Girl Watchers Club, The

by Harry Stein

Harry Stein gives us the conversations of a group of older men who meet every week for lunch to reflect on their lives and the state of the world. What is a well-lived life? What is honour, and does it have a place in our society? A profound and poignant meditation on the meaning of honour, told through the words of men who lived life according to the forgotten rules of trust and responsibility. From these conversations, Stein shows us men who lived their lives according to values that have since been declared relative or honour, responsibility, decency, and an uncynical commitment to being the best men they could be. Stein presents the stories of this remarkable group of men who lived through the difficult time of the mid-20th century and all its wars and social upheavals. We meet Moe Turner, Stein's father-in-law, a mathematician involved in research on the H-bomb who is Stein's connection to the group. We meet Boyd Huff, a survivor of the Nazi prisoner camps, whose youngest son was killed in a gun accident and oldest is a hospitalized schizophrenic. We meet Gene Cooper, an electrical engineer and the emotional centre of the group. These three men, and the rest of the club, have had difficult lives and plenty of trying moments, yet all of them have survived with their sense of right and wrong, of honour and love, fully intact. Stein connects their background, stories and lives, to the valuable views and ideas they share with him now. What the reader comes away with is a renewed sense of purpose, a new confidence in the strength of courage and conviction in your beliefs—even as those of the world change around you.

Genres: Nonfiction

315 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2004

About the author

Conservative author Harry Stein is known for his light touch on hard topics: How I Accidentally Joined the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy (And Found Inner Peace): I Can't Believe I'm Sitting Next to a Republican; The Idiot Vote -- The Democrats' Core Constituency; etc. Now, with his comic novel Will Tripp, Pissed Off Attorney-at-Law , he does his bit to take back popular culture from the radical left.

Harry Stein is a veteran author and journalist who, in his earlier life as a liberal, regularly wrote for The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Playboy and Esquire, among other places he will never appear again. A contributing editor to City Journal, he written twelve books.

Reviews

[Layne Streuding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adore! Didn’t want this book to end, it was such an easy read as it’s a “fly-on-the-wall“ narrative transcript of the conversations of 6 WWII vets reflecting on their lives and the status of the world. So much comical wisdom. The meetings of this group occur where they all now live in Monterey, California. Reading this book as I’m also living here in this sweet town was an extra enjoyment.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say overall you really have to appreciate the men of the Girl Watchers Club. Honestly there is nothing more humorous, interesting, amazing, and sometimes heartbreaking then a group of men sharing life stories together and life lessons as well. The men themselves are of course the star of the show and for most of it Stein stands back and lets them shine. However, Stein does make his own opinion on things known throughout the book which becomes rather irritating. He also tends to frame some of his interview questions the same way to support some of the points he makes. The book several times becomes a comparison study between Stein's own baby boomer generation and the "Greatest Generation" or "The G.I. Generation" overlooking the fact that both generations are entirely different from one another. After a while it comes across as Stein simply self hating and whining about his own generation. I wish he would have focused everything on the Girl Watchers and their experiences both sad and humorous. No comparison study was needed at all in my opinion.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Deep down inside, we're all about fourteen years old and in the first year of high school. Everybody else is bigger and smarter and knows more than we do. And we spend our lives looking for someone who has the answers. But here's the big seret: Nobody has them. Every human being, even the most successful, is basically flying by the seat of his pants."

"Till her, I'd never told any woman I loved her, did I ever tell you that? A lot of guys tell every woman they see."

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in California, a group of WWII vets get together regularly - for almost forty years - in their retirement to discuss life. The book opens on 9/11 and the author recounts the group's dicussions. Another life lesson book...an enjoyable one. I love the idea of being retired...being with friends...being around coffee, books, and life discussions...being in California. This may explain my attraction to this book.

[Leah]

DNF

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a recommendation from my dad. It was very hard to get into it and it was a slow read however the experiences and thoughts of the men in the "girl watchers club" were priceless. I felt like I was sitting with my grandparents and great aunts and uncles. That generation was something to be admired.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is worth a read, but I found it to jump around quite a bit. The reader definitely gets to know the Girl Watchers and admire them in many ways. I found it to run on a little long, but would have appreciated a little more historical background about WWII veterans today. I'm not naming names, but I would be troubled to have one character as a grandfather.

[Patrick]

Great Read

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know I'd like this as much as I did. It felt like I was talking with my grandfather and his friends, and I was ready to hear their stories and lessons.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I re-read this whenever I want to be reminded why i do the work i do --plus reading about these men reminds me of the strong older males in my family. What a hoot!

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Watch out for the language! Sailors, for sure!

[Kellysue Hornsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book. Made me want to spend more time with my dad.