the outcome of this book, I am hoping it will usher in a watershed movement when we take back our rights. Amy raises the valid argument that the rudesters should be seen as thieves. Not because they have their hands in our pockets, but because they steal our attention and our peace of mind.

Finally, I must admit that the book had an especial thrill for me. I was delighted to see that Amy gave her gracious thanks to so many, such as her "posse of blog commenters," including me. I am pleased to report I am the "Patrick" mentioned in the acknowledgements.