BOOK REVIEW: Mano-A-Mano So So

(Originally Published 2012, Paperback Edition 292 pages)

Having read many of Mr. Stein's funny but pretty useless columns in TIME magazine, I was curious if I could tolerant a book's worth of his humor. His writing style is mostly aimed at self-deprecation and the metaphors usually allude to pop-culture references. Though the focus of the book is him trying to become more "manly" for his son's sake, I wondered throughout the thing if it was just a contrived excuse to set himself up in uncommon situations. No matter. Mr. Stein did a wonderful job covering his experiences as camping with a Boy Scouts' troop; spending a few days being sort of a Los Angeles firefighter; practicing baseball with a former-pro-Dodger; spends a Sunday hanging with some ex-pro-football players watching games; learns to drink whiskey; day trades; drives a Lamborghini; babysits a dog for a few weeks; helps his father-in-law repair an old house; goes turkey hunting in Vermont; spends some days at both a marine and army boot camps as well as the climax of the story is Mr. Stein spending five minutes sparring with mixed-martial-arts UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.

It's certainly a random lot of "manly" venues. Though it does have its moments of serious introspection and the book is somewhat educational (I'm now ready for a Jeopardy category entitled 'Horny Turkeys",) the work is ultimately just a light read of a nerdy, sarcastic guy's misadventures. The authors, Mr. Stein, Jon Ronson and A.J. Jacobs must have been separated at birth. All three guys are the first to come to mind when I need a light, hilarious pick-me-up. Heck, even the author's acknowledgements at the end of the work made me smile. I do hope Mr. Stein writes another one.

(Meyers - A few years ago, I started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #375)