“The Game” is not a how-to-meet-women guide, but there is a lot of crossover in the audience. Meet Neil Strauss, the author of this fascinating memoir. Once a self described “Average Frustrated Chump,” he became one of the country’s foremost Pick-up Artists (PUA) after attending a seminar at Hollywood’s Roosevelt Hotel on the topic. He quickly becomes obsessed with the life, meeting more and more women (many of the juicier stories chronicled for all time between the covers of the book), and even moves into a mansion with other PUAs. It’s here, however, by observing the PUAs that he discovers some of the more gruesome truths about the “art,” the misogyny, desperation, and the miserable childhoods that most of them share. Ironically, the memoir is more about understanding men than women. Strauss’s credentials also include penning the “auto-biography” of Jenna Jameson, and a career as a well known rock critic.
