"The Game" by Neil Strauss

Very interesting book, claims to be pure documentary, directly from life, but it is more like "docutainment" as not everybody can meet Tom Cruise, Courtney Love and Britney Spears. It is the story of how story of how the lovable geek who never gets laid, Neil Strauss, transforms into the playboy and ladies' man "Style" which is his nicknam e in the "seduction community." Strauss goes undercover in the "community" to learn how to be a pick-up artist, that is to get women to like him and have sex with him (and threesomes, and what he calls MLTRs - Multiple Long Term Relationships). Apparently there is a body of knowledge, and with some effort and courage, every regular joe can learn the precisely scripted questions and answers and clear sequence of steps. The gurus of the seduction community claim that anyone can transform himself into mini Warren Beatty, or mini-whatever seduction guru is teaching the course.

Strauss tells us in the book about all the interesting and flawed characters who become pick-up gurus from "Average Frustrated Chumps" (AFC) in the lingo of the community. Mystery always wants to be the center of attention, TylerDurden seeks power, Papa wants to prove himself to his father, etc. The first 50 pages of the book are almost like a manual for the first steps of pickup, as Strauss learns them, and is probably the best written part, because it draws the regular reader in, because it seems that it is written for him, but later when all kinds of celebrities start to pop in and even live with Strauss (Courtney Love). Also the Holliwood Lifestyle (literally) with a mansion off Sunset Boulevard, while dedicating yourself full-time to bettering oneself and picking up women (or trying to) all the time, is not really possible for people who have to work for a living.

The actual community still exists online albeit less vivacious than when Strauss was there in 2003, but all the forums and the PUAs are still there. The book continues for a way too long though, and becomes overindulgent at certain times . It shows a lot of drama in the PUA community and Strauss concentrates on the colorful characters of the PUAs, and especially the mPUAs (master pick-up artist, or guru). The book is organized in the steps of the Mystery method, created by Mystery, one of the original mPUAs, and follows his theory of how groups interact or "social dynamics". And PUAs and mPUAs are not exempt from in-fighting and competing amongst each other, stealing girlfriends and badmouthing each other in the the online forums when it comes to get students as pick-up and teaching pick-up becomes a profitable business as well.

"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexander Dumas

This book was a required reading in my middle school (abridged version). I have also read it as several comic books, a couple of movies and other media, but I've never before read the UN-abridged version, all 1400 pages of it, and I didn't even know what I was missing! Most of the abridged versions concentrate on Dantes' years in prison, and omit most of the lengthy affairs and side stories from the later parts, which are the bulk of the book, the prison being about 100 pages in all. The later story is just like all the other Dumas novels, masterful description of high (haute) Parisian society, with love affairs, infidelities, illegitimate children, impostors, hidden agendas, histories, and many, many stories within stories which go on for dozens of pages at a time. A very arduous task for the modern reader who is used to short sentences, jumping right in the middle of the action, sensory and visual details and twists and turns at every junction. Victorian literature is definitely none of that, but for the patient and distinguishing connoisseur, the pleasure await!

I read this version as an audio book (as most books I read nowadays), from Books on Tape, and the quality of the narration is amazing! The voice changes and is consistent across different characters; narrators part is done perfectly, and the translation is amazing, using exotic 19 century English words and manner of speaking, which only adds to the authenticity. Dumas, as always, develops the story through dialogs, of which is an undisputed master. Some not-so-covered references to homosexuality and drug use are splendidly presented in the unabridged version, while moralistic editors have always removed them from the abridged versions, which are very confusing to say the least, because the book abounds with a humongous amount of characters, with multitude of long (french) names, which are very hard to keep track of even in the unabridged version, and totally impossible to sort out in the abridged ones.

One could argue that the main character, Edmond Dantes, is not developed fully, looks mostly as a caricature, first of a perfect young man, and later of a bitter old avenger, with not enough depth, psychological detail and motivation. That might be true, but many of the 'second tier' characters are developed marvelously and entice with their depth and uniqueness. As the mores of the time dictated, most of the book is about nobility, counts and barons and generals and marquises, however Dumas is still widely read today and recognized as a master because he tried to infiltrate the everyday Paris life and everyday people in his books. Dantes is a regular sailor before he becomes the Count. Mercedes is a weaver. Donglar is ship accountant. Catarouse is a tailor. There are bandits, shepherds, brigands, and wonderful little snippets of everyday Paris life in the 1840s.

Overall, an amazing reading experience for the patient and distinguishing readers!

"Starship Troopers" by R.A. Heinlein

This is not a science fiction novel! Although Heinlein is one of the 'Great Three' SF writers, and has written many other excellent SF books (like 'Moon is a harsh mistress'), 'Starship Troopers' is more of a military, moral and ethical discourse, and that's what makes it amazing. You will find very little of the space ships, interstellar federations, amazing and imaginative technologies, but a lot of discussion on how democracy should be overhauled, who should have the rite to vote and why, how the judicial system should be working and how criminals should be punished, and mostly about the aim and meaning of the army, and being in the army, and becoming a man, a good man, through the training, suffering and service in the army. As you might have noticed so far, the book is completely different from the movie, which just took a few scrapes from the book and developed them into something completely different.

The book starts with Juan Rico's graduation from high school. His two friends Carmen (an occasional girlfriend) and Karl (a math genius) enlist in the military, and Rico does the same, despite his fathers cutting all communications with him because of this. Unlike the movie, Karl is never heard of again, until the end of the book when we learned he died in bombing of his base on Pluto, and Carmen is seen only once again for a short time, with her head shaved. There are no other female characters in the book.

Rico is sent to the north of the Midwest (Earth is united under the Terran Federation), where the boot camp is situated, below the Canadian Rockies. He goes through a grueling training, taxing both his body and his beliefs to the maximum, but eventually rebuilding him into a better person. He is in the 'Mobile Infantry' (probably a pun on the 'Mechanized Infantry' today) which consist of soldiers wearing Mech-suits, powered, armed, extremely mobile, which puts humans on the same fighting level with the 'Bugs' and the 'Skinnies', the other two races in the known universe humanity is at war with. Most of the book happens in the boot camp and describes, in painstaking detail, the life of the privates (everyone is a volunteer, as two years of military service grants 'citizenship', which in this universe is the right to vote and be voted for), their physical suffering and moral decisions, as well as the moral and law codes of the military and the reasons for them.

Here Heinlein discusses how our modern world can be improved, from social organization point of view. He says that democracy is flawed. Everybody should not have the right to vote, only volunteers who have been to the military and have been trained and impressed with putting the group before the individual should vote. He is proponent of physical punishment for crimes as deterrent; doesn't believe in 'reforming' criminals, but in deterring them from crime with violent punishment from the earliest age. He doesn't believe in 'juveniles' benefiting from being treated more softly than adults, and proposes their parents be physically punished (whipped) together with the delinquent children.

Rico eventually gets onto space, being shot onto planets in tight, one-man capsules, vulnerable to enemy fire. On the ground the power suit ('Marauder' for the regular MI soldier) gives enormous freedom and power of movement, coupled with amazing fire power and seamless integration with the natural musculature of the soldier. He eventually meets his father in one of the planet bases, who joined the army after his wife was killed by an asteroid directed to earth by the 'Bugs'. Here Heinlein goes into father-son relationships, military tradition and how it is related to the filial connections.

Rico excels in his tasks and eventually 'goes career', meaning signs a professional contract for 20 years (As opposed to 2 for privates), and goes through officer school which process is also described in detail. Eventually, towards the end of the book, he takes part in the raid of 'Planet P' where the 'Bugs' have a base, and helps capture a 'Brain Bug', the thinking caste of the 'Bugs' and bring the war closer to the end. At the end of the book he has been promoted to Captain. He is the 'old man' now, and his platoon is called 'Rico's Roughnecks', the same platoon he served in as a newly trained private.

The book is amazingly clear and strong presentation of the military view of the world, democracy, morals, ethics, justice, duty and honor. This is the only fiction book that is a required reading at West Point, and several US generals have stated (they have all read the book), that power suits like the 'Marauder' are the future of the US army.