Reviews for Bernard Mandeville's "A Modest Defence of Publick Stews": Prostitution and Its Discontents in Early Georgian England

The average rating for Bernard Mandeville's "A Modest Defence of Publick Stews": Prostitution and Its Discontents in Early Georgian England based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-07-29 00:00:00 Tammy Lariviere "I wonder why this piece of elongated literature received literally no feedback compared to Swift's modest proposal?" I asked myself. And then I realised, I know why. Because this outrageous piece of literature does not utilise satire as swiftly as Swift did (hehe). Mandeville was a little too transparent, but completely absurd. His suggestions were so well thought-out that it's hard not to believe him slightly insane (in a genius way). I know absurdity is a part of satire, however the discussion was far too drawn-out. I like comparative study, so I'll bring up Swift's proposal yet again: A short, concise and VERY sweet proposal to eat children, I adored it. The present work went on and on for pages about the Clap, the Chastity of women, and the baseness inflicted upon oneself at the flick of their wrist (a.k.a masturbation). It is clear that Mandeville was a feminist, or a "proto-feminist"and was calling out Misogyny in all of its forms, even challenging religion through his paradoxical sentences and elusive references. However, this is not to say that transparency is bad. It's just a little boring after reading Swift's proposal.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-01-22 00:00:00 Dustin Crafton 2.5 stars. This book is less annoying than the title might make you think. Starting from the basic premise that you have 90 seconds or less to make an impression, the author covers four different areas that can help to build rapport with someone: attitude, synchronization, conversation, and sensory preferences. Many of his suggestions are pretty commonsensical, but the sections on synchronization and sensory preferences were fairly new to me. He follows the general format of outlining an aspect of human behavior with light reference to scientific studies, sharing sample stories, and offering exercises for the reader to try. The text is very accessible and the exercises make it very concrete. I would recommend this book to people who are in the business of dealing with other people. Or possibly to people who find social interaction incredibly awkward. This book probably won't revolutionize your life, but it may lead you to be more thoughtful about the ways that you listen and interact with others, and it offers concrete suggestions that may seem hokey but probably help those really struggling with communication skills. I picked up a copy because I frequently have to conduct interviews for my research--it's a really quick read with a few interesting nuggets of information.