Truly Mars and Venus: The Illustrated Essential Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus [Hardcover]

John Gray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 2003

Truly Mars and Venus celebrates the wisdom of the number one international bestseller Men Are from Mars, Women Are From Venus.

With passages drawn from John Gray's groundbreaking classic on relationships, this beautiful book is illustrated with humorous cartoons and charming artwork by Barbara State.

The perfect gift for a loved one or for yourself, Truly Mars and Venus delivers John Gray's rich and inspiring advice for creating and sustaining healthy and loving relationships.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A pointed Valentine's day gift for the baffling extraterrestrial in your life, this slender tome takes excerpts (think one-or two-paragraph soundbites and bullet-pointed checklists) from Gray's mega-selling relationship bible and dolls them up them with cutesy illustrations. The focus, of course, is on the perennial miscommunication between the sexes-women tend to overcommunicate via an emotional litany of suggestions and complaints, while men tend to undercommunicate by dismissing women's concerns and withdrawing into their "caves"-and practical ways to overcome it. The condensed format, which offers little room for qualifications and nuances, sometimes highlights Gray's oversimplification of male-female differences. His sunny belief that "all big marital problems first began as little problems that were not resolved" seems too optimistic, and glib tips like "Laugh at his jokes" and "Really enjoy having sex with him" may be little help when both the jokes and the sex are uninspiring. Still, Gray has a good feel for the particulars of domestic friction, and many couples will see a bit of themselves in his caricatures-if they haven't already, that is: Gray's signature volume has sold over 14 million copies worldwide. His basic counsel (that men should stop ignoring and belittling women, and women should stop nagging and nit-picking at men) can do many relationships a world of good.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

John Gray, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of communication and relationships. The author of fifteen books, he has been conducting personal-growth seminars for more than thirty years and writes "Mars Venus Advice," a weekly syndicated column that has appeared in more than one hundred media outlets, including Newsday, the Los Angeles Times, and the Detroit Free Press. He also has a weekly Internet broadcast with over two million listeners at Marsvenus.com. Gray has been a contributing editor at Redbook and a contributor to ivillage.com, Brides, and Divorce magazines. He lives with his wife and three children in Northern California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (January 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060085657
• ISBN-13: 978-0060085650
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #597,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EVERYONE SHOULD LOVE THIS ONE!, January 20, 2003

By 

Steve Nakamoto "The Friendly Voice of the... (Huntington Beach, California USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Truly Mars and Venus: The Illustrated Essential Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus (Hardcover)

Simply put: a great gift book for Valentines' Day!

I really enjoyed reading this "greatest hits" album of Mars and Venus. It's short, easy to read, and fun, yet its simple messages can probably save a lot of marriages.

Like a lot of people, I've already read the original Mars and Venus book along with a few more in the series. That first one was the biggest-selling relationship/self-help book of the 1990's according to USA Today. But here in 2003, people are still looking for the same quality of information and wisdom but perhaps in a more interesting format for our "shorter than 1990's" attention spans.

As a fellow author in this genre, I'm often times skeptical about new books on relationships (like what's new or original about this). But in the case of John Gray I have the utmost respect......his books are wise, valuable and fun to read.

And this one is the most fun of them all!

Some interesting, well-illustrated points include:

* Men think that women want to change them and women think that men don't listen.

* Men go into their caves to solve problems and women want to talk about them.

* Men are like rubber bands: when a man loves a woman he periodically needs to pull away before he can get closer.

* Women are like waves: a woman will rise and fall in her ability to love themselves and others.

For those looking for practical, ready-to-use advice, you'll like the "25 ways to score big on Venus" (plan a date several days in advance, give her a hug before anything else, when listening make eye contact) and "25 ways to score big on Mars" (ask his opinion, practice accepting his imperfections, admire his strengths and talents).

There are also important chapters about how to handle arguments, how to give up changing a man, how to ask for support, and a new one for me.....the seasons of love....which was a nice little treat.

At a unique time when the pop culture is so fixated on the likes of The Bachelor, Joe Millionaire, Blind Date, and the Bachelorette, it's nice to come back to the wisdom of Mars and Venus in a more condensed, up-to-date, and cleverly illustrated package.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good tips, May 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Truly Mars and Venus: The Illustrated Essential Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus (Hardcover)

Its a good book overall, Although it has on both, I think its oriented more on how to please a man. It should be equally done..

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Mars and Venus, March 16, 2004

By 

Brittany Jensen (Milwaukee, Wi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Truly Mars and Venus: The Illustrated Essential Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus (Hardcover)

I'm a 17 yr. old high school student that had to do a report on love, differences, and communication. My teacher suggested the other book, and Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, but the lazy student that i am, i went for the shorter version. But wow, this book is amazing, I'm so glad I read it, I've learned many things about men that i will be able to use throughout life. It really helped me understand somethings that had been going wrong even in my own relationship. Very good book, I would suggest it to anyone!