cover image A Guy's Guide to Being a Man's Man

A Guy's Guide to Being a Man's Man

Steven Prigge, Frank Vincent. Berkley Publishing Group, $24.95 (250pp) ISBN 978-0-425-20876-2

A man's man, according to actor Vincent, is ""a jack of all trades, but also a master of all,"" who drinks only imported beer (that is, when he can't round up a fine scotch, a gin martini with three olives, or a glass of wine), wears cologne, owns a ""tailored to perfection"" tuxedo and can afford to own only designer clothes (those of Italian origin hold particular sway with Vincent, who's appeared in The Sopranos and Goodfellas). With one glance at the cover, most readers will be able to divine the majority of Vincent's guidelines, but there are a few surprises: recipes for lentil soup, the divination of a Fire & Ice rose and a brief passage on the virtues of monogamy. These, however, are couched in lessons on how to live life as if it were an audition for a bit-part in a gangster movie, told in predictably gauche prose. (""If you want to be a big dog, then don't play like a puppy."") Want to learn how to smoke a cigar? Order a martini? Appreciate wine? Talk your way into an exclusive club? It's all in here, but it's all been done before.