When talking about the Survival Guide, I have heard from several people some strikingly similar opinions. The first and the second sentences are usually something like “I agree with [the author: Ad]…” or “I checked it for preparing one of my presentations. It was rather helfpul…”. By the third sentence, many readers whom I talked to cannot avoid expressing their surprise about the style of the book. Here are some examples:”It is written in a very strange way.” “I did not like the [imperative] tone.” “Ad must be a tough guy.”

Although I never got offended myself by the intonation used in the Survival Guide, I think I can understand why some readers find it offensive. First of all, it is just unusual. Furthermore, it is commanding and strict. When Ad states a new tip in his book, he usually leaves no room for some similar opinion to exist. I would not be the first one to see, in this sense, a similarity with the Bible (Read the comment of Jos Wassink for this post, in Dutch). I can tell you that Quran has also a similar style. However, in my opinion, the most similar(in style) book to the Survival Guide is The Art of War from San Tzu (~1100 AD). Just read some quotes and you will probably agree with me.