The Game

Undercover in the Secret Society of Pick-Up Artists

by Neil Strauss

Hardcover, 466 pages

English language

Published May 1, 2012 by It Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-84195-751-7

(11 reviews)

Hidden somewhere, in nearly every major city in the world, is an underground seduction lair. And in these lairs, men trade the most devastatingly effective techniques ever invented to charm women. This is not fiction. These men really exist. They live together in houses known as Projects. And Neil Strauss, the bestselling author and journalist, spent two years living among them, using the pseudonym Style to protect his real-life identity. The result is one of the most explosive and controversial books of the last decade—guaranteed to change the lives of men and transform the way women understand the opposite sex forever.

On his journey from AFC (average frustrated chump) to PUA (pick-up artist) to PUG (pick-up guru), Strauss not only shares scores of original seduction techniques but also has unforgettable encounters with the likes of Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Heidi Fleiss, and Courtney Love. And then things really start to get strange—and passions lead to betrayals lead to violence. The Game is the story of one man's transformation from frog to prince to prisoner in the most unforgettable book of this generation.

5 editions

Sean Tilley reviewed The Game by Neil Strauss

Narcissistic Trash

1 star

I'm honestly not sure what this book wants to be - it attempts to combine a tell-all expose with an instruction manual with random musings on women, sex, and psychology. It also clumsily attempts to shoehorn in a Hollywood love story.

This book focuses on the underground world of pickup artists, or more specifically, online communities and workshops started by them. Some parts of the book are legitimately interesting - for example, the background on how these kinds of communities come to be, and why men are so driven to be a part of them, were actually somewhat insightful. Sadly, these more interesting notes get lost in a self-obsessed narrative about a protagonist trying to hone his craft and be so mindbendingly awesome that the perfect woman will find him.

Though there are moments of self-awareness, the book seems to lose those moments of lucidity quickly in the pursuit of …

Though there are moments of self-awareness, the book seems to lose those moments of lucidity quickly in the pursuit of pretentious bravado. It's noxious and tends to liken people, specifically women, to basic computers that can be hacked with simple exploits.