Customer Reviews

Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men

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I heard the first mention of this book on NPR and immediately ordered the book. It arrived just the other day and I sat down and read it through in one sitting, after listening to the author's very articulate discussion about the major factors which are contributing to the fact that boys -AND men - are faring worse than ever. The book is the result of many years of detailed study and research, not just some pop psych book hastily written and thrown out there.

I'll list some of the major points of the book but first I wanted to note some of the things I've observed, all of which the author covered as well. First, personal experience: As a parent of three, I've seen firsthand the changes in the school system in the last 25 years. Our oldest was allowed to walk about his classroom and his personality and inability to sit still for long periods of time was addressed, without meds (this does NOT mean that I think ADD or attention-deficit disorder does not exist but I DO think that in today's world he might well have been defined as ADD instead of having other options first). He loved school and he thrived and does not have ADD. In fact, as time went on, he settled down and became a rather steady, focused student.

As the author of this book has also noticed, there have been some alarming changes in the school system over the years. Kindergarten went from being a "hands-on" place, one that is good for boys, to a place where students were pushed to read, learn by doing worksheets and move away from field trips, exploring the world, meeting people in various professions or just touring a bread factory. This is a MAIN point made by the author, that
boys (and all children) need to "know" things by a combination of book learning and real experience.

Like the author, I also have seen the alarming rise in video games and obesity. My sons' friends were no longer eager to explore the creek, observe tadpoles or even be outside. They could spend days playing video games and even a suggestion of a walk to a nearby playground would bring groans. Yes, something was changing...for the worse....again, points made by this book (too much time spent at computers and videos). I want to be clear that I am not SlAMMING video games or computers but suggesting that there is an imbalance there, with far too much time given to those activities at the cost of others.

Some other points to consider, all of which are covered in detail in this book:
1. An overemphasis on teaching boys to read and learn math earlier than ever, when the average age when the AVERAGE boy's brain is ready to handle this is not at the kindergarten level.

2. The role of video games

3. Over-reliance on ADD meds (far more commonly used for boys than girls).

4. A lack of positive role models for boys, especially in popular culture, tv and other areas.

5. The possible impact of plastics and other toxin on the biochemistry of boys.

Here's the BEST part of the book, in my opinion: the suggestions for ways that parents can become pro-active and make a difference, first by working with their own sons (or the men in their lives) and then by improving the schools, which desperately could use their help.

There are also many success stories in this book, serving as inspiration for parents. As the parent of THREE boys, I really related to this and thought the author made some good, strong points!

My youngest son is 22 and a senior in college. He called me the other day and said he had read a book and it changed his life. He told me that I had to go out and buy this book - "today!". I did and after reading it, I find that I am alarmed and at the same time reassured. My youngest son, in particular, is very much in the catagory of adrift and unmotivated. Now I know why. Now he knows why. He is incredibly reassured that he is normal, that he is not alone, and that there are steps he can take to "fix" his world. The first thing he is doing is unplugging his video devices; PC, Wii, xbox, nintendos, even his TV. He visited with his college advisor to get back on track with his physics major. Yes, he is very smart. But he is derailed in many ways for all the reasons laid out well in this remarkable book. I can tell you that you should, you must and you would be remiss if you have a male child and do not buy, read and digest this information. It will change your family and the way you do things. My husband is a director on the local school board and we intend to make some noise in our local school district because this is too huge of a problem across our country and in our schools to ignore. Thank you to Dr. Sax for his insightful, well researched and extremely helpful, motivating book. My son is a better person for knowing why he is the way he is and now has the tools to make himself over - better. I intend to help him get there. READ THIS BOOK!

Very well written and easy to follow. Sax gives very persuasive arguments and backs up with sufficient proof the theories of video game addiction and ADHD medication. I learned new reasons for underachieving boys in reading the chapters on the change in elementary school curriculum and plastics.

I volunteer as a baseball coach, a scout master and a teacher for Sunday school. My sons and the rest of the boys fit perfectly into the age group of elementary and middle school. I know Dr Sax is right because I have examples of achieving and underachieving boys right in front of my face. And I know exactly which ones are addicted to video games and which ones are on medication before the first game of the season. My desire is to help each boy understand his true potential and to not lose sight of these goals. With the wisdom of this book I think I can better understand how best to accomplish this task with my own boys and the others to whom I carry the responsibility. Excellent book, and highly recommended for parents, coaches, teachers and leaders.

This book had so much useful information, I can't possibly write about it all here. So in three words.....READ THIS BOOK. I mean......everyone. Whether you're a parent, teacher, coach, girlfriend, lunchlady, employer....anyone who knows a boy or man (or even manboy) in their life should check this out. Dr. Sax is not just some fly-by-night, so-called expert - he has been studying this for some time (plus he's a pediatrician) and cites different studies that he has come across that back up his findings. Don't expect to find an easy answer here, but rather 5 factors that may explain why an alarmingly high number of young men are unmotivated and refusing to "grow up" and get a job. The 5 factors are: Changes at School, Video Games, Medications for ADHD, Endocrine Disruptors (not sure how I feel about that one), and the Revenge of the Forsaken Gods. Of course, the first three I read about with GREAT interest since I was an elementary teacher. I especially liked that Dr. Sax was open to other opinions, such as the evolving independent woman. What motivation is there for a man, when a woman doesn't need anyone to take care of her anymore? (I'm sure I'm gonna hear some feedback about this, but bring it on)
All in all, this is a very engrossing book, filled with some pretty brutal facts (don't you just love oxymorons?) Some of the information you will agree with, and some you won't. I truly hope that school officials out there will at least read about Factor One and do something about the way we teach Kindergarten today!

As the mother of a homeschooled son who also had seven other boys living with us at one time or another I think this is a must read for anyone who cares about young males in society and the harm that has been done to them over the last twenty to thirty years. So many of the other excellent reviews make points I would agree with.

Decades ago I read Dr Raymond Moore's books on how young boys learn and how they often are late in learning to read, but that just because they were not early readers doesn't mean they weren't learning valuable lessons in life. Then I remembered my late mother and how she was talking about how many of the boys in her second grade class, were being put on ADD medications and she felt this was unwise, and that what was needed was a return to mid morning, afternoon recess breaks and recess during the lunch time so that boys could be boys and burn off some of the excess energy and have plenty of oxygen in their brains to make learning more fun. And as the author notes young males who aren't getting the physical activity they need pay a big price.

And like the author many social scientists have noted the high number of single Mom families where boys are not being exposed to make role models. This is not a slam on single Moms, but is a shout out to males who give up so easily and walk away from their kids. Young males need adult men in their lives who will demonstrate what self discipline is all about and that instant gratification isn't the goal.

And yes I agree with the author on the role computer games play in a negative way. But I also believe that in the last twenty to thirty years to many parents have been sucked into the paranoia of child abduction which has resulted in latch key kids who rather than being outside playing and working all the muscles in their body, are instead stuck inside where only a small part of their brain is being used.

And yes I think the author is correct when he delves into the whole feminization of education. I have long worried that when women's studies came along that the pendulum and PC academia would result in an even less level field in education. Then one reads book after book by women who bemoan the fact that they are better educated than most men and they cant find a partner to marry who is their equal.

As the author notes, medical, law and even veterinary schools now have a majority of females as students. Sometimes these women make up over sixty percent of the students.

I also want to add that I think President George W Bush's No Child Left Behind which stressed teaching kids how to take tests rather than real learning, will make and has made the situation with male students even worse.

'The children now live in luxury and love chatter instead of exercise.' Sound familiar? Describes youth today? The quote is from Socrates! It serves as an excellent springboard for this lively discussion by Leonard Sax BOYS ADRIFT: THE FIVE FACTORS DRIVING THE GROWING EPIDEMIC OF UNMOTIVATED BOYS AND UNDERACHIEVING YOUNG MEN, a book that may be directed to health care workers, but one that deserves attention from the general public.

The five factors Sax entertains are 1) feminization of education; 2) video games; 3) increased prescription of psychotropic drugs that affect the motivational systems of the brain; 4) exposure to endocrine disrupters; and 5) lack of heroic role models. The factors are quite straightforward and Sax succeeds in carefully explaining his research and opinions in terms easily understandable. While many parents bemoan the current trend of video game couch potato children and the falling away of physical education requirements in our schools agendas, few are activists in encouraging change: part of the problem, Sax discusses, is the passivity of parents who are themselves acting on the personal permutations of this 'too fast, too technological' lifestyle imposed on them by the cancer described here.

Sax strongly objects to the growing importance of pugilistic video games for boys that serve as secondary means of learning how to deal with anger and aggression. He presents details outlining the non-competitive environment of our classrooms where every student is encouraged to meet the 'average' (read 'not-so-golden mean') rather than being encouraged to be creative and experimental. Drivers are in place for testing practice, yet very little creative writing or individual attention to personality traits in need of recognition to produce a group of boys to men who actually become 'community' on the local and global sense. The passive parent is also put on the stand for the current and growing status of 'failure to launch' - or not leaving the home to take the risks and rewards of self-discipline and motivation.

Sax writing style is comfortable and immensely readable. This is a fine book for parents to read and then to share with the subjects of the book - boys adrift in an impersonal world. Recommended. Grady Harp, December 07

Dr. Sax has written another outstanding book, this one revealing to us the tremendous complexities effecting the cognitive and emotional development of boys. In spite of the scope of his research which ranges from the classroom to the lab to the outdoors, and reaches across continents and into our homes, his writing remains clear, concise and approachable to the general reader. Dr. Sax clearly outlines the challenges and roadblocks faced by 21st century boys and gives realistic suggestions for how to best understand, motivate and support boys on their journey to adulthood. This book ought to be on the reading list for anyone raising, teaching or working with boys.

2011 POSTSCRIPT: Anyone thinking of buying this book should first read a great new expose in the American Journalism Review, entitled "How the News Media Peddle Junk Science." You can access it via a search engine search, or by using the shortened link, bit.ly/junkscience. Another news development is research on the gender gap in math performance. A summary of this research can be accessed via an online search for: "Major New Study Examines Explanations for Math Gender Gap." -- KF

Leonard Sax pronounces modern boys as in a state of shambles, and then sets out to tell us why. He posits intriguing theories, several of which have some empirical support:

First, schools have shifted to an overemphasis on academics for children as young as five, before many boys in particular are developmentally ready to read and write.

Second, video games promote a false sense of power while further disengaging boys from the real world.

Third, ADHD medications are "steamrolling" through American boys, potentially harming young brains and producing negative personality changes.

And fourth, environmental contaminants - in particular synthetic estrogenics from plastic water bottles - may be delaying and disrupting boys' pubertal development and contributing to ADHD, obesity, and other problems.

Whenever someone claims to have discovered a "growing epidemic," my alarm bells go off. In this case, Sax is so focused on proving his pet theories that he shamelessly distorts information and misses the larger picture. For example, he makes the alarmist claim that there is "a rise in violent crime" by young men. To those who don't know better, this might sound plausible. But Sax is citing a one-year spike (2006) in an otherwise-dramatic DROP in violent crime and juvenile crime in recent decades (per official U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics). As another example, he defends football culture by pointing out that the school shooters were not football players. That's a classic straw-man argument. While the shooters themselves were not football players, many of the school shooters were targeted and victimized by the dominant jocks on their school campuses (see the Secret Service study and the book Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings, which I review). School shootings are typically committed by alienated and disenfranchised young men, whereas football culture has been linked to other forms of primarily group violence, including hazings, gay-bashings, and group rape. I was able to catch these distortions because those two topics happen to be within my areas of professional expertise. When I see that type of inaccurate and alarmist approach, I suspect that other information is also being distorted.

Overall, Sax places a lot of blame on individual young men (calling them lazy and parasitic) without adequately addressing changes in society that have contributed to their problems.

He also generalizes from his experiences with a mainly upper-class and white population. He discounts and ignores racial oppression (for example condemning music stars Akon and 50 Cent with same brush as "convicted felons") and the vast digital divide separating those who use computers (and play video games) from those who do not. He sings the same old lament about a supposed lack of positive male role models, despite scant research evidence that this is a major factor in the problems of modern American boys. (See Pollack's Real Boys : Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood and Garbarino's Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them for deeper analyses of these topics.)

In summary, although Sax makes some interesting points about the problems faced by boys in contemporary American culture, his alarmist rhetoric, distortions, and broad-brush generalizations detract from his credibility.

POSTSCRIPT (Sept. 23, 2011): The latest issue of Science magazine includes a study debunking Sax's claims about the superiority of single-sex education. According to the Washington Post, "The authors cite as unfounded work by Sax that boys and girls, for example, respond to classroom stress differently because of differences in their autonomic nervous systems, which make boys thrilled by loud, energetic or confrontational teachers, such as 'What's your answer, Mr. Jackson? Give it to me!' while girls prefer to be approached by a gentler touch, such as 'Lisa, sweetie, it's time to open your book.' A report on the study can be found in the Washington Post: "Study: Single-sex education may do more harm than good" (Sept. 22, 2011). - KF

I originally bought this book for my sister who was having difficulty motivating my nephew, an extremely bright young man. She tends to be very skeptical but gave this read a big thumbs up. I'm looking forward to reading it myself and have already seen some positive changes in my nephew. It also helps to know that others share in this same growing phenomenon.

Make no mistake about it: This book outlines one of the main ways our society has entered its decay phase: Boys are losing their place in society. It is happening for a huge array of reasons, which are clearly and at reasonable length addressed in the book, including feminization of education, video games, ADHD medication, the breakdown of the family and lack of male role models in boys' lives.

Boys are falling further behind in school and graduating at lower rates, especially compared to girls. Men of prime working age are leaving the labor force. Employers and trainers find US-born boys lethargic and without any work ethic and frequently look to immigrants to do (even well-paying) traditional male work. Boys are losing their interest in work, in socializing, in sex, in society more broadly.

The pervasiveness of theses problems is truly frightening. What can we do about it? We can work on a local level by both helping put our kids in the best possible home environment. And we can work in our communities--especially by trying to work with schools or by finding single-sex schools or classrooms--to provide education appropriate to boys' development.

I'll ask my wife to read it and then ask her what she thinks about our 8 and 12 year old sons' reading it. The only thing more frightening than the overall societal message of the book is its message for my own boys.