Master Manipulator Flunks Her Own Class

Bill Kuhl sent in a short editorial about a recent episode of ABC's "Primetime," which interviewed Ellen Fein, co-author of the book The Rules, a guide for women on how to manipulate men most effectively when dating. Well, they've now released a second book, The Rules for Marriage, which explains how to keep husbands in the marriage (at least, until she wants to get rid of him). Click "Read More" below for Bill's comments...Master Manipulator Flunks Her Own Class



Remember the '90's guide on finding a man through
manipulation, "The Rules", the book that women
purchased to the tune of 2 million copies? Well, its
co-authors have put out a sequel. Naturally, their new
book is a guide on helping women KEEP their men; it's
called, "The Rules for Marriage." According to a
report on ABC's "Primetime" this second book sounds
like more of the same shallow drivel that preceded it.
For example, one of the authors, Ellen Fein, is shown
pleading with the interviewer, "It works so well ...
it works so well," referring to a particular rule
which states: "The key to a romantic evening is to
pretend you're in a toothpaste commercial and smile,
smile, smile." Certainly, the most notable aspect of
the book has to be the story behind its
writing - co-author Fein was herself going through a
divorce while writing the book. The "Primetime"
segment shows Fein on a couple of occasions referring
to her own marriage in instructing "The Rules for
Marriage" seminar attendees, hordes of women who had
paid $50 a pop to hear how to avoid what Fein
obviously couldn't. Later in the segment, Fein
dismisses questions about her apparent inability to
keep her man by saying, "... I was too tired [to apply
all the rules] ...[and] I'm not here to talk about
whether I slipped with the rules or not." Yet, still,
the most interesting part of this story may be that
during the period Fein was writing the book and
simultaneously going through a divorce - she somehow
failed to mention the latter to her publisher. Only
because of a phone call from a reporter did Fein's
publisher find out, but by this time the book had
already been finished. Maybe Fein's real skill is in
manipulating publishers and the public, not men.



Bill Kuhl, bridgewater6729@yahoo.com

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