The Compleat Gentleman: The Modern Man's Guide to Chivalry

by Brad Miner

Book Overview

At a time of astonishing confusion about what it means to be a man, Brad Miner has recovered the oldest and best ideal of manhood: the gentleman. Reviving a thousand-year tradition of chivalry, honor,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 189062652X
• ISBN13: 9781890626525
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Spence Publishing Company
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Book

Arrived on time as described

Fascinating

Up front, the only serious disagreement I have with the author is his support for putting women in combat. I understand his reasoning, but his lack of military experience causes him to oversimplify the question. I find it entertaining that readers here were offended and surprised that a book with a picture of a sword on the cover and references to chivalry (which means, roughly, "horsemanship" -- knighthood) would speak positively of service in war. If you think that nonviolence in the face of evil is the more gentlemanly route (other than in very strict circumstances), then fine. Be the gentleman while your wife and children are killed before your eyes by a criminal. I, on the other hand, will be doing my utmost to defend them. (Defend your wife and children, that is, mine will already be safe.) Those who are disturbed by the use of violence in this "less hostile and disgusting world" should stop using freedoms that were bought for them (not by them) with spilt blood. And perhaps check out a wonderful country such as, say, Somalia, and tell me if the world is *really* less hostile. Yes, the author should have fought in Viet Nam when he had the chance. Alas, hindsight is 20/20, and at least he now realizes his failing. I found his discussions of the Templars, in particular, fascinating. Aside from their questionable personal hygiene, they seem to exemplify the very highest sort of warrior ideal. It is also a relief to see a group of extraordinarily brave men get the credit that is their due, rather than more hateful lies about conspiracies to conceal the "divine feminine." If you are a woman, you will be relieved to know that there are still men out there who "get it." If you are a man, you will understand what it is that you felt was wrong with our society's cult of weak men. This book will challenge you. It did me.

Not a Bad Philosophy of Life

This is a story of how men should act. It's nice to see that everything being written about men today isn't oriented to making them look like jerks. Mr. Miner seems to be a contrarian. In this day and time it seems that the general rule is to blame men (for everything) and to make them the (...) of any joke (just watch almost any TV show). This book, on the other hand, talks about manhood. What it means to be a man, how a man acts with dignity, restraint, and discernment. "And yes," he says, "there are rules, they are based on an ancient ideal based on service to one's God, country, family, and friends." Rules that are simple to understand but arduous to apply and worthy of a lifetime of struggle. The rules of being a man do not mean that they negate or demean the increased rights that women have achieved in the world, but that the rules for men are not identical to those for women. This is a highly enjoyable book. It relates back to the history of the age of chivalry with its three masculine archetypes - warrior, lover and monk. The book is filled with examples from the past and the present of the man our increasingly uncivilized age demands.

essential reading

While other reviewers have done an admirable job, I would merely like to point out that this book's strengths are much greater than the sum of any perceived weaknesses. I have most books available on "The Art of The Gentleman" and consider this one a most valuable addition. If you are serious in pursuing this lifelong quest, this volume will prove essential. Even now it is at my side since I am in the midst of a third re-reading.

a modern guide to an age-less image of a man's ideal

The modern era has left void the definition of an ideal Man. If the "primitive wild man" of the men's movement leaves you thinking there must be another option, then Mr. Miner's "Compleat Gentleman" is for you. Using a concise (very concise) review of selected ages, Mr. Miner simultaneously presents an image of the ideal "compleat gentleman" and lays out several broad avenues for further investigation should you care to take him on. I found his book both a call to which I could aspire and a guide to start me on my way.

Outstanding "History of the Idea of the Gentleman"

Many men reflect in quiet moments that they are not, perhaps, what something inside them longs to be. We have every material comfort our ancestors longed for, and many they couldn't have conceived, and yet, as our President put it in 2000, so much prosperity, to so little purpose. What is lacking is these men are not gentlemen, or at least that they are intellectually divorced from the ideal. This book is an outstanding review of the entire idea, grown so alien to us in our age of no-fault divorce, baby-daddies and crass materialism.As Miner sets forth in his introduction, the book is neither a manifesto nor a particular call to action, but instead a concise (a bit too concise, in my opinion) history of what it has meant to be a gentleman, from the birth of the idea to what it means to be a gentleman in the modern world.I cannot imagine a better gift for a young gentleman on the verge of graduation. This book has the potential to make the reader a better man.