Missing, that is, until now. What Is a Man? collects 3,000 years of the best writing about manhood -- from the father-and-son lessons of Homer's Odyssey to Sir Thomas Malory on love, honor, and chastity; from Aristotle on courage to Frederick Douglass on adversity; from Shakespeare on leadership to John Cheever on adolescence. Introduced by Waller R. Newell's incisive and illuminating commentary, each section addresses one of the distinct virtues of manliness -- among them integrity, wisdom, romance, and character. The book's closing section, on the confusions of modern manhood, draws on surprising voices including James Dean, David Foster Wallace, and Kurt Cobain. An anthology of extraordinary scope and depth, What Is a Man? reminds us all of the relevance of the manly tradition, and offers a blueprint for men eager to uphold the honor of their fathers' legacy.
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Book Description
In a time when all of America is debating the wayward course of contemporary manhood -- spurred by books as diverse as Susan Faludi's Stiffed, William Pollack's Real Boys, and Michael Gurian's The Good Son -- one thing has been missing from the conversation: a source to which concerned readers could turn for guidance and inspiration, a path back to the wisdom of our shared traditions of manly virtue.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
What is a man? Good question. According to Waller Newell, a professor of philosophy and political science and a contributor to The Weekly Standard, the last few generations have been "a bad dream" during which the answer to that question has been obscured. Modern representations of manhood as diverse as Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club and David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men are cited as proving his point.
Organizing excerpts from a variety of Western literary sources into eight broad sections--the Chivalrous Man, the Gentleman, the Wise Man, the Family Man, the Statesman, the Noble Man, the American Man, and the Invisible Man--Newell traces what he sees as "an unbroken pedigree in the Western conception of what it means to be a man." What Is a Man? promises to "inspire men and boys to reach for the seemingly lost ideals of honor, heroism and integrity," by providing "a source to which concerned readers could turn for guidance and inspiration, a path back to the wisdom of our shared traditions of manly virtue." This approach will work particularly well if your opinions are closely aligned with Newell's; the inclusions reflect his affection for the traditional conception of the masculine demonstrated by the likes of Sir Thomas Malory and Thomas Bulfinch. But even if your masculine ideal differs, the book still makes for a fascinating compendium. And the omissions are as interesting as the inclusions (definitely no Oscar Wilde, but no Norman Mailer and so little Ernest Hemingway?).
Newell sees the lost hero in all of today's apparently baffled and frustrated men (he even refers to a squeegee guy with a Mohawk as a "road warrior Achilles"). His response to this collective confusion is this book of virtues--a kind of literary companion to Susan Faludi's Stiffed--which he hopes will be not only interesting but instructive as well. --J.R.
From Library Journal
Some time ago Shakespeare wrote, "What is a man?" The question remains, still somewhat of a mystery. Newell (political science and philosophy, Carleton Univ., Ottawa) offers countless responses in this highly diversified anthology featuring the opinions of the famousDHomer, Plato, Sir Thomas Mallory, Chaucer, Jane Austen, Edith Wharton, Aesop, Cicero, Tolstoy, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Hemingway, John F. Kennedy, Shakespeare, of course, and also Anonymous, to name a few. All possibilities of manliness are explored: bravery, chivalry, eroticism, sexuality, aggression, hostility, violence, morality, love, and being a boy, husband, and father. Newell's pithy commentary adds the necessary touch of irony and, yes, insight into the unending search for manliness. What it means to be a man (in any age), with all of its attendant virtues and vices, is a complex subject, not readily agreed upon, understood, or accepted. Newell, with his new collection, suggests persuasively that the quest should continue. Recommended for all public libraries.DRobert L. Kelly, Fort Wayne Community Schs., IN
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Start,
By A Customer
This review is from: What is a Man? (Hardcover)
This book is definitely on the right track. A corrective of this sort is sorely, sorely needed in our colleges and universities. The standard academic line these days, which is reflected in the godly status of such lesbian-feminist frauds as Judith Halberstam ("Female Masculinity") and Judith Butler ("Gender Trouble"), indicates the extent to which our universities have decided to institutionalize the insane policy of allowing such people to prey on young men and women at a vulnerable time in their lives, and to tell these young people (and their parents)that this is why they have gone to college. In fact, what our young men need, at any rate, is to have sensible, well-educated, happily married, family men help them to understand that a good man strives, eventually, to be a good husband and a good father, and that these are greatly fulfilling to a mature man. There are exceptions to this life of a mature man (of the Oscar Wilde variety that the predictably snide editorial reviewer so predictably brought up), but it is very important for all young men to see that masculinity is not just defined by the vulgar strutting of celebrity rappers or other mass-media performers, but rather by taking responsibility for your own actions, caring for the well-being of your family, and showing yourself to be more than just a slave to your sex-drive. The fact that men now so commonly abandon a faithful wife of 20 years for a younger woman is a sign of a problem quite in addition to the onslaught of the feminists (or is it another sign of the crisis that they have helped to bring on?). This latter problem is a problem of screwed-up priorities, screwed-up ideas of what a man's life is, and a screwed-up idea of what life has to offer. Newell's book may not change our society, but by insisting that a man define himself by according dignity to himself and the women in his life, by defining his masculinity by responsibility to others and self-accountability, he suggests a path I would surely rather see my own children follow. It's a book that a young man would greatly benefit from if he could just be convinced to turn off the TV or stereo long enough to read it.
6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What is a Man?,
This review is from: What is a Man? (Hardcover)
An avid reader of nonfiction, I was really impressed with the content of this book. It has something for every type of man and for almost every type of issue that a man faces in life. From humerous anecdotes by Benjamin Franklin and Aesop to thought-provoking commencment addresses by Teddy Roosevelt to eloquent speeches by President Kennedy, the writings contained in this book are invaluable resources geared solely toward making you a better man.
9 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Iron John Toned Down,
This review is from: What is a Man? (Hardcover)
This book's good point is that it tries to point out that men's lives are not defined by the stereotypes that one sees in popular culture. Unfortunately this is its only good point. The references to classic and Elizabethan literature are not helpful because we as a culture--at least in the United States, are trying to abolish the social structures whereby women are subordinate to men and that the man's role can only be provider and chief. We DO KNOW, despite what the editor would have us believe, that while we as biological animals have not changed very much, the social constructs that gave men priviledge and subordinated women have changed and continue to change. I think this book is pure nostalgia. The editor prefers to have society be more like it was; however, we know that as Thomas Hardy wrote: "You can never go home again." This is quite true of gender roles and societal norms. (Note that I do not refer to ethics or morals here.) I do not recommend this book very strongly. If you do read it, do so with a grain of salt and a critical eye for how things were then and now.
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