Swoon: Great Seducers and Why Women Love Them

I’ve kinda lost faith in Betsy’s argument. It feels like she wants to paint seducers into this mold that they are generally suave gentlemen who treat women well and love them. She talks about Casanova lavishing his women with gifts. But she doesn’t mention him raping a woman to impress his friends. And it doesn’t seem like she considers an alternative in which Casanova might give gifts to women to manipulate their affections. Betsy says that seducers love women, but might it be that they love women’s affection? The men she interviews don’t really seem to talk about the women at all. Perhaps the point of her book is to analyze what she thinks women are attracted to in these men, but it felt as if she was portraying their behavior as their genuine character. Maybe that’s a misreading on my part. Maybe I just wish there was less hand waving away of the destruction and pain that many seducers create. I guess for me, it felt as if she was trying to paint seducers as loveable rogues, while seeming to give little air to their less loveable traits. But I like that it’s a counterpoint to Greene’s book and it’s well written for those who have a more playful view of seduction.

I'm one of the 'nice guys' with decent success, but reading this book has been eye-opening! I love all the history and perspective that this fantastic author brings to the table. Reading about the great lovers of history (real and fictional) is inspiring me to put 100% into my relationships - and giving great pointers along the way. Be intense, show charisma, create something with your lady!I'll never be the world's greatest lover, but (as the incredible Terry Pratchett once said) perhaps I can be the second greatest!

A fun, riveting read - witty, gossipy, well-investigated. It has a new generation beat on an intellectual plane that puts a smile on your face. In the eternal quest for love, ladies glean how they should be treated, how to recognize men that can enhance and enrich their lives.Dr. Prioleau gives the gentlemen a roadmap to the subtleties it takes to win a lady's heart. How to beguile hasn't changed much in the millennia. The magic secrets are revealed in the lives of the many fascinating mythological and historical characters, and a string of interviews with contemporary Lotharios tells how to get lucky today! It should be required reading for all men who yearn to please a woman. Discussed is every tactic that could tug at the heartstrings and tickle the brain - and ignite a flame.To the ladies - sweet dreams! To the men - a toast to success! I highly recommend it!

I love the stories in here. These men represent the last of a dying breed of gentlemen. All men today should embody these values is we are to fix this broken dating scene we have.

Swoon is about "womanizers", but the answers and stories about some famous men that drew women to them will surprise you. They usually don't look like Robert Redford, but their ability to make a woman feel important and listened to and beautiful is what makes them appealing. It's encouraging because any man can make a woman swoon if they don't make it "all about them" and more about that woman in whose company they are.Ms. Prioleau is a wonderful writer and she has certainly done her research. She is a college professor who is able to make these men seem sympathetic and interesting, and the book has great anecdotes.

All in all it's a good and interesting read and gives you a great deal of perspective on these men's abilities ,but gives a generalization on how they were able to go about and being ladies men . It needs to be more in depth on how they became " ladies men " though . Its a good read and I recommend it .

Very thorough work, has the depth and dizzying amount of sources of a scientific tome. A bit difficult to read at times due to its depth, and from being inundated in examples from romantic novels. Nevertheless, it's a good read and I'm glad to have stuck with it to the end.

A brief but very interesting and informative look at great seducers and what makes them so attractive to women. Also, a look at what women want from men, in reality as opposed to what they say they want and why most men don't connect to women and their desires. Actually, a must read for those men who do want to sincerely connect to women at the most basic and visceral level.