How to be a Gentleman
John Bridges
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
1998 Rutledge Hill Press
ISBN: 1558535969

A Contemporary Guide to Common Courtesy for all men who aspire to become a gentleman in this modern world of cell phones & feminists, blind people & the President.

How to start & end conversations; what is expected of a Gentleman at funeral services, weddings, in houses of worship or at concerts.

How a Gentleman sets a dinner table, is a guest, deals with a revolving door or plays host to vegetarian friends or yes, ties a bow tie!

There are a few ripe things a Gentleman does not do in public which I shall leave up to your imagination & discovery in this delightfully crisp, eminently wise & occasionally tongue-in-well-shaven-cheek book!

A Gentleman and His Secretary - ah! The Good Old Days of decorum. Obviously I rarely worked for a Gentleman!

An Invitation to the White House & Meeting the President are two adventures any American can dream about & here are some clues as to how to behave as if to the manner born!

The Etiquette of the Office Break Room is an eye-opener & certainly culls the princes from the Gentlemen!

Don't get me wrong - I am being neither facetious nor mocking of this elegant savvy book - each chapter title even has an icon of a black bow tie above it - nothing said in How to be a Gentleman is new, it does, however, bear repeating for each generation that reaches toward manhood.

An excellent coffee table or poet's corner browser; perfect for a Bar Mitzvah, Confirmation or Graduation gift. Even a Groom & Best Man would benefit from inculcating the wisdom divulged, it might even rub off on them; especially the suggestions regarding toilet seats & personal affects.

John Bridges is the Senior Editor for the Nashville Scene. His weekly column, “Keeping Up” is syndicated in independent news weeklies. A collection of his columns has been published as Keeping Up: Blue Blazers, Iced Tea and Everything Else Worthwhile in Life.
(03/25/01)

Rebecca