Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (9)

Hilarious expose of the true balance of power between the sexes
In his inimitable style the Sage of Baltimore trenchantly analyzes the relationship between the sexes and concludes that women are the superior gender. Before feminists get too excited, it should be noted that most people would probably regard Mencken's analysis as a backhanded compliment, for he doesn't praise women for some preternatural goodness or nobility, but for their Nietzschean Will to Power, clear eyed realism, Machiavellian calculation, lack of sentimentality, and ethical apathy. Men may regard themselves as superior because they've mastered one of the various idiotic trades, like business or politics- to which the women of Mencken's time rarely lowered themselves- but in the battle where it counts, women almost invariably end up the victor over a defeated and enslaved man. Although surely ironic, the book contains much truth, however bitter it may be to face it.

2009 Paperback Edition is typo ridden and difficult to read
This review is about the printing of the 2009 paperback edition book, not the contents of the book itself, which is outstanding. The printing in this edition is absolutely disgusting; there are two word lines; there are random letters that don't belong, words run into each other, etc. A particularly bad example is on page 31:
"It is, indeed, not until a. woman has definitely put away the hope of - | -T,-nflimi nm, marriage, or, aLall. jrilitythat she may have tajl.Q..(L,soon.prelate,Jthat sheJtfliekles down in earnest to., whatever-craft she practises, and makes a genuineeffort /f)i todevelop competence."

Errors like this occur throughout the book. Do not purchase this edition.

don't get the large print edition
The first letters on the lines of too many pages didn't print.One letter I could guess, two letters is frustrating.
Still glad I got it.A book written in my mother and grandmother's day.Some things change, some things don't.

And He Meant Every Word
I have read numerous accounts (most notably in the journal of the Mencken Society) that assume that Mencken was being ironic in the pages of this book, but I am gladdened and relieved to see that the other reviewers here got it right. The omniscient Mr. Mencken simply observes that men are forever being bamboozled by women.

But there's a great variety of Mencken's wisdom on tap in this slim volume -- such as,
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary." (Page 53 of the 1926 edition)

amazing predictions for a book written in 1922
Mencken wrote that "Nothing could be plainer than the effect that the increasing economic security of women is having upon their whole havit of life ... The diminishing marriage rate and the even more rapidly diminishing birth rate show which way the wind is blowing . . . large numbers of them [women] now approach the business [of marriage] with far greater fastidiousness than their grandmothers." So as a result, only relatively skilled men are marriageable, and lower-class men go without.By contrast, in the past "even marriage with a fifth-rate man was better than no marriage at all."

Mencken also correctly predicted that even after the influx of women into the workplace, women will still lag behind men economically: he writes that "it is impossible to imagine a genuinely intelligent human being becoming a competent trial lawyer, or buttonhole worker, or newspaper sub-editor, or piano tuner, or house painter.Women, to get upon all fours with men in such stupid occupations, will have to commit spiritual suicide, which is much further than they will ever actually go. Thus a shade of their present superiority to men will always remaijn, and with it a shade of their relative inefficiency, so marriage will remain attractive".

Mencken also predicts loosened sexual mores: "With the decay of the ancient concept of women as property there must come inevitability a reconsideration of the whole sex question."

And of course all these things have come to pass, both in America and in Europe: well-employed women marry later or not at all and get divorced more quickly, and low-income women have virtually abandoned marriage altogether.

Mencken only runs aground when he looks at war and peace.He correctly predicted World War II (in particular predicting wars between France and Germany, and between Japan and America) but thought that it would be so devastating, and wipe out so many of the world's men, that women would vastly outnumber men,which in turn would radically modify marriage- perhaps by causing the reinstitution of polygamy.Had WW 2, like WW 1, killed only soliders, Mencken might have been right.Instead, of course, millions of civilians were killed- including many women, thus limiting the male/female imbalance.



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Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: KnopfPublication date: 1920Description: Satire written on a lark by Mencken, with assistance from friend and co-editor Nathan, to prove to themselves how easy it was to write a successful play. Of it Mencken wrote in 1937: ... "the hero should be a man universally disreputable, and ... there should be nothing in the play save time-honored theatrical buncombe. Every sort of novelty in the plot was to be barred, and the so-called psychology was to be as transparent as possible."Subjects: Drama / GeneralDrama / AmericanDrama / English, Irish, Scottish, WelshHistory / GeneralNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Volume: 3; Original Published by: A. A. Knopf in 1922 in 336 pages; Subjects: American essays; American literature; Fiction / Literary; Humor / Form / Essays; Literary Collections / Essays; Literary Criticism / General; Literary Criticism / American / General; Social Science / Discrimination & Race Relations; ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more