There were some pretty low ratings for this book in this venue. So, let me start out by saying that this is not a book of manners and polite pleasantries. If you're trying to figure out which fork to use with which course, you needn't waste your time looking for it here.

Using over a thousand years of history and etymology, this book is also not some propaganda piece thrown together to discredit or redefine manliness. At its core, this book reintroduces the chivalrous man to the modern era.

The author has a rich vocabulary, for which the "pocket" dictionary wasn't of much use. Still, it was a relatively quick read. It also had insights into other issues of our day and succeeded in educating this reader (just short of epiphany) on several topics left completely untouched by other books.

Clare's review of this was so good I am recommending it to my daughters and I want to read it as well!

Chivelry may have lost its appeal in the 21st century, but Mr. Miner brings to light a few areas men should focus on in living their lives: the knight, the warrior, the monk, and the lover. I thoroughly enjoyed his closing remarks on what it will take to re-establish the man's role in society.

Not in love with the study of idiomology and felt like that took up too much of the book. Plus, he was super wordy. Did learn a little about history but the examples were definitely not uplifting. Will not be sharing this book with my class.

One of the worst books I have ever read (I admit I couldn't finish it; life is too short for such rubbish) Skip this book and read the first 4000 lines or so of The Romance of the Rose, Andreas Capellanus' The Art of Courtly Love, Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, and Machiavelli's The Prince. When the author is not going on about his martial art experience and why war helps build character (the author takes a detour to explain to his politically conservative audience how he managed to sit out the Vietnam war but how he now regrets it) he actually does touch upon some of these authors' discussions of "Courtly" behavior. Save yourself the headache and read these work yourself. I highly recommend the Book of the Courtier--just as relevant in 16th century Italy as it is now but be careful not to take everything you read in the Courtier at face value!

It's high bar!

I must say that i never contemplated what it was to be a true gentleman. Brad Miller has done so. I can only hope to take his writing to heart in what's left of my life.

A fairly good compendium on the history of chivalry and the authors musings on how it ought to be adapted to the modern day. We could all benefit from a little more of this courteous and dedicated way of living.

This is a book that has been calling to me from my wife’s section of the bookshelf for a number of years. Without knowing much about it, I decided to dive in. What I discovered was a serious (but not too serious) discussion on chivalry through the prism of three historical archetypes (i.e., the knight, the monk, and the lover), and how we might define and apply chivalry today. The author is not crusading for a new age of chivalry, but he does provide a great deal of food for thought.

This book is a delightful read. The blurb on the dusk jacket describes the book as “erudite and witty” and I’ll be damned if that isn’t right on the money. The author is clearly well-read and isn’t afraid to throw out some big words when the opportunity presents itself, but this always done tastefully and with restraint. Naturally.

This book has received mixed reviews here on GR. I perused several negative reviews to see what people might be thinking, and found nearly all of them to be disingenuous and petty, if not outright dishonest. This book was written objectively and honestly by an author with an obvious passion for the subject. What more could a reader ask for?

Чудова історична, соціологічна й разом з тим філософська праця. Книга, котру варто прочитати кожному чоловіку аби знати належний вектор розвитку в житті та поведінці. Книга, котру потрібно прочитати кожній жінці аби знати товариства яких чоловіків варто прагнути і як виховувати нащадків. Приклади достойних вчинків та відповідної мудрости. Виважено та правдиво.

A must read

This book has been on my 'to-read' since 2008, in other words almost since I joined GRs. I joined in 2007. After reading another* positive review (also by a woman) I decided I HAVE to read it. So I am buying it for my husband

The narrator sounded smarmy, but maybe there was no other way to read the text. It constantly swaps out gentleman/humans, pauses to say no girls allowed, and then occasionally detours to laugh at silly girls who think boys want to exclude them from thing. It even makes what I guess is a joke about trans people when sniffing at the public display of everything such as a trans person going on Jerry Springer to come out as trans before telling their lover "that lady is no gentleman." Except that no lady is a gentleman according to this book, but maybe if the lady has a cock then she had a chance?

It seems to misunderstand the purpose of virtue, and instead just want to be cool like the Fonz.