Seduction, in French thinker Baudrillard's apocalyptic discourse, is a power of attraction and fascination capable of subverting mechanical, orgasm-centered sexuality and reality in general. Two chief obstacles to unleashing the potentially liberating forces of seduction are the women's movement and psychoanalysis, charges the author of America and Forget Foucault. While recognizing that seduction has a negative side--turning the seduced person away from his/her true thoughts and impulses--Baudrillard is intrigued by the seductive processes at work in the vertigo induced by games, in magic and the lottery, in the transvestite's "total gestural, sensual and ritual" behavior.
You're no idiot, of course. You've heard that oysters are a great aphrodisiac, know that everybody looks better in candlelight, and can wink without making it look like something got caught in your eye. But when it comes to putting these talents together and seducing the one you want, you feel like cupid without a bow and arrow. Don't hang up your wings just yet! The complete Idiot's Guide to the Art of Seduction is here to teach you the tricks of the trade. In this Complete Idiot's Guide .
The author of THE 48 LAWS OF POWER gives us another tour de force on influence, this time on the mysterious process of seduction. He describes nine basic types of seducers, and each one is illustrated by marvelous examples from history and popular culture. Skillfully drawn and paced, the examples bring to life character types that will make sense to everyone from the casual listener to the serious student of this type of influence. The reading here is too dramatic for my taste, but it's a minor distraction in an otherwise captivating picture of how the skillful seducer operates.
