Customer Reviews

What is a Man?

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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.

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.

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.