How to Avoid Getting Pickpocketed

A couple centuries ago, pickpocketing was the scourge of cities around the world. From Dickens’ London to New York City’s famous Five Points, skilled thieves practiced their craft, filching the valuables of passersby without the victim noticing a thing. In fact, that’s how pockets in clothing got their start: Prior to the 17th century, men and women alike carried their valuables in purses outside the body; they then started tying pouches inside their clothes in an attempt to thwart would-be “cutpurses” and thieves. But pickpockets soon adapted and learned how to deftly extract the goods from trouser, waistcoat, and jacket pockets alike.

Around the turn of the 20^th century, American prosecutors began cracking down hard on pickpockets, and mandatory schooling took young would-be thieves off the streets. Soon there were few “master” pickpockets left to pass on the trade, and fewer kids willing and able to learn a form of crime that took years to perfect. In more recent years, the decline of cash has made wallets a less desirable target.

While pickpocketing has been on the decline in the U.S for the past fifty years or so, it’s still a major problem in Europe. In fact, pickpocketing has gotten so bad in some countries that popular tourist attractions have had to close for days at a time.

Many police departments shrug off pickpocketing as common petty larceny. But to the victim, having their wallet stolen not only puts them out of the cash they were carrying, but creates a huge cost in time and worry. Credit cards must be canceled and credit agencies must be warned for possible identity fraud. If a passport was lifted, travel plans will likely be delayed and the victim will have to pay for an even more expensive trip home because they missed their original flight.

To avoid finding yourself in that kind of aggravating mess, you simply need to take a few precautions that’ll greatly reduce your vulnerability to pickpockets. And in today’s post we’ll provide expert-backed tips on how to do just that.

Maintain Situational Awareness

The first step in avoiding getting pickpocketed is to always maintain situational awareness when you’re out and about. For an in-depth look at how to develop the situational awareness of Jason Bourne, read this article.

Know Your Thief

It’s hard to pick a thief out of a crowd because pickpockets cross all demographic boundaries and stereotypes. While your grandma may have told you to “Be on the lookout for Gypsies!” pickpockets come in every race and color. While most are male, there are a large number of female pickpockets too. And while pickpocketing has often been called a “boys’ crime,” in Europe it’s common to find pickpocket gangs where the average member is in his 30s.

So don’t assume that you’ll be able to avoid getting pickpocketed by steering clear of certain “types” of people. With that said, keep in mind the following points when you’re out and about in an area known for pickpocketing:

Pickpockets often work in groups. One or two members of the pickpocketing team will act as distractions while an accomplice steals your stuff. So if you see a group of people acting in ways that seem designed to get your attention, be on the lookout for a hand trying to filch your valuables.

Pickpockets are often children. While many pickpockets are grown men, a large number of pickpockets are indeed young boys and girls. Children pickpockets take full advantage of their innocent, doe-eyed looks. Because a tourist doesn’t expect a child to be a criminal, the young pickpocket can get closer to their target without raising suspicion.

You’re likely to encounter more child pickpockets in Europe because in many countries, when a young thief is apprehended by authorities, they’re simply taken to a group home where they walk out the door the next day to do some more stealing.

So don’t be lulled into a false sense of security whenever a child suddenly comes into contact with you in an area known for pickpocketing. It’s possible they’re getting a heist started on you.

Pickpockets are typically well-dressed. When most people imagine a pickpocket, they likely picture a dirty street urchin. The reality is most pickpockets look like well-dressed middle-class folks. They want to blend in with their environment and appear as non-threatening as possible to get as close to you as they can without setting off alarms. So they’ll dress in a way that puts people at ease, which means wearing clean, well-pressed clothing featuring logos of brands that people associate with middle-class wealth (at least in Europe) — Nike, Gap, Adidas, etc.

Know Where Pickpockets Like to Work

While you can encounter pickpockets in any part of a city, some locations are a magnet for pickpockets:

Tourist attractions. Tourist attractions are a pickpocket’s paradise. You’ve got 1) lots of clueless tourists often carrying lots of cash, 2) monuments and exhibits that distract people and take their gaze and attention off their possessions, and 3) high pedestrian traffic where people are bumping into each other and are less likely to notice the touch of a thief’s sticky fingers. Pickpocketing is in fact so rampant at tourist attractions that in recent years both the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre have had to close for several days because of it.

If a popular tourist attraction is on your list of must-sees while traveling, take extra precautions with your valuables when you visit.

Public transportation. Because public transportation forces people to stand right next to each other, it’s a fertile field for pickpocketing. With just a bump from an accomplice, a pickpocket can take your wallet and be off the train and on his way before you even realize it’s missing.

Restaurants and bars. Pickpockets often flock to restaurants and bars that are popular with tourists. Because patrons’ attention is focused on their meal and the people they’re eating with, they often don’t notice the hand that slides into their purse to snatch a wallet.

Hotel lobbies. Hotel lobbies offer a pickpocket a great opportunity to swipe a person’s goods. When tourists arrive at a hotel’s door, they’re often juggling and keeping track of several pieces of luggage. Pickpockets take advantage of the tourist’s diverted attention by stealing what they can from them.

Know the Tricks Pickpockets Use

It’s not just a steady and stealthy hand that makes a successful pickpocket.

Just as magicians use misdirection and distraction to make cards and coins seemingly vanish into thin air, pickpockets use similar techniques to make your wallet and smartphone disappear.

A good pickpocket has a keen understanding of human psychology and understands that people can only direct their attention to one or two things at a time. Consequently, they’ll either wait for or create a moment in which your attention is diverted towards something else to steal from you.

While it’s possible for a lone pickpocket to create the necessary distraction to successfully filch your valuables, it’s much easier when they have a partner in crime. Consequently, as previously mentioned, most pickpockets work in teams.

Below we highlight a few of the tricks that pickpockets commonly use to steal from their victims. Most of them are tactics used by groups, while a few are methods employed by lone thieves:

The helpful stranger. A friendly stranger approaches you to wipe off some lint from your jacket. A few minutes later when you go to retrieve your wallet to buy a drink, you find it missing. Sometimes the ruse is even more elaborate: one person “accidentally” spills something on you, another helps you wipe off the mess, while a third takes advantage of the hoopla by stealing your wallet. If someone acts a little too friendly and helpful towards you, be suspicious. They could be a pickpocket (or the distracter in a pickpocketing team).

Taking advantage of the Good Samaritan. A stranger approaches you asking for help — maybe they have a map and are asking for directions, or they could fall in front of you, dropping everything they have in their hands. The clumsy person is really the distracting half of a pick-pocketing team; while your attention shifts towards helping them, their partner swoops in and stealthily makes off with your wallet.

Creating delays at turnstiles. You’re walking through a crowded turnstile to get on the subway when suddenly the person in front of you stops, causing you to run right into them. Consequently, the person behind you bumps into you as well. The person at the front apologizes and says her ticket didn’t work. She tries again, this time with success. With another apology, she pushes through the turnstile and runs off to catch her train. When you get on your train and sit down, you notice that your wallet isn’t in your back pocket anymore.

The person who caused the delay at the turnstile was the distracter; the person who bumped into you from behind was the pickpocket who lifted your wallet. With all the commotion of bodies bumping into bodies, you never felt a hand slip into your back pocket.

The flash mob. You’re on the subway train when suddenly a huge mass of people surround you and start bumping you. At the next stop, they all get off, and your wallet is missing.

If you’re ever suddenly surrounded by lots of people, get out immediately. You’re about to get pickpocketed.

Charity workers with clipboards. A group of well-dressed, friendly girls approach you with a clipboard. They signal that they’re deaf and mute and point to the clipboard. While you’ve got the clipboard in your hand, reading over the petition/donation form, an accomplice is snatching your wallet or stuff out of your backpack. This is supposedly a popular pickpocket tactic in Paris.

The friendly salesman. While browsing through an outdoor marketplace, you encounter a salesman who’s just a little too friendly and pushy with his wares. He may not actually be interested in making the sale, but simply distracting you while an accomplice steals your wallet.

Fake fights. A group of men starts fighting. You, of course, watch because fights are cool. When the fight’s over, your wallet is gone.

That wasn’t a real fight and you’ve just been suckered.

Child beggars. A group of children suddenly gathers around you talking, shouting, and begging for money. They soon disperse, but you’re lighter in the pants. While many pickpockets look like mild-mannered middle-class folks, some do look like the stereotypical street urchin/beggar.

Bag slashing. Some thieves won’t even bother with all the distractions and stealth tactics, and will just cut open your backpack and take what they can get their hands on. While it’s not that common, it happens enough that you may want to take precautions to prevent it happening to you. We’ll offer some suggestions on how to do that below.

The quick grab before the subway door closes. Another brazen tactic that thieves use is to target individuals who are sitting or standing right next to a subway train’s doors. The thief will stand near the victim on the train or just outside the train’s doors. Right before the doors close, the thief will snatch the purse or backpack or take the wallet, and then bolt out of the train. The victim can’t do much except pound the doors as the train rolls away. Because the thief doesn’t have to worry about you following them, they can afford to be less stealthy with their heist. They’ll just grab whatever they want, not caring if you notice them or not.

Bump and lift. The most common solo pickpocket tactic is the bump and lift. The pickpocket simply bumps into the victim while simultaneously taking the victim’s wallet out of their back pocket.

Pickpocket-Proof Yourself (As Much as You Can)

While it’s impossible to make yourself 100% pickpocket proof, there are some things you can do to make yourself a far less likely victim:

Don’t look like a tourist. Pickpockets love hitting up tourists because 1) they often have lots of cash and valuables on them and 2) they’re typically not paying attention to what’s going on around them because they’re so focused on taking in the new sights.

So avoid looking like a tourist.

This doesn’t mean you have to dress exactly like the locals, but do the best you can to blend in. Don’t wear anything that will make you stand out and broadcast that you’re a tourist with a lot of money. Pickpocketing expert Bob Arno recommends not wearing clothing with high-end brand logos as well as not wearing expensive jewelry or watches. In other words, dress in a culturally appropriate, non-descript way.

Also, avoid gawking at maps and appearing like you don’t know where you are. Before leaving for any destination, have a good idea of how to get there and move like you know where you’re going.

Be alert and assertive. If you’re rushed and encircled by a group of children, there’s a chance they’re working together to steal whatever you have on you. Maintain a confident stance and yell “No!” — they’ll probably back away. If they don’t, don’t be afraid to push your way through even though they’re kids. Likewise, if a “helpful” stranger seems to be suspiciously friendly, don’t be afraid to move away and keep your distance. Thieves count on you being too “nice” to want to be rude or make a scene. You don’t want to come off as aloof and wary to genuinely friendly folks, but you do need to be alert and aware of what’s going on around you.

Keep the bare minimum in your wallet. The less you have in your wallet, the less of a hassle it will be if you do get pickpocketed. Just keep a single credit card, a single form of ID, and a small amount of cash. That’s it.

Keep a back up credit card stowed safely away in your hotel in the event that you do lose your wallet.

Secure your valuables in a front pocket. While a skilled pickpocket can swipe your stuff from your front pocket, it’s more difficult to do than when your stuff is in your back pocket. If you’re looking for a wallet that fits nicely in your front pocket, check out the Rogue Wallet. And don’t forget to put your smartphone in your front pocket as well.

Another more secure place to stash your goods besides your back pocket is the inside pocket of your jacket. For added security, make sure that it can button or zipper close.

Better yet, keep them in a money belt. For maximum security, take a tip from your forebearers and keep your valuables under your clothes, tucked inside a money belt. Keep in mind though that money belts aren’t entirely pick-proof.

Another option that’s even more secure than money belts is underwear with zipper pockets. The Clever Travel Companion is a great example of this type of garment. Even the deftest of pickpockets will have a hard time getting their hands down by your junk to retrieve a wallet without being noticed.

If you see a sign that says “Beware of Pickpockets,” don’t touch your wallet. In areas where petty thieves are prevalent, you’ll often find signs that say “Beware of Pickpockets.” Upon seeing this sign, most people will immediately pat their clothing where they keep their valuables to check that they’re still there. Meanwhile, the pickpockets are standing nearby observing where people are patting themselves so they can go in for the steal!

So if you see a “Beware of Pickpockets” sign, avoid the knee-jerk reaction to check your stuff. You’re just providing a homing beacon to thieves.

Secure your backpack. Backpacks and other bags are a pickpocket’s friend. Not only do they make you look like a tourist (especially the backpacking variety), but because the bags aren’t touching your body, you’re not going to feel it when a pickpocket places his hand inside to steal your possessions.

If you can, avoid carrying a backpack or shoulder bag while out and about. However, if you need to have it on you, take the following precautions to avoid getting pickpocketed:

• Don’t keep anything valuable in your backpack. Your wallet and smartphone should be in your front pocket or money belt. Don’t keep these in your backpack. Ideally, you’re only going to keep things in your backpack that you wouldn’t mind losing.
• Don’t put anything in the back pocket. The easiest target on your backpack is the back pocket on the outside. A pickpocket can easily unzip it and get stuff out without you feeling it.
• Put locks on your zippers. If you do need to keep valuables in your backpack (for example, a camera), lock the zippers with small luggage locks.
• Wear the hip belt when you’re walking. Besides making the bag more comfortable, the hip belt can also serve as an added security device. More brazen thieves will simply just take your backpack off your shoulders and run off with it. If you’ve got that hip belt secured, such a grab becomes a far more difficult, two-step process.
• Keep bags in front of you when on public transit. When you’re on public transit, move your backpack from your back to your front. That way you have a better view of sneaky guys trying to get their hands into your stuff.
• Keep bags between your feet while eating. Don’t place your bag by your chair, or hang it on a chair while you’re dining. Always keep your bags in physical contact with you.
• Buy slash-proof bags. While not entirely knife-proof, slash resistant bags can make slash and grab jobs a bit more difficult for crooks. It might be worth it to consider the investment.

Never put your phone on the table when you’re eating. I’ve never understood why people put their smartphone on the table while eating; it’s rude and prevents you from being fully present with the folks you’re dining with. But if you’re one of those people who absolutely must keep their phone on the table while you’re at a restaurant, be aware that pickpockets are targeting you. A growing number of enterprising pickpockets are casing restaurants with outdoor eating areas and looking for phones sitting on tables. When they see one, they’ll swoop in as a team — one guy acting as the distraction (selling flowers, newspapers, candy, etc.), while his accomplice grabs the phone.

Lesson: Keep your smartphone tucked away on your person while you’re eating. The text messages can wait.

Also keep your phone locked and install software that allows you to remotely wipe clean its data. If your phone does get stolen, you don’t want the pickpocket to have access to your valuable information.

What to Do If You Do Get Pickpocketed

There’s no such thing as perfect security. Even if you follow the above guidelines, there’s a chance you’ll still get pickpocketed. So what do you if it happens to you?

Make a copy of your ID before you leave. Before you leave for your trip, make a copy of your passport and driver’s license. I’d recommend storing these in Dropbox or Google Drive. These will come in handy in the event you lose your passport and ID and need to get a new passport from the embassy so you can make your trip home.

Call your credit card company. In addition to the copies of your passport and IDs, have the last four digits of the credit card you’re carrying with you on your trip stored somewhere. Along with that, have the phone number of the company that issued your card. If your wallet goes missing or stolen, immediately call the issuing company and let them know. Any attempted transactions with your card will then be blocked from clearing.

Call a credit reporting agency. After you’ve called your credit card company, call one of the main credit reporting companies, like Equifax or Experian, to report your card as missing or stolen. The reporting company will place an initial fraud alert on your credit file for 90 days. This will put companies issuing credit (banks, credit card companies, etc.) on alert that you might be the victim of identity fraud, and it will make opening new accounts in your name more difficult.

File a report with the police. If you believe you’ve been the victim of theft, file a report with the local police. It might not do much to get your ID and credit cards back, but it won’t hurt.

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Sources

Travel Advisory by Bambi Vincent and Bob Arno

“How to Avoid Becoming a Victim” from US embassy in Paris

Illustrations by Ted Slampyak

4 Reasons You Should Learn How to Repair Your Own Furniture

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Joshua Klein.

Every man should learn how to repair his furniture. Loose and wobbly chairs, broken stretchers, and dangling veneer fragments are all common sights in the average home. While many leave these items neglected until the problem compounds into something greater, some are bold enough to try to remedy the issue…even if they’re unsure of the best way to do it. While their fortitude is admirable, the resulting quick fix almost always causes bigger long-term problems for the piece. Fortunately, ensuring execution of a sound repair rather than a shortsighted one is often an issue of knowledge, not technical skill. No more than the most basic woodworking skills are required. And so I present this two-part series on repairing your own furniture.

But I’m not completely naïve here. I know not everyone sees the value of learning this skill, so before we dive into the how, let me take a minute to start with the why question. You may be asking, “Frankly, who cares if my chair sways a bit when I sit in it?” or, “In this day and age, who really has time to re-glue their furniture when it’s loose? Can’t we just buy the new model coming out next year?” “I’ll just stick this one out in the garage until later. We’ve got other chairs that are fine,” you think to yourself.

If that’s you, hear me out. There are several good reasons you should learn to care for the furniture of your domestic domain. Both practical and philosophical concerns are at issue here and we would do well to consider them.

Reasons You Should Repair Your Own Furniture

Reason #1: Eliminate a Safety Hazard

You don’t want to be the guy who offers a friend or loved one the chair that finally gives way underneath them, sending them crashing to the floor atop pointed wooden shards. At the very least, it’s embarrassing when someone special sits nervously for fear of being the straw that finally breaks the chair/camel’s back. When something is wobbling, that something is dangerous. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Reason #2: Impress Your Loved Ones

One of the coolest things about repairing your own furniture is that your lady will swoon. When your skills, knowledge, and dependability set you apart from other dudes it shows your wife and kids how a real man takes care of the stuff he’s responsible for. Be that guy. Seriously, competence in this area will do more for your relationship than all the sappy poetry you place in all your flower bouquets combined.

Reason #3: Plan for Permanence, Not Obsolescence

The planned obsolescence of today’s consumerism is a tragedy. Not only is it wasteful for our furniture to become disposable after only a few years, but even worse, it strips men of the opportunity to develop manual dexterity. When nothing is repairable anymore, there is no reason to learn to work with our hands. Let’s rebel against insatiable consumerism. Investing in well-made pieces enables you to keep furniture of integrity your entire life. Besides, when your time is up, your kids will have something special to inherit.

Reason #4: Leave a Legacy for Future Generations

Speaking of inheriting special things…if you have any antique furniture, think about this: you are only one of the many caretakers of the piece throughout its “lifetime.” Perhaps someone 150 years ago ordered your dining table from a cabinetmaker to commemorate their wedding date. They then ate home-cooked meals with their children at it their whole lives. Then their children inherited it and did the same. Then the next generation acquired it and so on. Learning to appreciate your role in the big picture of your heritage is a dying duty today in our culture. Be a man and honor your past.

Furniture Mindfulness

While it’s certainly manly to repair furniture, it’s even better to prevent the need for such repairs in the first place by taking good care of your possessions. So before we get to how to mend broken things, let’s talk about how to minimize the need for such fixes by practicing furniture mindfulness.

No, I’m not talking about a neo-Buddhist meditation on your table’s joinery. I’m talking about using your furniture in such a way that you’re aware of the weaknesses, and you make sure to avoid stressing them.

In short: use furniture as it was designed to be used. Chairs were not designed to lean back in. Chests were never meant to be pushed or pulled across your carpet. Furniture joinery is very thoughtfully designed, but every created thing has its limitations.

This is especially true for an object 200 years old. The thing may be a dogged survivor, but we have to be realistic that is has been through the ringer having lived with kids, pets, and life’s regular abuse for two centuries. We ought to handle these objects carefully.

A big part of doing that is moving these pieces of furniture correctly, which is what we’ll explore next.

How to Get a Grip

One of the most common scenarios in which damage occurs is when an object is being moved. Whether it’s to the other side of the room or the other side of the country, transit is risky. Grabbing the wrong part to lift could spell disaster.

Part of becoming more mindful of your furniture pieces is learning the names of the parts that compose them.

The principles are basic and pretty easy to remember: Always lift by the largest horizontal structural members. Think chair seat rails (not the crest rail), table aprons (not the top), and the bottom of the chest (not handles or lids). Follow this one principal and your outcome will be much better.

So now you know why you should learn how to repair your furniture, and how to minimize the need for such repairs in the first place. But wear and tear and accidents do happen. So on Friday, I’ll offer the nitty gritty on to make the most common furniture repairs.

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Joshua Klein is a furniture conservator/maker in Midcoast Maine. He is currently writing a book about the furniture making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847) of Blue Hill, Maine. He regularly blogs at The Workbench Diary (http://workbenchdiary.com) and is the founder of Mortise & Tenon Magazine (http://mortiseandtenonmag.com).

The Best Damn Guide to Men’s T-Shirts on the Internet

When it comes to t-shirts and style, opinions often fall into two camps.

There are those men, the vast majority of them, who see tees as a wardrobe staple that is appropriate for nearly every occasion, and can be worn with little to no thought.

Then there are the traditionalists, small in number, but vocal, who feel t-shirts are utterly juvenile and sloppy-looking, and should never be worn outside a gym or away from the beach.

I’d like to suggest a middle path: t-shirts as a classic, versatile piece of clothing appropriate to wear on some occasions, but not others. Allow me also to suggest that even if t-shirts constitute a simple staple of one’s wardrobe, there are ways to wear them better, and worse.

Today we’ll cover the ins and outs of this stylish, common sense approach to the tee, and explore how, when, and where to rock one. Welcome to the best damn guide to men’s t-shirts on the internet.

The History of the T-Shirt

While t-shirts have a distinctly modern feel, their origins — as an undershirt — go back over a century.

T-shirts get their name from the T-shape formed by their boxy body and attached sleeves. And such T-shaped garments go back centuries; originally made from wool or silk, these sets of underwear often covered the whole body, were designed to absorb perspiration, and served as a barrier between a man’s skin and the more expensive garments he wanted to protect from bodily grime.

The original “undershirts” were united with bottoms to create a set of one-piece underwear — hence, the “union” suit. When manufacturers began creating separated, two-piece sets, the modern undershirt was born.

During the Industrial Revolution, advancements in weaving and the manufacturing of cotton fabric birthed undergarments that were more breathable and fitted than their often baggy and rough forerunners (though they were far from as soft and cool as tees are today). “T-shirts” during the 19^th century commonly took the form of the tops to two-piece union suits men wore under their clothes, which miners and dockworkers took to wearing alone with trousers while they labored.

Around the turn of the 20^th century, the US Navy began issuing undershirts to its sailors, and other branches of the military would follow suit in the decades to come. These undershirts were designed to be worn under one’s uniform, but soldiers, sailors, and Marines, especially those fighting in sweltering topical climates, often removed their uniform top in order to work just in their tees and trousers.

Garments specially designed to be worn as undershirts were also available to the public. Comfortable, inexpensive, and easy to clean, they were adopted by farmers, ranchers, and laborers of all kinds, as well as athletes and sporting enthusiasts. In the 1940s tees-as-outerwear also started to become popular play clothes for young boys, who didn’t have to follow as strict a dress code as older men, and who were notorious for getting dirty.

WWII lent the undershirt greater acceptance as outerwear, as well as some heroic cachet. Soldiers continued to wear them back at home around the house, and civilians adopted the practice as well. As a 1940s Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog read, “You needn’t be a soldier to have your own personal t-shirt.”

After WWII, veterans continued to wear their undershirts with trousers while working around the house. Then in the 1950s, films like The Wild Ones, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Rebel Without a Cause, popularized the undershirt as stand-alone outerwear. Marlon Brando and James Dean lent the tee an air of edgy rebelliousness, turning it into an emblem of masculine cool. And as so commonly happens, the middle-class soon co-opted as their own what had formerly been working class wear. 

Worn by brooding movie stars like Brando and Dean, as well as beatnik poets like Jack Kerouac, t-shirts became a symbol of one’s allegiance with the working man, and disdain for authority and mainstream culture.

Advancements in screen-printing in the 1960s birthed a new wave of graphic tees that sported everything from band names to political slogans. T-shirts became one of the great democratizers of American clothing; while the cut, tailoring, and fabric of one’s garments had formerly signaled one’s identity and class, standardized, inexpensive tees became the new vehicles for personal expression.

Graphic tees go all the way back to the 30s and 40s, as is seen in the 1942 Life photograph on the left. But they really took off in the 60s, along with advances in screen-printing.

And so it was that a piece of clothing you wouldn’t have seen on a single person walking down the street 75 years ago, became the defacto national uniform of the United States.

When to Wear a T-Shirt

It should not be surprisingly that a garment that started out as underwear, and a staple for little boys, has retained something of its juvenile feel and reputation as the most casual of casual clothing. It’s for this reason that style purists advocate for tees playing a minimal role in a man’s wardrobe, and like to point out that in many other countries, wearing one by itself will make you look sloppy and underdressed.

Yet, t-shirts also have a rugged, iconoclastic history, and maintain the comfort, accessibility, and practicality that made them so popular in the first place. They may never be wedding or funeral wear, but, especially when worn right, they can be stylish and suitable for more than just going to the beach or the gym.

The trick is simply knowing when donning a t-shirt is both appropriate and well-advised, a determination which can be made by thinking through a few factors:

What’s the dress code? Tees are not appropriate for formal situations all the way down to “Casual Fridays” at work (unless you work in a very casual office). Anything that feels like an “event” is not the place for a t-shirt. They’re best for activities and hang-outs that are loosely organized and laid-back.

How active will you be? Tees were made for labor, sports, and generally getting things done. The more you’ll be moving and sweating, the more appropriate wearing a t-shirt will be.

How old are you? T-shirts are better suited for young men, than those in their post-college years.

What’s your build? Nearly all clothes look better on a fit physique, but this is especially true of t-shirts. If you’re overweight or thin, the tee will either cling to and emphasize your belly, or drape lifelessly over your skinny frame. So too, the contrast between the sleeve and your skin will draw attention to your alternately pudgy or bony arms. Thus thin and overweight men always look better in garments like dress shirts and sports jackets that add some structure to their frame, build out their shoulders, take in their waist, and form a more masculine v-shape. Even casual tops like short-sleeved henleys and polos are more flattering for large men, as they include details around the neckline that draw attention towards the face and away from the belly. These options are just as easy and comfortable as t-shirts, and are nearly always a better choice for most men, even those who are fit and can more readily get away with wearing tees.

Do you want to make a good first impression? Any way you slice it, t-shirts are not the best-looking garment out there, regardless of your body type. So whenever you’re out doing something where you might want to make a good first impression, it’s better to wear something just a little sharper. That means tees are great for hanging out around the house, get-togethers with old friends, and running errands (especially if you’re married; a bachelor never knows if he’ll meet a special lady at the grocery store!), but are less ideal for parties and get-togethers where you’re going to be meeting lots of new people.

How to Choose a T-Shirt

Things like fit, material, and design can all have a big effect on how a t-shirt looks.

Fit

Fit is the cornerstone of good style. But while we often think of this dimension in regards to garments like the suit and dress shirt, it’s important to get a good fit in your t-shirts, too.

Size/Tightness. A t-shirt should be neither too baggy nor too tight. If it’s too big, it will drape and sag like a pillowcase and be unflattering. Too tight and you’ll look like a stuffed sausage — a look that can read as some combination of narcissistic, flamboyant, and/or douchey. If you’re in shape, and have a good build, you can lean towards tighter over looser. If you’re carrying extra weight, leans towards a looser fit — but don’t go too far, as too much extra fabric will only make you look larger rather than smaller.

Shoulder seams. The seams where the sleeves attach to the body should ideally exactly align with where your shoulder ends rather than lower on your arm or towards your neck.

Sleeves. A tee’s sleeves should hit about halfway up your upper arm. Sleeves that extend a little farther down can look proportional if you’re very tall.

Length. The bottom hem of tee should hit no higher than your hips, at least cover your waistband, and ideally extend a few inches below it. Any shorter and you’re heading into midriff terriotry, and run the risk of showing your back/butt crack/belly when you bend over. Longer than that and the shirt starts trending into a nightgown.

Shape. Avoid boxy tees that wear like a sandwich board with sleeves. You want the tee to be cut so it follows the shape of your body a little.

A well-fitting tee that hits all these metrics can be hard to find but is worth looking for. And while it may mean $25 instead of that $5 touristy tee, you’ll notice the difference and won’t go back.

Collar/Neckline

T-shirts come with two main types of necklines: the crew and the v-neck. Each works best according to the look one is going for, as well as the proportions of your face and body.

The crew collar. This is the most classic option, and offers a timeless look. It best suits men who have a slight build and frame, as the collar draws the viewer’s eye out, broadening the neckline and creating the appearance of squarer shoulders. The crew collar is also a good choice for men with longer necks and narrower faces, as it balances and adds proportion to these features.

The v-neck. A v-neck has a slightly less formal feel than the crew collar, and adds a little more visual interest and style to the standard tee. It’s well-suited for the shorter man, as it makes one appear less boxy and adds a bit of height to the appearance. It complements men with rounder and/or wider faces as well. I would not recommend a v-neck for those larger in size, however, as the v tends to draw the eye down to the belly.

Showing a little chest hair is okay when you wear a v-neck, but avoid too deep of a v; the point of the v should hit no more than about 3 inches from the collarbone line. Leave the plunging necklines to the ladies.

There are other types of tee necklines out there — like the scoop or boat neck — but these are rarely a good look for men.

Material

In general, choosing t-shirts made from 100% cotton is the way to go. Natural, soft, cool, and static-resistant, cotton looks and feels great. A 50/50 blend of polyester is a decent option as well; the synthetic fiber is less breathable, pills more easily from wear, and increases static, but makes the shirt less moisture absorbent and prone to wrinkling and shrinking. Tees made entirely from special synthetic fabrics may wick away perspiration better, but are only appropriate for workout wear, and unless you’re working up a big sweat, feel a lot less comfortable than pure cotton.

There isn’t necessarily a correlation between the thickness of a t-shirt’s fabric and its quality; pima and Egyptian cotton, for example, are made with longer fibers and are lighter than regular cotton but also softer and more durable. In general, however, thicker tees look more substantial and put-together. Thinner, gauzier tees tend to look cheaper and sloppier, and can cling to your belly/love handles in an unflattering way.

Thinner tees in a neutral color also tend to look more like undershirts than t-shirts. The main difference between the two garments is fabric weight; undershirts are thinner, and also fit more tightly in order to soak up perspiration.

Color/Pattern/Design

T-shirts can be broken into two broad categories: classic and graphic.

Classic Tees

The most classic looking tees are those that come in traditional solid colors:

• White — with its origins in the undershirts of sailors and soldiers, is the granddaddy of them all. When paired with jeans, it still evokes echoes of the “rebels without a cause” who turned the garment into outwear in the post-war period.
• Navy — almost always sharp-looking.
• Gray — a flattering color, but easily shows armpit sweat.
• Black — is hardest to pull off, as it looks a little starker and harder (though that may be what you’re going for).

Other colors from reds to greens to purples can work fine too, depending on your skin tone.

Left: Heathered or marled solid colors look more casual, but are handsome. Middle: Striped shirts are right behind solid colors in classic appearance, and are a good way to add some variety to your tee collection. Right: Pockets on tees are also a nice touch.

Graphic Tees

Graphic tees came on the scene later than their solid-colored counterparts, and thus have a more modern, and younger, feel to them. They’re also more casual. And the bolder/bigger the graphic gets, the more casual it becomes. Thus, graphic tees of all kinds are best reserved for things like going to the gym, running errands, and laid-back get-togethers. Tees from your alma mater or your favorite sports team work well for watching the game at home with friends, or at the stadium, but not for dinner parties.

Choose graphic tees that sport interesting and tasteful designs; avoid giant, screaming logos, metallics, funny gags, and ironic images, all of which read as lowbrow and rather juvenile.

Graphic t-shirts that are overly busy don’t come off well. Keep the designs simple and tasteful. I may be biased, but I think our AoM tees meet this mark well!

T-shirts that include a bit of inspiration can help you get in the right mindset for an activity; I know putting on something like my Strength and Honor tee before hitting the gym reminds me to get to work. Graphic tees can be a good conversation starter too, but the message shouldn’t overwhelm your first impression, nor cause an unfavorable reaction before you’ve even opened your mouth. Don’t lead with your t-shirt.

(By the way, if you have a bunch of graphic tees from high school or college that are no longer really wearable, but you can’t get rid of for sentimental reasons, a good solution is to have them turned into a quilt.)

Tips for Wearing a Tee With Style

Pair solid-colored white or gray tees with dark denim or khakis. An incredibly classic look that’s hard to do wrong. Crewnecks look especially smart with khakis.

Pair navy/blue tees with khakis. Lighter pants with a darker shirt generally looks better than blue-on-blue. 

If the dominating color of a graphic tee is dark, pair with a lighter bottom. And vice versa.

Layer with care. While some modern dudes have adopted the sport jacket/blazer + t-shirt look, many style experts aren’t big fans of it. The relative formality of the jacket jars with the casualness of the tee. If you’re going to put a tee under a sport coat, the jacket needs to be an especially causal one — think texture, soft draping, and natural fabric. Even then, it’s going to be a better look if you swap the tee for a casual button-down.

On the other hand, a t-shirt tee can look fantastic underneath a leather jacket or a blouson (à la Dean above), or even a cardigan sweater.

Don’t tuck your tees in. It’s almost always going to come off as nerdy. Here’s which shirts you tuck, and which you don’t.

Conclusion

T-shirts have become a simple go-to staple of most men’s casual wardrobes. But that doesn’t mean you should grab and wear them without any thought. By paying attention to things like fit, color, and style, you can elevate the humble tee into a versatile, classic piece of clothing that feels great and looks sharp.

Art of Manliness X Huckberry Father’s Day Gift Shop Giveaway

Awareness of the importance of fathers has really come into its own in the past few years. There’s less bumbling idiot dads being portrayed on television, and more examples of competent and caring men. I guess the media has finally caught on to what we’ve all known for a long time: dads are awesome. From teaching you how to ride a bike to making you pancakes on a lazy Sunday morning, fathers offer families humor, fun, and some rough and tumble adventure. So why not let Pops know that you’ve noticed and appreciate the way he lives the art of dadliness?

To help you find a Father’s Day gift that will really bring a smile to his face, we’ve once again teamed up with the gents at Huckberry to create an awesome Father’s Day Gift Shop. Whether your father is an outdoorsman, a sportsman, or a dashing dude, you’ll find something he’ll truly enjoy.

The shop is full of unique items crafted by companies with which Huckberry has secured special discounts available only to members of the site. It’s really enjoyable simply to browse through the selection.

To help kick off the Day of Dad, Huckberry and the Art of Manliness want to give two lucky winners any item in the Father’s Day Shop (and perhaps a bonus as well!). To enter, keep reading.

The Prize + Free Shipping For 24 Hours!

Any item currently available in the AoM x Huckberry Father’s Day Shop.

As a bonus, Huckberry is offering AoM readers free shipping for the next 24 hours (starting at 2pm PST on June 5) when you use the code “DADFREESHIP”.

If your name is drawn and you’ve already made a purchase for dad from the Father’s Day shop, Huckberry will let you choose anything you’d like for yourself from the whole site, plus throw in a $50 credit as a thank you!

How to Enter

If you are an email subscriber, do not reply to this email to make your entry. You must click on the title of this post, which will take you to the post on our web page where you can make your entry. Use the form below to enter. Don’t forget! You have multiple ways to enter! The more of them you do, the better your chances are!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Deadline to enter is June 11, 2015 at 5PM CDT. We’ll then draw one random winner. Good luck!

How to Power Clean [VIDEO]

If you’re reading this in an email, click here to watch the video. 

Mark Rippetoe, author of Starting Strength, shows me how to perform the power clean. We talk about how power relates to strength, why power cleans are an important part of an overall strength training program, and of course, the proper way to power clean. The power clean is a technical lift, so this video is a little longer than the other ones, but well worth the time spent watching.

For more information about Mark and his books, check out his YouTube Channel and his site: startingstrength.com

Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Filmed and edited by Jordan Crowder

Outiftted & Equipped: My Everyday Carry

In conjunction with our introduction to the art of everyday carry, I thought I’d share the specifics of my own EDC. Let’s get right into it:

1. PT-One Concealment Holster. One thing I’ve learned since getting my concealed carry license a few years ago — you can spend a lot of money trying to find the right CC holster. I finally settled on the PT-One belly band. Yeah, it sort of looks like an adult diaper, but don’t let its looks deceive you. The PT-One is versatile, comfortable, and very hard to detect. I can conceal carry while wearing sweatpants and a tee or while gussied up in a button-down shirt and dress pants. And because it’s a belly band, I have the option to tuck my shirt in. I’ve had this holster for a few years, and it’s still going strong after regular use. Before you buy it, make sure your gun fits it. 

2. Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9mm. I own a full-size M&P 9mm but found it cumbersome to carry. No matter what I did, I’d be uncomfortable, and I had an obvious print. So I switched to the smaller Shield and couldn’t be happier. Because it uses a single stack magazine, it has a slim profile. Never any print. The shorter grip took awhile to get used to, but after a few trips to the range and lots of dry fire practice, I’ve gotten comfortable with it.

3. Kinney sunglasses by Garrett Leight. A few years ago I did some videos on picking sunglasses with Gary Black at Black Optical here in Tulsa. I ended up leaving the store with this pair from Garrett Leight. They look great and have served me well. But it looks like they no longer make this frame in the greenish color anymore.

4. AA Polished Flashlight. From finding dropped keys at nighttime to blinding would-be attackers, flashlights are a handy tool to have in your EDC. When I’m going somewhere where I’ll need more lumens, I’ll bring my SureFire Defender. It’s also the flashlight I pack in my carry-on when I travel. It’s a little heavy and big for daily use, so I typically carry this smaller AA flashlight. It fits better in my pocket, but still puts out 115 lumens of light. I like mine so much that I’ve been giving them as Christmas gifts to friends and family.

5. AoM Pocket Notebook + Pilot G2. You never know when you’ll get that next million dollar idea, so it pays to have something on which to jot those flashes of insight down. I carry an AoM pocket notebook (natch) and use a Pilot G2 pen.

6. Samsung Galaxy S6. I was an HTC One man until fairly recently, but my phone bit the dust in the Illinois River while I was taking the family on a microadventure (bringing my phone on board was not my brightest moment). I’m not partial to any particular brand as long as it runs Android OS and has decent battery life. They didn’t have an HTC One at the AT&T store, so I guess I’m a Samsung Galaxy man now.

7. Vintage Field Watch by L.L. Bean. Field watches are a great option for a man who’s looking for something in-between a casual plastic digital watch and a dressy, upscale watch. Field watches are rugged, comfortable, affordable, and stylishly practical. They look good with a pair of khakis and sport coat at the office, pair just as well with jeans and a t-shirt on the weekends, and they can withstand the rigors of an outdoor adventure. The Mrs. got me this L.L. Bean field watch for my birthday a few years ago, and it’s become a regular in my wardrobe line-up.

8. AoM Hankie. I’ve found that having a clean hankie on me isn’t so much for me, but for others. Whether it’s offering it to Kate when she tears up or using it to clean my kids’ faces off after they’ve gotten into some mess, my hankie has come in handy more often than one might think.

9. Bison Made Wallet No. 8. The gents at Bison Made sent me this wallet a few years ago as a gift and I’ve been using it ever since. It’s worn well and I’ll be using it for years to come.

10. Bogota Pi Toolset from SEREPick. Ever since the ITS Tactical Muster, where I learned how to pick locks, I’ve carried a set of picks in my wallet. If I, or a friend, gets locked out of their house, I know how to get inside without calling a locksmith.

11. Keys. Besides my giant car key, you’ll find the KeySmart that holds a few other keys while reducing the overall size of my key chain. I’ve also got a screw key set on there that I’ve used more times than I thought I would. Key ring is the Freekey system. No more hurt fingers trying to get stuff on your key ring.

12. Spyderco Tenacious G-10. Every man should carry a pocket knife. They’re just so doggone handy. I switch between this Spyderco and the AoM pocket knife depending on what kind of mood I’m in that day.

13. Lucky Talisman. If I showed it to you and told you what it is, it would lose its magical powers. Duh.

What’s in your EDC arsenal? Let us know — including pictures — in the comments!

36 Books Every Young and Wildly Ambitious Man Should Read

If there is one thing the great men of history have in common it’s this: books. They read, a lot. Theodore Roosevelt carried a dozen books with him on his perilous exploration of the River of Doubt (including the Stoics). Lincoln read everything he could get his hands on (often recording passages he liked on spare boards because he didn’t have paper). Napoleon had a library of some 3,500 books with him at St. Helena, and before that had a traveling library he took on campaigns. The writer Ambrose Bierce, the Civil War veteran and an underrated contemporary of Mark Twain once remarked, “I owe more to my father’s books than to any other educational and directive influence.”

The point is: Successful people read. A lot. And what about us young, wildly ambitious people who want to follow in their footsteps? We have that hunger, that drive, and desire. The question is: What should we read? What will help us on the path laid out for us — and all that it entails?

Now a lot of the right recommendations are domain specific. If you want to be a writer, there are certain books you should read. If you want to be an economist, well, there are genres you need to deep dive into. If you want to be a soldier, there are others too. Still, there are many books that every person who aspires to leadership, mastery, influence, power, and success should read.

These are the books that prepare you for the top, and also warn against its dangers. Some are historical. Some are fiction. Some are epics and classics. These are the books that every man must have in his library. Good luck and good reading.

Biographies

	The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro. It took me 15 days to read all 1,165 pages of this monstrosity that chronicles the rise of Robert Moses. I was 20 years old. It was one of the most magnificent books I’ve ever read. Moses built just about every other major modern construction project in New York City. The public couldn’t stop him, the mayor couldn’t stop him, the governor couldn’t stop him, and only once could the President of the United States stop him. But ultimately, you know where the cliché must take us. Robert Moses was an asshole. He may have had more brain, more drive, more strategy than other men, but he did not have more compassion. And ultimately power turned him into something monstrous.
	Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller Sr. by Ron Chernow. I found Rockefeller to be strangely stoic, incredibly resilient, and, despite his reputation as a robber baron, humble and compassionate. Most people get worse as they get successful, many more get worse as they age. In fact, Rockefeller began tithing his money with his first job and gave more of it away as he became successful. He grew more open-minded the older he became, more generous, more pious, more dedicated to making a difference. And what made Rockefeller stand apart as a young man was his ability to remain cool-headed in adversity and grounded in success, always on an even keel, never letting excessive passion and emotion hold sway over him.
	The Kid Stays in the Picture: A Notorious Life by Robert Evans. If you’re specifically looking to make your way in showbiz, this is the book you have to read. It’s the rags-to-riches, rise and fall and rise of Robert Evans, one of the most notorious figures in Hollywood. From pants salesman to running Paramount Pictures (and producing The Godfather), his story is the one that everyone who heads to L.A. hopes to have. It was one of the first books I read when I started working in the business. I think it shows you how far hustle and hype and heat contribute to success. And how they can also lead to your downfall and exile.
	Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office by Zack O’Malley Greenburg. This is a biography that also functions as a business book. It shows how as a young man in Brooklyn, Jay applied hustling techniques to the music business and eventually built his empire. A true hustler, he never did only one thing — from music to fashion to sports, Jay dominated each field, always operating on the same principles. As he puts it, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man!” And related to that, I also recommend The 50th Law, which tells the stories of many such individuals and will stick with you just as long.
	The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King by Rich Cohen. This book tells the incredible story of Sam Zemurray, the penniless Russian immigrant who, through pure hustle and drive, became the CEO of United Fruit, the biggest fruit company in the world. The greatness of Zemurray, as author Rich Cohen puts it, “lies in the fact that he never lost faith in his ability to salvage a situation.” For Zemurray, there was always a countermove, always a way through an obstacle, no matter how dire the situation.
	The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley by Malcolm X. I forget who said it but I heard someone say that Catcher in the Rye was to young white boys what The Autobiography of Malcolm X was to young black boys. Personally, I prefer that latter over the former. I would much rather read about and emulate a man who is born into adversity and pain, struggles with criminality, does prison time, teaches himself to read through the dictionary, finds religion, and then becomes an activist for Civil Rights before being gunned down by his former supporters when he tempers the hate and anger that had long defined parts of his message. Booker T. Washington’s memoir Up from Slavery and Frederick Douglass’s epic narrative are both incredibly moving and inspiring as well.
	Personal History by Katharine Graham. If one thing is certain about your path to success, it is that it will be fraught with adversity. Fate will intervene in ways you would never expect. Which is why you absolutely must read Graham’s memoir. After the tragic suicide of her husband, who ran the The Washington Post and which they both owned, Katharine Graham, at age 46 and a mother of three, with no work experience to speak of, found herself overseeing the Post through its most tumultuous and difficult years (think Watergate and the Pentagon papers). Eventually, she became one of the best CEOs of the 20th century, period. She pulled through and endured with a strong sense of purpose, fortitude, and strength that we can all learn from. In similar regard, read Eleanor Roosevelt’s two-volume biography to see how she managed to turn what was at the time a meaningless position in the White House into a powerful platform for change and influence.

How-to & Advice

	The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. It is impossible to describe this book and do it justice. But if you plan on living life on your terms, climbing as high as you’d like to go, and avoid being controlled by others, then you need to read this book. Robert is an amazing researcher and storyteller — he has a profound ability to explain timeless truths through story and example. You can read the classics and not always understand the lessons. But if you read the The 48 Laws, I promise you will leave not just with actionable lessons but an indelible sense of what to do in many trying and confusing situations. As a young person, one of the most important laws to master is to “always say less than necessary.” Always ask yourself: “Am I saying this because I want to prove how smart I am or am I saying this because it needs to be said?” Don’t forget The Prince, The Art of War, and all the other required readings in strategy. And of course, it doesn’t matter how good you are at the game of power, without Mastery it’s worthless.
	Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon. Part of ambition is modeling yourself after those you’d like to be like. Austin’s philosophy of ruthlessly stealing and remixing the greats might sound appalling at first but it is actually the essence of art. You learn by stealing, you become creative by stealing, you push yourself to be better by working with these materials. Austin is a fantastic artist, but most importantly he communicates the essence of writing and creating art better than anyone else I can think of. It is a manifesto for any young, creative person looking to make his mark. Pair up with Show Your Work which is also excellent.
	Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton. Ah yes, the drive that we all have to be better, bigger, have more, be more. Ambition is a good thing, but it’s also a source of great anxiety and frustration. In this book, philosopher Alain de Botton studies the downsides of the desire to “be somebody” in this world. How do you manage ambition? How do you manage envy? How do you avoid the traps that so many other people fall into? This book is a good introduction into the philosophy and psychology of just that.
	What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars by Jim Paul and Brendan Moynihan. There are lots of books on aspiring to something. Very little are from actual people who aspired, achieved, and lost it. With each and every successful move that he made, Jim Paul, who made it to Governor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, was convinced that he was special, different, and exempt from the rules. Once the markets turned against his trades, he lost it all — his fortune, job, and reputation. That’s what makes this book a critical part in understanding how letting arrogance and pride get to your head is the beginning of your unraveling. Learn from stories like this instead of by your own trial and error. Think about that next time you believe you have it all figured out. (Tim Ferriss recently produced the audiobook version of this, which I recommend.)

Philosophy & Classical Wisdom

	Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I would call this the greatest book ever written. It is the definitive text on self-discipline, personal ethics, humility, self-actualization, and strength. Bill Clinton reads it every year, and so have countless other leaders, statesmen, and soldiers. It is a book written by one of the most powerful men who ever lived on the lessons that power, responsibility, and philosophy teach us. This book will make you a better person and better able to manage the success you desire.
	Cyropaedia by Xenophon (a more accessible translation can be found in Xenophon’s Cyrus The Great: The Arts of Leadership and War). Xenophon, like Plato, was a student of Socrates. For whatever reason, his work is not nearly as famous, even though it is far more applicable. This book is the best biography written of Cyrus the Great, one of history’s greatest leaders and conquerors who is considered the “father of human rights.” There are so many great lessons in here and I wish more people would read it. Machiavelli learned them, as this book inspired The Prince.
	Lord Chesterfield’s Letters by Lord Chesterfield. Just like Meditations, which was never intended for publication, this is a private correspondence between Lord Chesterfield and his son Philip. We should probably be happy that this guy was not our father — but we can be glad that his wisdom has been passed down. I have not marked as many pages in a book as I have in this one in quite some time. Of course, the classic in this genre of letters is Letters From A Self Made Merchant To His Son. Dating back to 1890, these are preserved letters from John “Old Gorgon” Graham, a self-made millionaire in Chicago, and his son who is coming of age and entering the family business. His letters are an incisive and edifying tutorial in entrepreneurship, responsibility, and leadership. Rilke’s Letters To A Young Poet is also moving and profound. Addressed to a 19-year-old former student of his who sought Rilke’s critique, these short letters are less concerned with poetry and more about what it means to live a meaningful and fulfilling life as an artist and as a person.
	Plutarch’s Lives (I & II) by Plutarch. There are few books more influential and ubiquitous in Western culture than Plutarch’s histories. Aside from being the basis of much of Shakespeare, he was one of Montaigne’s favorite writers. His biographies and sketches of Pericles, Demosthenes, Themistocles, Cicero, Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Fabius are all excellent — and full of powerful anecdotes. These are moral biographies, intended to teach lessons about power, greed, honor, virtue, fate, duty, and all the important things they forget to mention in school.
	The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects by Giorgio Vasari. Basically a friend and peer of Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, and all the other great minds of the Renaissance, Giorgio Vasari sat down in 1550 and wrote biographical sketches of the people he knew or had influenced him. Unless you have a degree in Art History it’s unlikely that anyone pushed this book at you and that’s a shame. These great men were not just artists, they were masters of the political and social worlds they lived in. There are so many great lessons about craft and psychology within this book. The best part? It was written by someone who actually knew what he was talking about, not some art snob or critic; he was an actual artist and architect of equal stature to the people he was documenting.
	The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi. Widely held as a classic, this book is much more than a manifesto and manual on swordsmanship and martial arts. It’s about the mindset, the discipline, and the perception necessary to win in life or death situations. As a swordsman, Musashi fought mostly by himself, for himself. His wisdom, therefore, is mostly internal. He tells you how to out-think and out-move your enemies. He tells you how to fend for yourself and live by a code. And isn’t that precisely what so many of us need help with every day?

Fiction

	This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff and Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. If you wanted to read a book to become a successful, well-adjusted person, you probably could not do worse than Catcher in the Rye. Tobias Wolff’s memoir is a far better choice for the young man struggling with who he is and who he wants to be. I also suggest pairing it with the female counterpart: Totto-Chan. The latter is the memoir and biography of one of the most famous and successful women in Japan (akin to Oprah). It’s an inspiring little story of someone who didn’t fit in, who always saw the world differently (sound familiar?). But instead of making her hard, it made her empathetic and caring and kind — to say nothing of creative and unique. (The former is actually fiction but based on a true story. The latter is a true story but reads essentially like fiction).
	The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler. Duddy is the ultimate Jewish hustler, always working, always scheming, always looking for a deal, and looked down upon by everyone for his limitless ambition. Duddy never stops in his pursuit to acquire real estate in order to “be somebody” — never forgetting his grandfather’s maxim that “a man without land is nobody.” Except it doesn’t work out like he planned. From this book, you learn that the hustler — the striver — if he cannot prioritize and if he does not have principles, loses everything in the end.
	What Makes Sammy Run by Budd Schulberg. A composite figure based on some of Hollywood’s first moguls, the book chronicles the rise and fall of Sammy Glick, the rags-to-riches boy from New York who makes his way through deception and betrayal. Essentially, Sammy is your Ari Gold without the slightest bit of human decency. He’s running from self-reflection, from meaning. It’s fear knocking on the door that he’s frantically trying to block with accomplishments. Sammy is an accomplished man, but not a great man — that takes ethics, purpose, and principles. All The King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren is another similar story — a sort of fictional version of The Power Broker — that tells of the effect that power and drive can have.
	The Disenchanted by Budd Schulberg and The Crack Up & The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Disenchanted and The Crack Up are both about the fall of F. Scott Fitzgerald, one from the first person perspective and the other from the fictional eyes of a friend watching his hero fall to pieces — just like the story of Gatsby itself. The Crack Up is a collection of essays, many of which are off-topic, but they had to be — a person cannot look so directly and honestly on their own broken soul without turning away at times. Fitzgerald’s Crack Up has always been illustrative to me and it’s something I’ve thought a lot about. I call it the Second Act Fallacy, and you pity and feel for a man with so much talent and wisdom who was helpless to apply it to himself.

Liber medicina animi — a book is the soul’s medicine.

Of course, the books listed here are by no means all you need to be healthy or fulfilled. It’s just the beginning. But they do make a solid start to your library.

Enjoy and be careful out there. It’s a perilous road to the top.

________________________

Ryan Holiday is the bestselling author of The Obstacle Is The Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumphs and two other books. He keeps a popular monthly book recommendation email that currently has more than 40,000 subscribers.