Manliness [Hardcover]

Harvey C. Mansfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2006

This book invites—no, demands—a response from its readers. It is impossible not to be drawn in to the provocative (often contentious) discussion that Harvey Mansfield sets before us. This is the first comprehensive study of manliness, a quality both bad and good, mostly male, often intolerant, irrational, and ambitious. Our “gender-neutral society” does not like it but cannot get rid of it.
Drawing from science, literature, and philosophy, Mansfield examines the layers of manliness, from vulgar aggression, to assertive manliness, to manliness as virtue, and to philosophical manliness. He shows that manliness seeks and welcomes drama, prefers times of war, conflict, and risk, and brings change or restores order at crucial moments. Manly men in their assertiveness raise issues, bring them to the fore, and make them public and political—as for example, the manliness of the women’s movement.
After a wide-ranging tour from stereotypes to Hemingway and Achilles, to Nietzsche, to feminism, and to Plato, the author returns to today’s problem of “unemployed manliness.” Formulating a reasoned defense of a quality hardly obedient to reason, he urges men, and especially women, to understand and accept manliness, and to give it honest and honorable employment.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Harvard government professor Mansfield delves into philosophy, literature and science to define manliness and to argue that it should have a place in an increasingly non-gender-specific society. Throughout, Mansfield clearly states his intentions, and though he may have convinced himself he accomplished his goals, readers will be skeptical; when, for example, he sets out to "elevate manliness from aggression to assertion and thereby discover its connection to politics," he jumps from Hemingway to Achilles before posing a question that has little more than a thin patina of importance: "In our time there are many who say that heroes lack humanity and few who will admit that humanity needs heroes. But at all times heroes have to assert themselves. The question is, what is in it for us?" Similar murky questions and non-sequitur lines of logic continue throughout: "Man has fearsome powers of wisdom and fire over beasts. All beasts fear fire, which perhaps represents the Promethean gift of technology." This clunky chain of supposition is followed by a brief foray into The Jungle Book. But Mansfield's theories on gender equality are likely to create the most conversation: "women are the weaker sex," "women's bodies are made to attract and to please men" and "now that women are equal, they should be able to accept being told that they aren't, quite" all appear on the same page. Mansfield set out to write a provocative book, but ended up penning a juvenile screed.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Annoying at times (often!), but never uninteresting, this book has much of importance to say."—Arlene Saxonhouse, University of Michigan
 

(Arlene Saxonhouse )

"A work of thought as well as a provocation, Manliness deserves to be widely read, argued over, and pondered."— David Bromwich, Yale University

(David Bromwich )

"Mansfield argues that manliness—in its combination of stubbornness and rationality—provides a ground for political life. His work is a thoughtful attempt to move us to think more clearly about who we are, and about the future of our liberal society."—Mary Nichols, Baylor University

(Mary Nichols )

“It’s a subtle exploration about the virtues and vices of the thymotic urge."—Frank Rich, New York Times 
 

(Frank Rich 4. New York Times )

“Mansfield’s defense of what, politically, has become indefensible by anyone wanting to keep his reputation intact is most welcome.”—Theodore Dalrymple, American Enterprise

(Theodore Dalrymple American Enterprise )

“Mansfield argues that efforts in Western society to equalize the status of men and women are doomed to failure.”—Kevin Horrigan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

(Kevin Horrigan St. Louis Post-Dispatch )

"[This] new book entitled simply Manliness amounts to a spirited defense of the male psychology."—Joseph R. Phelan, Washington Times

(Joseph R. Phelan Washington Times )

“Amusing, refreshing, and outrageous observations. . . . Many readers will be grateful to him for his candor and bravado.”—Christina Hoff Somers, Weekly Standard

(Christina Hoff Somers Weekly Standard )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; annotated edition edition (February 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300106645
• ISBN-13: 978-0300106640
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #581,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

249 of 318 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, important subject to explore March 6, 2006

By Night Owl

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

For the sake of disclosure, I have not read the entire book yet, but went through it quickly, and know its tone and content. Also, I am a free-thinking, liberal, confident female, who (to paraphrase Mansfield) has studied men all my life (40+ years). I love men, and yet find many of them just tragically confused, unaware of what being a man is all about.

This book is worth reading by anyone who is interested in gender relations -- and aren't we all. It does not appear to me that it is an anti-woman book, as the first Amazon reviewer (below) suggests.

I absolutely agree with Mansfield's opinion that being a man is about having "confidence in risky situations". That negative reviewer was totally on shaky grounds (logic-wise) arguing that it is an insult to women (because to her, it meant that Masfiled thinks that courage is just a masculine trait).

Women can be as courageous, or more, as men. But that's not the issue. The issue is that if you are a woman, and you hapen to be shy, timid, or downright cowardly, you can still feel like a woman -- i.e. feminine, true to your gender.

Courage is not expected of women in our culture to the extent it is expected of men (though I hope it will gradually change because it is a sign of inequality). Many people -- men or women - have a hard time differentiating, on the gut level, between courage that may entail physical danger, and emotional/intellectual courage. Someone who is weaker physically may instinctively shy away from sticking his/her head out.

However, when a man is not courageous or confident, he simply cannot feel like a man, and loses self-respect -- which has a disastrous effect on his life, in his raltionships with women in particular, but also in relation to men; and that negatively affects his overall functioning in society.

I also agree with Mansfiled's assertion that a man cannot be a gentleman until he is a man first (in a true, fully encompassing sense of that word). That is a great insight -- helps me understand why men who are not gentlemen often lack personal courage.

Whether I am going to like or agree with everything in this book, or not, is not that important -- I look forward to reading every page anyway.

What I appreciate is that it has been written by a mature, thinking, outspoken, intellectually accomplished man. Therefore it gives me as a woman invaluable, thought-provoking insights. Worth every penny.

82 of 107 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Serious If Provocative Work March 6, 2006

By John Strickland

Format:Hardcover

A previous reader declares the work "bigotry" but is simply wrong. As one of the few "liberal" students of Professor Mansfield, I can assure readers that such a charge is utterly unfounded. After taking the summer of 1964 to work with SNCC and COFO in Mississippi registering blacks to vote, I returned to Harvard in a state that can only be described as "shellshock." Mansfield both accepted my need to go down to Mississippi and offered his support on my return as a student trying to write a thesis after such an experience. I learned to spot bigots with my eyes closed in Mississippi and Mansfield does not match the description. Faced with clubs, bullets, and dynamite, I needed some detachment--R&R--to recover my humanity. I found it studying with Professor Mansfield. I may not fit the stereotype among his students: I am still a "liberal"--indeed a Quaker (in part because of their attitudes toward blacks and women)--but I never found any lack of respect from Mansfield for my position. I may not agree with him on many points but I do not indulge in ignorant name-calling. Anyone who has read Mansfield's previous books would know they are all worthy of profound consideration. I look forward to reading this one, no matter how much I may differ in my opinions. He is, in language borrowed from Northrup Frye, an "eiron" in the clothing of an "alazon." A little humor and even more wit from prospective readers will go a long way in approaching his books. I will add more after I read the book but I could not bear to see so unjust a characterization in a public place. It would have been "unmanly" for me not to respond with the information I have provided.

102 of 139 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkably fine philosophical work March 21, 2006

By Clear Thinker

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is an extraordinary book,but one written on such an intellectual plane that it seems to me highlighting/underlining is mandatory. In fact, Mansfield addresses Manliness against a backdrop of history and philosophy, from Plato to Hobbes to Machiavelli.

He also addresses Manliness in Art and literature, from Stephan Crane ("The Red Badge of Courage") to the movie "High Noon".

This book seems to be gaining traction and you'll hear increasing references to it, particularly from biased dullards who clearly have not read it. For the record, this book addresses the Bush Administration, War on Terror, or The President not at all. The closest it comes is the single sentence that "Manly politicians strive to do what they think is right; unmanly politicians strive to do what you think is right." If some wish to relate that to the current and previous administrations, they may, but Mansfield does not.

A significant timeless work on the subject, and one that, as Bacon wrote, "needs to be chewed and digested". With a red pen in your hand. Buy it..right now.