Corey Mintz

In a show of bad table manners, I devoured this book. Never have I found any other piece of writing that has so eloquently and straightforwardly expressed everything I think, believe, and feel about dinner parties: their joy, their purpose, their proper execution. To some, the dinner party may seem a frivolous and unnecessary occasion for a tract, but Mintz understands their true potential, and knows exactly what needs to be done to tap into it. Throughout the book, Mintz's advice is level-headed, down-to-earth, and unpretentious -- just like any good dinner should be.

The book is a very quick read (thus making it a bit overpriced at $20), but that's more a testament to Mintz's clear and pleasurable style, which deals with its subject matter with admirable precision and brevity. How To Host a Dinner Party teaches you exactly what its title announces, which turns out not to be a very complicated topic -- yet uncomplicated things can often be, by their very simplicity, complicated to write on and explain well. But that's precisely what Mintz has done with this book, and for that he deserves much praise.… (meer)