The Layguide: How to Become the Ultimate Pick-up Artist [ペーパーバック]

This book is full of some very good advice. The ideas of eliciting values, neg hits, social proof, and (most especially) not paying for a woman's attention are very powerful and real. They do help you build a connection and gain status, they are also applicable in situations outside of dating if you know how to handle yourself. It is for this reason that the book receives four stars.

This book also has an element that makes it very controversial for some. It was written by a guy who hopes to help other guys get laid, period. The author's goal is to teach you how to get into a woman's pants. That does NOT have to be YOUR goal in order for you to benefit from it. Those who say that the book is chauvanist are right, and those who say it teaches men to pick up on women in all the wrong ways are focusing on some of the more controversial, and in my opinion crazy, theories presented (such as "GM style" ignore it).

One reviewer mentioned, and with some disgust, that the book advocates a man not buying a drink for a woman unless she "pays" for it with a kiss on the spot, among others. Again, this goes back to social proof, status, and whether or not you're paying for people's time. It also goes back to self-respect, you just met a woman and you're buying her a drink? You better owe her.

One does not have to demand sex from women, or be as chauvanistic as this author, in order to benefit from the technology involved. Trust me, I know. I was an AFC, I then went on to dating six girls at once and found it to be an emotional, psychological, and physical drain not worth the time the emptiness gave me. I did, however, use the techniques in this book to land the love of my life and have since been in a relationship for 1.5years. This book is social dynamics 110: how to handle a dating scenario from the man's perspective. Great book, shady perspective, buy it anyway and apply the techniques in the manner that is most congruent with your personality and demeanor.

The pickup artist has come of age. No longer relying on a hairy chest and a medallion to seduce the opposite sex, a thriving community has appeared on the net, exchanging the latest psychological tips and tricks that lead to a woman's bed. But these people aren't geeks. When it comes to seducing women, they are the real deal, only granting grandmaster pick up status to acolytes after the 1,000th babe has been laid.

And here lies the depressing fact about this book and the inevitable controversy that it has aroused (Germaine Greer having claimed that such men are rapists - seems like some feminists don't want to abandon notions of 'sexual ownership', 'faithfulness', 'duties'.etc at least not when it comes to men). The book is a thoroughly exhaustive anaylsis of what it takes for a man to get a woman into bed, compiled by men who have certainly 'been there and done it' many, many times. They know what works and what doesn't. And for all the complex psychology of 'neg hits', 'NLP patterning' etc, basically the recipe for success is that you have to show the lady you are a dominant caveman. When it comes to seduction, nice guys finish last, something to be avoided when you apparently have an average of 30 seconds to demonstrate to a potential pick-up that you can swing the club harder than any rival Fred Flintstone in sight. It appears deep down, women still want the hairy chest after all.

Feminist critics of the pick-up culture, incapable of any self-criticism as they are, tend to miss this point. Instead of focusing on why such macho men want to have sex with every good looking woman they see (and why shouldn't they?), perhaps they should ask why nearly every good looking woman would rather have sex with men who heed well tested advice such as 'Always be in Control (rule no.1)' and 'Never be Mr Nice Guy (rule no.7)' than men who read Germaine Greer or buy flowers. Feminists (and women in general), constantly make misandryst generalisations about men being inherently aggressive, dominant etc, forgetting that whatever essential nature men might have, if we have it at all, it is because women have spent our evolutionary history choosing it as an attractive sexual trait. And judging from this book, there is little prospect of hope for our evolutionary future. In fact, as women become increasingly financially independent of men, they are correspondingly free to choose sexual partners on solely primitive criteria (whereas before at least a man with lots of money was likely to have reached his position as Alpha male through, to some extent, a high IQ and not simply agressiveness or having the biggest sexual organ).

'Love between the sexes is a war', declared the gloomy Swedish playwright Strindberg. If you want to sharpen your armoury in order to have sex with lots of beautiful woman, this book is essential reading. For those who wish to understand the degradation of contemporary feminism into little more than a sexual trade union for embittered middle-aged women, then also read this book and the controversy that has surrounded it.

Although I believe 100 percent that Mr. Clinke is himself an exceptional PUA, he lacks proportional talent in writing.

The book lacks structure and at times is very inconsistent. One minute it's "get her phone number" and then it's "never ask for the number, let her give it to you" and then it's "never give her yours" and so on. The book is full of little rules for behavior, that A. often contradict a previous rule, and B. are painfully vague and generalized. In the end, the book is just a messy pile scattered ideas that places no focus on the fundamental issues, leaving out all of subconscious things and subtleties that truly determine how women feel about you. Needless to say, it does not live up to its silly and excessive title, which promises the world but more than likely will just set the reader back even farther in the game. After reading it, he will most likely say to himself "wow, if i can't get laid after reading this book, then there's really no hope for me at all". Let's keep in mind, this book is the thoughts and experiences of one man (and not much of a literary man) whose personal successes are the culmination of his unique qualities... not that of the general population. Find your own way, reader, instead of reading this sloppy guide which will more than anything confuse, and possibly hurt your chances with the opposite sex.