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| Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, Freshly Updated | 
| Author: Judith Martin
Creator: Gloria Kamen
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $21.81
You Save: $13.19 (38%)
New (18) from $21.81
Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 41786
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Updated
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 858
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.1 x 1.9
ISBN: 0393058743
Dewey Decimal Number: 395
EAN: 9780393058741
ASIN: 0393058743
Publication Date: April 25, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Miss Manners' down-to-earth collection of wisdom and pithy wit is a joy to read. Under the chapter on Table Manners, she notes "the inevitable slippage of spaghetti from the fork back onto the plate is Nature's way of controlling human piggishness" and suggests "a quick motion of the wrist, such as one uses to shake down a thermometer, will remove excess ketchup" from French fries. From common courtesy and proper attire to the etiquette of weddings, Martin knows right from wrong and sensible from rude. But this is no prissy, preachy tome. Miss Manners is very funny and has impressive insight into life.
Product Description
An indispensable manual to navigating life from birth to death without making a false move. Your neighbor denounces cellular telephones as instruments of the devil. Your niece swears that no one expects thank-you letters anymore. Your father-in-law insists that married women have to take their husbands' names. Your guests plead that asking them to commit themselves to attending your party ruins the spontaneity. Who is right? Miss Manners, of course. With all those amateurs issuing unauthorized etiquette pronouncements, aren't you glad that there is a gold standard to consult about what has really changed and what has not? The freshly updated version of the classic bestseller includes the latest letters, essays, and illustrations, along with the laugh-out-loud wisdom of Miss Manners as she meets the new millennium of American misbehavior head-on. This wickedly witty guide rules on the challenges brought about by our ever-evolving society, once again proving that etiquette, far from being an optional extra, is the essential currency of a civilized world. 32 illustrations.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 Epistemology and Manners November 13, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book is missing a key topic. Epistemology is basically all manners. Science-wise there is zip to epistemology but there is still room for epistemology as a branch of manners. As Miss Manners holds manners are a demand of getting along in the world so a chapter on epistemology would be great.
 Great Advice (and a few guffaws) August 25, 2008
Miss Manners' advice (freshly updated or not) is an essential reference for every household. While it is an excellent guide for behaving well, it does not wallow in laments for a bygone era of calling cards and women being treated as delicate flowers. Rather, it is a guide to living graciously in a time when behavior is becoming increasingly rude.
This is not to say that one must become a doormat for every ranting, self-proclaimed expert one encounters on a daily basis. Exercising good manners is a means of preserving dignity and peace of mind even as you turns away from the rude demonstrations of people around you.
While her tone is one of carefully maintained civility, Miss Manners can dispense her wisdom (and a few history lessons) which a great sense of humor. I've been reading this book not just for the lessons but for the laughs. (There is a particularly good one to be had in a section on how to behave when, at a formal dinner party, one of the guests trips and falls face-first into a bowl of guacamole while at the same time popping out of her strapless dress.)
Be warned: You'll likely learn that some of the things you've done in the past have been (a) incorrect or (b) horribly gauche. But you can rest easy in knowing that good manners always leave ample room for forgiveness.
Witty and More Informative than You Could Possible Hope December 12, 2007
Not only does Miss Manners sprinkle each response with her own, unique form of gently biting humor (which often made me disturb my husband with my laughter), she succintly answers the gamut of etiquette questions, including some issues I'd never been aware of. In fact, I was inspired to immediately change my behavior by this book and to add the rest of her titles to my wish list, such was my pleasure in the reading.
Everyone should read this August 11, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Judith Martin's most important purpose in this Guide is the pursuit of respectful and civil human interactions. In our age of instant gratification, many people fail to take the time to do the small (or large, for that matter) things that make one another feel worthwile and respected.
I had the pleasure of meeting Miss Manners and her husband at a tea party this past spring. She happens to be intelligent, quick, and charming. You should have seen the hat that she was wearing. At first, not really knowing what to expect, I was concerned with minor aspects of my behavior, such as the crumb I dropped on the floor from the delicious scone she had served me. But those fears were quickly allayed by engaging conversation and more important matters. It was a wonderful experience.
Check this book out. It is interesting, entertaining, and is bound to help become more conscious of how your behavior effects those around you.
Practical, Up-To-Date Advice July 5, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I'd read an earlier version of this guide to etiquette and remembered it as being useful and witty, but I am struck in this updated version by how practical is Miss Manners' advice. Don't be fooled, Gentle Reader: this book is packed with information that you may put to good use in everyday situations, not just at receptions at the White House or at fancy weddings.
Miss Manners covers cell phones and laptop computers. She lets us know that etiquette does NOT require that we agree to be put on hold when we phone a business and are asked, "Would you hold, please?" or that we leave a message when our call is routed to voicemail. (Hanging up on a machine is not rude, she assures us; it's not the same as hanging up on a person.)
Particularly helpful to me are the author's suggested ways of saying "no" politely--for example, when declining to enter into conversation with someone seated next to you on a plane or declining to donate money to a charity when someone phones to ask for money. Main take-away point: apologize ("I'm sorry. . . ."), and say "no" firmly, but do NOT offer any excuses (truthful or otherwise), which is where, she tells us, we are apt to get ourselves into trouble. If pressed, there is always a polite way to cut off the conversation, such as, "I'm sorry, but I never discuss my personal finances" or "I'm sorry, I'm not up to conversation right now."
This book is not just one that deserves to be purchased and read; it deserves to be read cover-to-cover and then referred to again and again.
Recommended most highly.
Brava, Miss Manners!
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