The Alphabet of Manliness

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Alphabet of Manliness is a New York Times Bestseller humor book written by Internet satirist and self-proclaimed pirate George Ouzounian, who is better known by his pseudonym Maddox.

The cover artwork of The Alphabet of Manliness

1 Publication
2 Sections
3 Illustrators
4 Book signing tour
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Publication

Maddox announced the book on February 22, 2005, and announced its title to a subscribed mailing list on October 18, 2005. It was officially completed on January 19, 2006, as announced on Maddox's website. The book first appeared in Barnes and Noble bookstores during May 2006 and the book arrived to those who pre-ordered it on June 1, 2006. The book debuted at #4 on the New York Times Best Seller list for Hardcover Advice/Other, and eventually attained #2. The book was published by Kensington in the United States and was published by Penguin in the UK.

The book is dedicated to Maddox himself: "To the love of my life, my soul mate, and the greatest person in the world: Me." Excluding the foreword, acknowledgments, and an illustrator index, the book is 204 pages in length.

The United Kingdom edition of the book has had certain factors of the book removed. The most notable changes were the removal of the "headbutt to the ovaries" and the "back-breaker" sections from the first chapter (A - Ass-kicking). The edition also contains a disclaimer.

[edit] Sections

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The book consists of 26 short sections, each corresponding to a letter of the alphabet.

A - Ass-Kicking
B - Boners
C - Copping a Feel
D - Taking a Dump
E - Enlightenment
F - Female Wrestling
G - Gas
H - Hot Sauce
I - Irate
J - Jerky, Beef
K - Knockers
L - Lumberjack
M - Metal
N - Norris, Chuck
O - Obedience
P - Pirates
Q - Quickies
R - Road Rage
S - Sneaking a Peek
T - Taunting
U - Urinal Etiquette
V - Violence
W - Winner
X - XXX
Y - Yelling
Z - Zombies

[edit] Illustrators

Bryan Douglas
Justina Fader
Louis Fernet-Leclair
Jim Moore
John Petersen
Thomas Pollock Jr.
Leah Tiscione
Angelo Vildasol

[edit] Book signing tour

Maddox giving the finger for a fan photo, a common pose for the author

After the official release of The Alphabet of Manliness, Maddox went on a book signing tour in several states, starting in his home state of Utah. The first leg of his tour took him from Salt Lake City to the East Coast and Mid-west of the USA. The second leg of the tour to the West Coast started on July 13, 2006, ending on July 29, 2006.

On this tour he dressed himself in a large royal gown and was wearing a crown on his head. This provoked many people to get down on their hands and knees in front of him, often kissing his hand.

On the book's website Maddox also jokingly listed a set of rules for fans, such as barring eye contact or talking directly to him (referring to an urban legend about popular figures such as Hillary Clinton and Shania Twain), formal dress attire, and remaining at least three feet (1 yard) away at all times. Amusingly, some attending fans abided by these rules.

While copies of The Alphabet of Manliness were primarily signed, some of the people in line had also asked for clothes or body parts (mainly breasts) to be signed as well.[1]