The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed [Hardcover]

Mystery (Author), Chris Odom (Author), Neil Strauss (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: February 6, 2007

“One of the most admired men in the world of seduction” (The New York Times) teaches average guys how to approach, attract and begin intimate relationships with beautiful women

 

For every man who always wondered why some guys have all the luck, Mystery, considered by many to be the world’s greatest pickup artist, finally reveals his secrets for finding and forming relationships with some of the world’s most beautiful women. Mystery gained mainstream attention for his role in Neil Strauss’s New York Times bestselling exposé, The Game. Now he has written the definitive handbook on the art of the pickup.

 

He developed his unique method over years of observing social dynamics and interacting with women in clubs to learn how to overcome the guard shield that many women use to deflect come-ons from "average frustrated chumps."

The Mystery Method: How to Get Beautiful Women Into Bed shares tips such as:

*Give more attention to her less attractive friend at first, so your target will get jealous and try to win your attention.
*Always approach a target within 3 seconds of noticing her. If a woman senses your hesitation, her perception of your value will be lower.
*Don't be picky. Approach as many groups of people in a bar as you can and entertain them with fun conversation. As you move about the room, positive perception of you will grow. Now it's easy to meet anyone you want.
*Smile. Guys who don't get laid, don't smile.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Never at risk of being called humble, Mystery (aka Erik von Markovik), heralded as one of the best pick-up artists in the country, has created a science of seduction. His meticulously researched system, the "Mystery Method," offers advice to men of every ilk, along with complex charts, social science jargon (e.g., Dynamic Social Homostasis and DHV—Demonstrations of Higher Value) and potty humor Mystery comes off as forceful, provocative and excessively arrogant, but one thing is clear: he's good at what he does. You'll laugh, you'll scoff, but in the end, you'll probably learn something. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Meticulously researched ... You'll laugh ... but in the end, you'll probably learn something."

--Publishers Weekly

 

"Von Markovik knows what he's talking about."

--Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312360118
• ISBN-13: 978-0312360115
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (200 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Self-Help > Relationships > Dating
  • #28 in Books > Self-Help > Relationships > Mate Seeking
  • #81 in Books > Self-Help > Sex

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

355 of 434 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative, but It won't make you happy... September 28, 2007

By B. Henrikson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'll start off saying that this book is worth reading because it will teach you about people, both men and women. Any book that is ranked #27 at amazon that is about THIS topic is obviously special. There are many books that promise guys sex with beautiful women, but few make it in the top 10000, let alone the top 100. What makes this one different?

I think because it explains how mating in human beings works in a progression and from an evolutionary psychology standpoint, while at the same time applying it to the bar/club/party scene.

The idea is this: High quality women look for high quality men. They won't have sex with you until they see you as high quality. This means you either have to actually BE high quality, or you have to give the illusion of being high quality. This book teaches you to mostly do the 2nd, not the 1st.

Peacocking, memorizing canned material, learning palm reading and magic tricks, pretending to have lots of friends and women, telling fictional stories as the truth, these things don't make you higher quality. They only create the illusion. This makes sense, after all, the author is a professional illusionist.

If you want a higher-quality woman LONG TERM, make yourself higher quality. This book mostly teaches you how to fake it long enough to get them into bed.

This method, if followed diligently and practiced A LOT, may get you in bed with some 10s. But it won't last because eventually the real you and the real her will surface and there will be no more game, just an awkward incompatibility.

I would much rather be with a 7 who is a good person, intelligent, and loyal, than a 10 who is spoiled, thinks the world owes her a living because of her beauty, and will soon cheat on you (and how could she not, she has male-10s offering her sex 24/7 - are you THAT great she would turn them all down?).

If you want sex in a relationship that will make you happy, it will probably be with someone who is about as good quality as you are. That is the only way you will both appreciate each other long term and stay loyal to each other.

91 of 111 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Think Back To Day 1...Is This Really Why You Got Into The Game? October 12, 2011

By A+ Reviewer

Format:Hardcover

Like many of you, I read The Game by Neil Strauss and almost immediately I was sucked in to the world of PUAs. More than anything it opened my eyes...I was aware of The Matrix. Many months have passed since then, and I just recently picked up a copy of the Mystery Method to try to kick start my stagnant game to the next level. I was blown away by the first few chapters...a powerful introduction, timeless human tendencies that really help you understand social dynamics, and an informative and well written overview of the Mystery Method. I loved where this was going, so much good information already.

I should have stopped there. But I'm glad I didn't, because I learned a much more (unintended) important lesson from this book.

After the first section, the book really takes a sharp turn in a different direction. An extremely scientific, not romantic, direction. Mystery breaks down every aspect of social interaction to the T. And when I say to the T, I mean deeper than some stuff you'd learn in a college sociology/psychology class. You learn how to bend and influence social situations to your benefit...these tactics dive deep into the subconscious building blocks of socialization within all of us, including me and you (maybe there's a good reason why these brain processes are left alone in the subconscious by 99% of the population?...more on this very soon). You're bombarded with technical information on all fronts, and sometimes feel like an 85 year old trying to learn how to use Microsoft Word by studying advanced computer programming.

You're basically learning the social code (like a computer code) of how to become a social programmer. You're also being programmed yourself to, in a sense, become a social robot who strictly follows the social scientific method. Mystery has said it himself... social interactions will become nothing more than "math equations". You'll start seeing the patterns, the equations, friends will become "pivots", nice girls you meet will become "obstacles". The nightclub will become your computer game, and you will become the programmer.

Is this really courtship?

More importantly to some AFCs, will it work? I'm sure it will with devoted practice. But at what cost? This stuff with inevitability trickle down into your relationships with your family and friends. The fun spontaneity of going out won't be FUN anymore once you truly get this method down as human interaction will simply become patterns, equations, science. Interaction will be the equivalent of solving a calculus problem with your theories, routines, ability to see past the variables. If you master this material I think you'll be left very empty inside. You'll cross a dangerous point of no return as a person, incapable of genuine social functioning. If you don't master this material, you'll be lost in your own head when you're with girls wondering if you are following everything exactly like you are supposed to.

This isn't learning how to truly be a romantic and increase your sex appeal.
This isn't courtship, the very thing you got into The Game to truly learn.
This isn't making you a better person. Its only positive may be allowing you to obtain more self-confidence, although through a misguided way.

Think back to Day 1.....is this really what you got into The Game for?

No. I doubt you had it marked down on your to-do list to become a mad professor of psychology and sociology, like a misguided psychiatrist who uses his knowledge of the human mind to sexually attract his patients. Wake up guys: This is one way to get the girl, but deep down this isn't the way you ever wanted to do it and after a while this stuff won't make you happy. You aren't working on deep, internal self-improvement. You're just plugging in the numbers to solve the equation, and correcting one flaw in your life by potentially replacing it with an even deeper, more dangerous flaw.

MY ADVICE: There are good "big picture" points made in this book, and by PUAs in general. Read the first couple of chapters, then maybe the bullet point chapter summaries from there. More than anything else, you just need to be a truly confident man who believes he is worth the girl. You can learn and apply the basics from the PUAs, but from there the ball truly needs to be put back in your court in your own way.

I don't need any more advice from the PUAs, even though they could utterly destroy me in a pick-up contest. We didn't get into The Game to become a mad scientist using the nightclub as our laboratory. Mystery isn't happy, evidenced by his depression and near suicide attempts in Strauss's novel. He went from one end of the spectrum of social ineptness (AFC style), to the complete opposite end (oversocialized...every word, sentence, body movement by anyone or by yourself is just a predictable, programmed response). Sure, he can get girls now. Is that worth everything else that he doesn't even realize he's lost?

In certain areas of life, too much information can be more harmful towards your well-being than not enough information. Don't let this become you! Get the basics of this stuff down, then strive to become a genuinely better person by just getting out there, trying things out, and building confidence through your successes and the knowledge you gain from your failures.

69 of 88 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Why Mystery's methods do not work November 12, 2009

By D. mckenzie

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The great flaw in the mystery method is that it assumes that the girl you are hitting on in a club or a bar is actually paying attention to you and is following closely what you are doing or saying. Usually, they're not. Women go to these places for the social atmosphere and are having numerous conversations with multiple people all night. I'll bet numerous guys have tried the mystery method only to be repeatedly frustrated as the targets of their "sets" keep moving on to talk to someone else. If a girl in a club is actually paying close enough attention to you to notice the things Mystery tells you to do, then she already likes you and there is no point in trying mystery's games on her.

Now if you try this stuff outside of the bar scene, say, at work or at a social gathering, people will think you are a tool. When you meet people in casual social situations, they expect you to be putting your best foot forward, so if you start using negs, bait and hook, or "freeze-outs" you are going to sound immature. Neg that hot female co-worker of yours and then use a false time constraint, and she will be glad your rude butt is leaving. Freeze out someone and they will simply find someone else more genial to talk to. Mystery seems to think that being slightly rude or condescending will make strangers fight for your approval, but in reality, they will just avoid talking to you.

Overcoming last minute resistance is covered in the last chapter, and it's a felony. The good news is that if you have followed the advice in the previous eight chapters of this book, then you will be dateless anyway and you will not have to worry about this.

The underlying assumption in this book is that it is possible to replace your current personality (which drives people away) with a new personality that attracts people. This is possible to a certain degree, but books like this are not the way to do it. What you really need to do is confront your own issues and find out what it is that causes you to act in such a negative way to begin with, and then address those issues on your own. There is no need for having game if you learn to be a positive, not all about yourself, emotionally healthy person who is attractive in his own right.

The personality mystery wants to give you is not a healthy one - it is the personality of a self centered and clueless man who thinks that all the women he meets will be helpless against his stealthy manipulation skills. But true manipulators can only work their craft after they are in a relationship. Beforehand, this sort of stuff will be picked up on in a heartbeat by anyone you are trying to get to know. Everybody looks for "red flags" in their potential dates, and this book is a handbook on how to give off the red flags saying that you've got serious issues and should be passed on.

Mystery sells his techniques by padding them heavily with all kinds of jargon and off base analysis to make them appear scientific and well researched, but what mystery is actually teaching is some very basic a-hole behavior that your potential dates will pick up on and be unimpressed with. The only game mystery is playing is on the men who buy his book.