I ran across this book at a yardsale and thought what the heck for ten cents it was worth reading through. Although the author makes some good points, there are others that are outdated and can no longer be applied to men today. We have all been programmed differently since this book was written and if you choose to follow it, your chances of losing the man you want by following these rules will skyrocket dramatically. The one rule all women should remember is that they are what they make of themselves and they don't need a man to prove their worth...and that was my mother's rule which she handed down to me. Would I recommend this book...maybe about 60 years ago!

In my opinion, criticisms of this book rarely delve deeply into the worldview upon which it is built. Why does Fein present marriage as an inherently valuable goal, as if life was a sports game with a simple outcome?

If the goal of The Rules is "Marriage, in the shortest time possible, to a man you love, who loves you even more than you love him" under these guidelines, then the relationship simply cannot be one of intellectual/physical closeness or lifestyle similarities, because the "Rules" force a woman to maintain too much distance to ascertain these crucial areas of compatibility.

What is left, then, is a marriage based on procreation and/or financial dependence, and on Rules terms both are gravely dangerous to a woman's long-term stability. Under the Rules, a woman simply cannot know a man when he is not on his best behavior, "on stage" so-to-speak. Will he be a good, kind parenting partner? Does he love your body unconditionally, or is he squeamish and likely to grow distant with age? Who knows! Furthermore, men (and women) die, leave and/or change, so it's disastrous to live a life based on snagging a good provider.

No one should be a doormat in a relationship, of course, but playing games that rule out men who don't like the chase automatically rules out many of the personality types best suited to long-term partnership. People who love to pursue won't change, but the quarry probably will.

I've always been amused by the assumption that women have to pretend to be busy not to take a date offered a few days in advance. Fein needs a career other than defending a dreadful paradigm on morning talk shows-- then she might actually BE too busy to go out on a Friday night.

I loved this book. It was given to me by my mother on my birthday about ten years ago. I read it, thought it was hilarious. I also took it seriously if someone really followed it to get married. It has basic rules everyone should know and some do seem old-fashioned. That doesn’t mean it does not apply today. One rule that stands out for me, if he doesn’t call by Wednesday, you aren’t “available” Friday or Saturday night. No excuses or reasons—just “I have plans”. Even if you have to wash your hair, clean the car, those are plans. I don’t think that is manipulative or playing mind games. It is like starting a new job, if you work through lunch and stay late, they always seem to expect it. The book is a plan with rules and if followed, it could work. Other factors would have to be considered with someone new before attempting the plan all the way to the altar. You could always flip the advice to get rid of someone you don’t like. It’s a good book and I recommend it.

The Rules are stupid. It's just that blunt. I wish I could recommend this book, but unfortunately, we're in the wrong decade. A book about this would have gone over very well in the 50s, but 50 years later, it's not working. This book came out in the mid-1990s, and it didn't work then, either.

The thing about "The Rules" is that I don't disagree with many of the rules, but it shouldn't be something that you force upon yourself. Rules like, "Don't date a married man" are elementary rules of dating. If you, as the reader, must be told that, you've already got a problem. Rules are like crash dieting, if it's not a lifestyle, then you're just going to end up back where you started. So, if you somehow manage to get a man using these rules, then you'll lose him because you can't force yourself to be someone you're not.

It's a cute effort, but it's very shallow, and only effective for laughs.

This is the book for you if you're into manipulation and playing games.

Relationships are supposed to be based on trust and honesty. This particular book, however, is the blueprint of a dysfunctional relationship. Put yourself in the man's shoes ... would you want to be manipulated?

That's my opinion anyway.