Anti-woo, the first lifemanship guide : the lifeman's improved primer for non-lovers, with special chapters on who not to love, falling out of love, avoidance gambits, and Coad-Sanderson's scale of progressive rifts

by Stephen Potter

113 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Stephen Meredith Potter was a British author and broadcaster. He popularised the term 'Gamemanship'.

Reviews

[Jeff Crompton]

I love Stephen Potter's weird little Lifesmanship/Gamesmanship books, so English in their humor (or humour, for my British friends). I just read this one for the second time, and it's my least favorite (favourite?) of the five I've read. The premise is funny enough - methods for avoiding romantic attachments - but it somehow falls flat, perhaps due to the fact that sexual mores have changed a good bit since 1965. If you've read Gamesmanship, Lifemanship, One-Upmanship, and Supermanship, check this one out, but if not, read those first.

[John]

Another dry parody of the self-help genre by Stephen Potter. This book could have stood a rewrite, but really shines in places, particularly the "Coad-Sanderson Scale of Progressive Rifts." Discusses whom not to fall in love with, early warnings of unsuitability, how to avoid falling into a relationship, and how to get out of one. Written for both men and women.