Product Description

How do you win the dating game if you’re a gay man?

After many years of serial monogamy, Dave Singleton went to the front lines to find out, exploring the lives of other gay men who found themselves on the dating fast track with guys they’d met from work, at the gym or bars, and, increasingly, on the Internet. Thus, The Mandates was born—a laugh-out-loud but completely true set of rules about the making (or breaking) of men’s romantic relationships.

A sampling:

Mandate #10: Everything You Need to Know, You Learn in the First Five Minutes
Mandate #12: The Difference Between Mr. Right and Mr. Right Now: Learn It!
Mandate #13: Things You Should Never, Ever, for Any Reason Say Out Loud in the First Six Months of Dating
Mandate #24: Be Your Own “Judge Judy”: Evaluating Heinous vs. Forgivable Sins

Plus, “A Gay Dating Primer: Dos and Don’ts,” and excellent advice on “The Who, What, Where, and How of Meeting a Guy” and “Marking the Milestones of Gay Dating.” At long last, here is a hilarious, definitive gay man’s guide to finding Mr. Right.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #132564 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-06
• Released on: 2004-01-06
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

From Publishers Weekly
"Across the world, eligible gay men are still 'social outlaws,' a ragtag gang of hormonally driven cowboys riding into romantic battle with guns, 'ammo,' and no clue," writes Singleton, who spent many hours listening to his friends' dating woes to formulate the rules he espouses here. A couple of his mandates could be applied to straight folks ("#22: Be True to Your Own Standards" or "#19: Ax the Word Ex"), but Singleton recognizes that most gay men don't adhere to the conventional "till death do us part" rigamarole. Accordingly, he provides would-be Romeos with handy gay-specific tips like "Hit on Someone Your Own Size (And Double Your Wardrobe)." The book contains some filler (such as Singleton's trite list of forgivable and unforgivable sins), but most readers will appreciate the author's breezy but knowledgeable take on gay dating.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Inside Flap Copy
How do you win the dating game if you're a gay man?

After many years of serial monogamy, Dave Singleton went to the front lines to find out, exploring the lives of other gay men who found themselves on the dating fast track with guys they'd met from work, at the gym or bars, and, increasingly, on the Internet. Thus, The Mandates was born; a laugh-out-loud but completely true set of rules about the making (or breaking) of men's romantic relationships.

A sampling:

Mandate #10: Everything You Need to Know, You Learn in the First Five Minutes
Mandate #12: The Difference Between Mr. Right and Mr. Right Now: Learn It!
Mandate #13: Things You Should Never, Ever, for Any Reason Say Out Loud in the First Six Months of Dating
Mandate #24: Be Your Own Judge Judy: Evaluating Heinous vs. Forgivable Sins

Plus, A Gay Dating Primer: Dos and Don'ts, and excellent advice on The Who, What, Where, and How of Meeting a Guy and Marking the Milestones of Gay Dating. At long last, here is a hilarious, definitive gay man's guide to finding Mr. Right.

About the Author
Dave Singleton is a marketing professional and the author of many articles on pop culture and entertainment. He and his partner live in Washington, D.C. For more on Dave and The Mandates, visit www.TheMandates.com.

Customer Reviews

Great summertime read
Definitely some interesting points in here for someone in the dating scene! I think this book is a very good buy if you are gay and dating and curious about certain aspects of the gay dating scene like I am right now. I just took it to the beach with me and it was really fun. And the guys on the cover are hot, too!

It's Not That I Like Dating How-To's...But This Was Fun
I don't usually like dating how to books and usually don't write reviews but a friend recommended this for a beach read and it definitely served it's purpose. We were howling. There are some passages that are so eerily realistic in their depiction of the gay guy psyche that they read more like a documentary than a funny how to.

Part of the humor was sharing it with my friends who have had similar experiences.
There are also parts of the book that I cannot empathize with at all, such as the checking a guy's medicine cabinet or music CD's as a part of the dating ritual. But some of these are, I think, tongue-in-cheek parts. Nonetheless, we laughed out loud at some of the unfamiliar topics, too. Yes, even the stereotypical ones that no one wants to admit to, and a lot of the advice which seems geared more toward a gay man's twenties and early thirties. Dating disasters are presented in a good-natured way which both the guilty and innocent should equally enjoy. This book can also be a good ego booster, since every gay man should be able to find at least one passage where he can say "At least I never did that!"

Funny
Loved it. It contains some wonderful, practical advice. But really, it's like spending the afternoon with a wise and witty friend who left me feeling better about myself than when I started it. I don't get the naysayers who act as if every so-called self help book has to be written in dense academic text or swamped in psychobabble. There's a lot of dreary stuff out there and I have read most of it. This was really enjoyable. There's some obvious satire in here, mixed with the stories. If you hate being entertained or laughing out loud then some parts of this are not for you I guess.