Male Menopause (Paperback)

by Jed Diamond (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
So do men really go through menopause? If you think of menopause as hot flashes and a sudden change in fertility, no. But if you regard menopause as physical and emotional changes triggered by significant changes in hormone levels, then yes, men go through it. In Male Menopause veteran psychotherapist and men's-movement leader Jed Diamond looks at the observable and documentable changes associated with male midlife--weight gain, less physical endurance, longer recovery from injuries, reduced interest in sex, feelings of irritability and depression--and concludes that this is indeed a passage similar to what middle-aged women go through. The last section of Male Menopause discusses how men can get back what they've lost, but for the most part Diamond focuses on understanding and accepting the aging process, not fighting it. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
In this somewhat New Age and trendy book, psychotherapist Diamond explores the climacteric, andropause, or viropause?terms which he prefers to the catachrestic "male menopause." He presents evidence that there are many similarities between what women and men go through both emotionally and physically during the mid-life change. This life change affects all aspects of a man's life and is thus a physical condition with psychological, interpersonal, social, and spiritual dimensions. Many of the things that men experience as negative (loss of strength and physical stamina) actually prepare them for the second of half of life, where more emphasis is placed on emotional and spiritual issues. Diamond addresses issues of concern to the aging male: loss of sexual enjoyment, feeling that time is running out, increased anxieties, weight gain, irritability, sleep disorders, etc. and offers mind-body healing therapies. Unfortunately, despite the bibliographic apparatus, Diamond's text is repetitive and simplistic and remains pop psychology masquerading as scholarship. An optional purchase at best.?James Swanton, Harlem Hospital Lib., New York
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks; Pbk ed edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570713979
• ISBN-13: 978-1570713972
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #600,333 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first real book to talk completely about Male Menopause, May 16, 2000

By	"superevie" (Matthews, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Male Menopause (Hardcover)

Male Menopause written by Jed Diamond is the first book to seriously and completely alert men and women about this very real phenomenon - Male Menopause. As the editor and founder of HotFlash! the perimenopause/menopause web site and online support group I know first hand the effects of hormonal changes in women. They can be very devastating and change a woman's life. The same is true for men. I applaud Jed's work because he takes a subject, male menopause and drags it out from the "taboo" closet and forces us to look at it. I have had the pleasure of interviewing Jed and have found that there are millions of men and their partners suffering in silence about this change of life. Male Menopause, hallmarked by lowered testosterone levels, can leave a man depressed, scared, anxious, moody, lose sexual interest and have problems getting and sustaining erections ( this is very distreesing for men). Jed's book alerts us to this health issue and we all must take this seriously. His book speaks to the problems men have with lowering tesosterone levels and bodily changes; we must recognize this as seriously as we do for women in perimenopause and menopause. In talking with hundreds of women every day and through my media appearances and articles, I find that men too are going thorugh "something" as women are experincing perimenopause and menopause. Many people think this is just a phase or "mid-life" crsisi" but it is more. Like perimenopause male menopause must be discussed openly and with intelligence; Jed Diamiond does just that.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars There are probably better, more focused books on the subject, April 18, 1999

By A Customer

I first became aware of the author Jed Diamond, when I saw him on a video tape by Gary Null. I appreciated Mr. Diamond's frankness about male genitalia and sexual function. When I learned of his book, I was hoping for a focused discussion on the subject and what can be done about it, based upon my experience of him in his video tape.

"Male Menopause" is really two different books. While Mr. Diamond does go into the physiological aspects of male aging and its affect on sexual function, its comparison to female menopause, as well as what can be done to help nutritionally and medically, the bulk of the book is not dedicated to the subject matter. It focuses on what older men should do with their lives to save society (in other words, in place of sex as a result of the what he states is the inevitable decline of male sexual function). While this is a noble subject, I believe that Mr. Diamond's view is rather idealistic, and would have been better addressed in another book under a different title. Frankly, this information was uninteresting to me, set in a depressing context, and at times, I fought to stay awake while reading it. Moreover, the concepts that he spoke of really should apply to men of all ages, and how we treat one another and male children who will become adults.

As noted, the other information in the book was useful, however, I would not recommend this book for someone who is interested in treating the problems associated with male menopause. I am sure the information is available from other more succinct sources.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is brilliantly written and superbly researched., November 6, 1999

By A Customer

It puts 'men' back into menopause and substantiates the reality that certainly in midlife, women and men are more alike than different. I particularly liked that definitions were clear and there was a specific program for men and women to assist men in moving through this difficult passage.