Product Description
Written with the attitude of a couple ill-mannered schoolboys who exhibit the insight and genius of the Ph.D.’s who wrote it, Playing the Game simplifies even the most complex aspects of grad school. Authors Frank and Stein have broken down Playing The Game into three hilarious and straightforward sections: Getting In, Getting Through, and Getting the Hell Out. In whatever stage of graduate school you find yourself, rest assured that you will never again grumble… More >>
Playing the Game: The Streetsmart Guide to Graduate School
Tags: attitude, Game, genius, grad school, Graduate, graduate school, Guide, hell, insight, Playing, playing the game, School, schoolboys, Streetsmart, streetsmart guide
#1 by Grant S. Robertson on April 16, 2010 - 5:06 am
The authors of this book use pseudonyms and for good reason. It seems that they likely rushed their way through grad school on little more than BS and couldn’t find jobs when they got out, so decided to write this book to pay the bills.
I have the first edition of this book but, from the top edge of the cover of this edition, I don’t expect the two to be much different. In my edition I counted 95 quotes on pages all by themselves, 30 chapter heading pages with nothing but the chapter number, and 25 pages that are entirely blank. That is 150 pages out of 356, or almost half of the book which is nothing but wasted space. Of the pages that aren’t totally wasted, many are mostly worthless. The chapter on motivation contains exactly one line, “We weren’t motivated to actually write this chapter. Screw it.” While I understand the intended irony, this chapter accurately reflects the attitude displayed in the rest of the book. They spend a lot of time telling the reader how important or interesting some upcoming chapter is going to be. But when you get there, there is no there there. These guys just “phoned it in” and expect us to pay good money for it. Don’t fall for their scam.
There are a few morsels of good advice but they could all fit in a 10 page pamphlet.
Rating: 1 / 5
#2 by Anonymous on April 16, 2010 - 5:47 am
I was eager to see this book because of the excellent reviews it got from other readers, but was disappointed when it arrived. The book lacks substance. Most of the chapters are only a page (or in some cases only half a page!) long and are simply “fleshed out” by famous quotations. There is very little information here that you don’t already know (a lot of it is common sense) or can find in a cheaper book. Besides the lack of information, I have to seriously wonder about the qualifications of the authors. While the authors say they both have PhDs, they wrote the book under “assumed names” and provide no concrete informaton about their academic backgrounds, except to periodically reiterate that they went to “prestigious schools” (the meaning of this could be debated). While the tone is light and amusing, the language is so casual that it is almost vulgar in some places. The comments about professors and their responsibilities seem so flippant that, even if I believe the authors’ claims to have PhDs, I don’t think they could have gotten teaching jobs or respected positions in the academic community after grad school. I hope not, at least. Your best bet is to buy the book, skim it in one night (easily done) and return it the next day. If you’re looking for another resource book on grad school, try Writing your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day by Joan Bolker (and it’s 2/3 of the price of Playing the Game).
Rating: 2 / 5
#3 by jhdeleuzian on April 16, 2010 - 7:10 am
I do understand the raw reviews against this book. It’s tone can be very childish; it is certainly not my kind of humor but it’s written in the spirit of making graduate school feel like less of a grave enterprise. This means that despite poor presentation, this book still has something to offer.
I began reading this book before I entered my program. My concern at the time was how to get organized and make sure that I make progress towards the degree. The number of Ph.D. students who drop out, languish for several years, or wind up ABD (all but dissertation) is so high; it’s important to make consistent progress in an something that will take 5+ years of your life. Though callous, section titles like “Getting In,” “Getting Through” and “Getting The Hell Out” are meant to help you do just that.
A few of the excellent pieces of advice that are veiled in dumb humor are the importance of choosing a good advisor and a cooperative thesis committee, doing an independent study when a class that you want or need to take isn’t being offered, and making quick progress towards the dissertation stage by making wise choices early on about which courses you take and what you write about in seminar papers. The whole point is managing your academic life so that you don’t wind up languishing or dropping out – two options that are more crude than the low-grade humor of this book.
I recommend it.
Rating: 4 / 5
#4 by D. Gardner on April 16, 2010 - 9:48 am
This book put a realistic, funny spin on graduate school – one that I’m sure every graduate student can appreciate it. Despite the constant jokes, it does contain some good tidbits to succeed at the graduate level.
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Megan L. Mccall on April 16, 2010 - 10:36 am
The only positive thing I have to say about this book is that it’s funny. I found nothing helpful context-wise. Not worth the money.
Rating: 2 / 5