Ruby Ridge, ID. Washington, D.C.: Government
Printing Office, 1997. Hearings before the sub-
committee.
U.S. Department of Justice.Department of Justice Re-
port Regarding Internal Investigation of Shootings at
Ruby Ridge, Idaho, During Arrest of Randy Weaver.
http://www.courttv.com/archive/legaldocs/
government/rubyridge.html. New York: Ameri-
can Lawyer Media, 1994. The Department of Jus-
tice kept secret its internal investigation, butLegal
Timesobtained a copy.
Walter, Jess.Ruby Ridge: The Truth and Tragedy of the
Randy Weaver Family. Rev. ed. New York: Harper-
Perennial, 2002. The author’s coverage of the
story for the SpokaneSpokesman-Reviewearned
him a Pulitzer Prize nomination.
Weaver, Randy, Sara Weaver, and Bill Henry.The Fed-
eral Siege at Ruby Ridge: In Our Own Words. Marion,
Mont.: Ruby Ridge, 1998. The viewpoint of the fa-
ther and his surviving daughter.
Whitcomb, Christopher.Cold Zero: Inside the FBI Hos-
tage Rescue Team. Boston: Little, Brown, 2001. FBI
sniper autobiography, with extensive material on
Ruby Ridge.
David B. Kopel
See also Bush, George H. W.; Clinton, Bill; Crime;
Gun control; Militia movement; Montana Freemen
standoff; Oklahoma City bombing; Reno, Janet;
Waco siege.
Rules, The
Identification Dating guidebook for heterosexual
women
Authors Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider
Date Published in 1995
Full of advice the two authors heard from their grandmoth-
ers, this self-help book was intended to help the 1990’s
woman successfully attract a man who will propose mar-
riage.
In February, 1995, two married women named Ellen
Fein and Sherrie Schneider published a self-help
book for women calledThe Rules: Time-Tested Secrets
for Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right, which offers thirty-
five pieces of advice to the 1990’s American woman
as she navigates the dating game. The book defines
the kind of man that a “Rules Girl” should wed, a
purpose illustrated on the front cover of the paper-
back edition with a picture of a large diamond en-
gagement ring. The top five strategies to obtain this
ring, and the promise of monogamy, are as follows:
“Be a ‘creature’ unlike any other,” “Don’t talk to a
man first (and don’t ask him to dance),” “Don’t stare
at men or talk too much,” “Don’t meet him halfway
or go Dutch on a date,” and “Don’t call him and
rarely return his calls.” Thirty more rules guide
women through the entire dating process, including
“Don’t expect a man to change or try to change him”
and “Don’t discussThe Ruleswith your therapist,” as
well as sections encouraging young women to con-
sider plastic surgery and to continue following the
rules even against their parents’ and friends’ advice.Impact After its publication, and with the help of
the authors’ appearances on such shows asThe
Oprah Winfrey Showand20/20, the dating and mar-
riage guidebook quickly became aNew York Times
best seller. Simultaneously, groups of women world-
wide began assembling themselves into self-help
groups founded uponThe Rules, and the authors of-
fered personal consultations ranging from $50 to
$250. The service became so popular that Fein and
Schneider created a Web site for the book, where
they market face-to-face, telephone, and e-mail con-
sultations, as well as several spin-off publications, in-
cludingThe Rules II: More Rules to Live and Love By
(1997). When Fein and Schneider announced the
release ofThe Rules III: Time-Tested Secrets for Making
Your Marriage Workin 2001, Fein also announced her
divorce; the publicity unfavorably affected many
women’s faith in the book series. Nevertheless,The
Ruleshas sold more than two million copies and has
been published in twenty-seven languages.Further Reading
Gerston, Jill. “So Many Rules, So Little Time.”The
New York Times, October 23, 1996, p. C1.
Leo, John. “Rule 36: Ignore rules 1 through 35.”U.S.
News & World Report, October 21, 1996, 38.
Walsh, Catherine. “The Rules Encourage Women to
Take Responsibility for Their Lives and Not Be
Victims in Romantic Relationships.”America175,
no. 16 (November 23, 1996): 9.
Ami R. BlueSee also Fads; Marriage and divorce;Men Are from
Mars, Women Are from Venus; Publishing.732 Rules, The The Nineties in America