cover image Why Men Marry Bitches: A Woman's Guide to Winning Her Man's Heart

Why Men Marry Bitches: A Woman's Guide to Winning Her Man's Heart

Sherry Argov. Simon & Schuster, $15.95 (246pp) ISBN 978-0-7432-7637-5

As in her previous book, Why Men Love Bitches, Argov does not use the word ""bitch"" in a pejorative way, but rather ""to describe a strong woman who has her own identity and is secure with who she is."" And while encouraging women to be strong, independent and inscrutable is sound advice, the motivation behind this advice-to keep his interest-makes for a headache-inspiring contradiction. Fortunately, Argov takes readers step-by-step through her process, including numerous ""Relationship Principles"" that keeps her concepts clear (""Relationship Principle 35: Men are intrigued by anything they do not completely control.""). Though the generalizations Argov uses to describe her pre-bitch audience can at times be condescending, and her goals are more about acting-rather than believing-that you don't need a man to feel complete, the behavior she encourages is healthy and useful, even outside the realm of husband-hunting. Taken more as a Bitch's Guide to Life-the word ""relationship,"" after all, doesn't necessarily imply romance-this is a solid self-help.