Why the grain of salt? I mean it’s heavy anti-nice guy tactics for sure and you could come across as an ******* with some of the content. But everything in moderation, there’s plenty of gems in that book.
Definitely worth reading.
I agree, if it's basically his peak blog material, I'm sure it's smart stuff. One thing I've noticed is that all of classic RP writers eventually become ensconced in their way of thinking, though. They start out asking a lot of questions, which is great, but eventually they become attached to their worldviews and attack others'. I often wonder if it's a byproduct of gaining a huge following. Because for instance, I'm far less headstrong than I was 10-15 years ago, and I question a lot more and I don't feel threatened by other opinions. But I'm not writing books. Plus Heartiste's writings (and his readership/commenters) became more and more white supremacist over the years, which really is not my cup of tea at all. At some point he barely wrote about seduction any more. His comments on sexual abuse were also not my thing.
This is why I think the best writer was a guy nobody remembers: LaidNYC. He had a blog and a Twitter account for maybe 2 or 3 years, not sure. When he felt he'd said all he had to say, which he said in a mostly sober tone, he shut both down and moved on.