The Code: A Man's Rules for Living Life, Having Fun, and Getting Dressed

By: Carolyn Strauss, Jack Dale

Narrated by: Jack Dale, Carolyn Strauss

Length: 2 hrs

Publisher's summary

In the current cultural narrative of rules for behavior and interaction, The Code is a refreshing examination of the guidelines that can keep young men from making mistakes. Even when the consequences of those mistakes may not become relevant or public for years. The Code is an indispensable collection of honorable rules to live by.

Boys will listen and learn from it. "Guys" should be guided by these rules to become men. Men should give it as gifts to those who can still use a little extra help. Women should listen to it to see the world through a man's eyes. It is written with a pleasing mix of reasoned argument and personal anecdotes, intelligent language and good humor, and a feminine perspective on each of the rules which add depth to the conversation.

The Code is a refreshing change from a culture in which values and ethical stances are routinely dumbed down to five-second sound bites and bumper-sticker slogans.

©2017 Carolyn Strauss (P)2018 Carolyn Strauss

A good starting point!

This would be a book I would recommend to a young man 13 - 17 to introduce the idea of being a man. Would also be a good refresher for a guy in his 20's. Think it would be especially useful for young men being raised in a single parent - female household. Worth the credit and the time for a listen.


This book was provided at no cost for a fair and honest review.

The Man Code

Any additional comments?

I like the concept behind this book; namely, providing the listener with set of guidelines for how a man ought to conduct himself in life and in the world (i.e. The Code). Many rules that made up The Code were quite good (My personal favorite: "If you don't know who the pigeon is, it's you."). Unfortunately, some of the rules were duds and/or obvious (e.g. "Set high standards; marginal performance is unacceptable"). All of the rules were readily understandable, except for one that took me a few rewinds to fully comprehend: "What cannot be changed must be borne" (Translation: Use compartmentalization if you are forced to endure incredibly painful/difficult situations).

Overall, I found this audiobook thought-provoking and interesting. However, I wonder to what extent it was incomplete. In other words: which "rules" were missing from The Code"? Which rules would I otherwise include?

Aside from all of this, the narrator spoke clearly and was enjoyable to listen to.

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review.

Common sense for future Manly Men

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No this book is pure unmitigated B.S.

Would you recommend The Code: A Man's Rules for Living Life, Having Fun, and Getting Dressed to your friends? Why or why not?

Only to the so called friends I did not like.Put a young man on the streets of any major city of the world and he will learn more about being a man then this book.

Have you listened to any of Jack Dale and Carolyn Strauss ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No but they are good narrators.

Could you see The Code: A Man's Rules for Living Life, Having Fun, and Getting Dressed being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Are you kidding. It took a very good snow job to get any publisher to agree to publish this crap.

Any additional comments?

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Worth A Listen

This book was certainly worth a listen. I always enjoy hearing the "code" by which others live their lives. I, of course, did not 100% agree with everything laid out in this book, but at the author states, that's totally fine. This book is not meant to be a "live your life this way", but instead a "here's how I live my life based on the lessons I've learned; take away what you want". I wasn't a fan of Carolyn's additions (which is why I only gave "Story" three stars), because I thought she was repetitive, and just there to hype up Jack's code by praising it. But I didn't let that detract from the rest of the book.

As a 26 year old, I've had my own share of experiences, sure, and have developed my own "code" so far, but I definitely picked up a few things from this book. Some were things that I agreed with Jack on, and some were based on vehement disagreements. In both cases, this book still helped me adjust my "code". Even if you think you know exactly what your own "code" is, I would say it's worth checking out Jack's opinions.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

A great guide for growing up

The Code provides some simple rules and guides to follow to help a male grow from being a guy or a boy, into being a man - someone that acts maturely, with deference and patience. Author Jack Dale separates boys from men not by age but by those who are mature and act in a way deserving of respect. There are many adult males who are not men.

There is a lot of common sense in here, but it is also useful to have it written out. Some of the rules are better than others, and each can be assessed by the reader for themselves (the first rule/guide is "think for yourself" after all).

The book would be good for teens and young adults who are trying to find there way and learn what it means to be a respectful part of society.The book is a good mix of guidelines and anecdotal examples. As a father of two boys I can see myself using this books to help guide my kids. Even as an adult and a man (by the criteria of this book) I find it to be a useful reminder.

Carolyn Strauss adds a section at the end of each chapter. While having a female perspective is a nice idea her input basically boils down to "yes, females find it attractive if you do this". It felt rather reductive, as if guys would only care about this if females found it attractive, or that if it is attractive or not is the most important input a female can have to the situation is if it is attractive to them or not.

The two authors also narrated and did a fine job of it. Well paced, clear and easy to understand. I didn't actually realise it was author narrated at first, I thought they were professionals doing it.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.