Pacify Me: A Handbook for the Freaked-Out New Dad

My son is just reading this now ... and so far has said he's getting a lot out of it.

I bought this book after seeing an interview with Mancini on the Geekscape podcast. As an expectant geek dad, I glanced at one of my wife's books, and read through another book aimed at fathers. Neither one really did it for me. Pacify Me is eons past anything else I've seen. Mancini has some hilarious stories, interesting points, and good, level-headed advice. Mancini is the first to admit that he is far from the expert, but he makes the reader feel as if the reader is along for the journey with the author. All of his insights are conveyed in a voice that speaks to geeks with a healthy sense of humor. I found myself laughing out loud at lots of points, something I almost never do when reading.If you have a well-developed sense of humor and are geeky enough to get broad Star Wars & Star Trek references, you'll love this book.

This book was written for the father-to-be who's anxious about the prospect of having children. That may or may not be a wide audience, but -- speaking as one of them -- it hit the mark. I'm grateful to the author for having written it and I wished I'd found it sooner.It's pretty funny, too. The writer has talent and a nice dry sense of humor. This might throw off a few mothers-to-be, but my wife thought the parts I read to her were entertaining, so there's that. If you don't take things too seriously you'll enjoy it.

In some ways, I feel this book was written for me--I am Mancini's target audience. I am about to be a new dad, and truth be told, I am somewhat freaked-out. This book is very funny. Mancini uses a vast array of pop culture, literature and history references to make his point. In fact, this book is so funny, after I read it, I read it a second time out loud for my wife. She enjoyed it too (getting a pregnant woman to laugh this much is great). Although Mancini uses his humor to make his point, the points he makes are very important, from learning baby CPR to choosing daycare (a great chapter). So through the laughter, a father-to-be will learn a few helpful pointers along the way. I highly recommend this book--I have already purchased another copy and sent it to my best friend who has a 4 month old baby. He is enjoying the book too! In some ways, that is the best compliment for the book--it is great for dads of all ages!

I got this for my husband, but he stopped reading it part way as according to him the new dad nitpicks his wife, and his language was too awkward to follow.