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Michael A. Messner
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King of the Wild Suburb: A memoir of fathers, sons and guns Paperback – May 1, 2011

by Michael A Messner, (Author)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 2 ratings
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Michael Messner, already known for his nuanced explorations of masculinities in sport, here humanely explores the evolving, often confusing dynamics of masculinities between three generations of boys and men. This candid memoir will make engrossing reading for both seasoned scholars and newcomers to gender studies. Cynthia Enloe, author of Nimo's War, Emma's War: Making Feminist Sense of the Iraq War

For decades, feminist scholars, memoirists, and novelists have explored the lineaments of mother-daughter relationships, yet the world of fathers and sons has garnered relatively little attention. In his closely observed memoir, King of the Wild Suburb, noted Gender Studies scholar Michael Messner opens up the affective terrain between fathers and sons, and in the process deepens and complicates our understanding of masculinity.

Alice Echols, author of Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture

Michael Messner's reflections on coming of age in the pivotal Sixties deftly captures the fault lines that separated so many young men and women from the lives of their parents and grandparents. It was, perhaps, easier for young women to rebel and choose careers over homemaking than it was for young men to opt out of a culture that made war, guns, and hunting the anchors of manhood. King of the Wild Suburb helps us understand how masculinity has changed, albeit still precariously, making it possible to maintain a fidelity to one's past while passing on to the next generation a freedom to explore new ways to be a man.

Jan E. Dizard, author of Mortal Stakes: Hunters and Hunting in Contemporary America
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  1. Print length
    154 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    May 1, 2011
  4. Dimensions
    6.14 x 0.35 x 9.21 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1935514903
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1935514909
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

With a keen eye for detail and nuance, [Messner] has written a subtle and moving book...What makes this book so moving and thoughtful are the connections between fathers and sons that Messner both ponders and experiences even as he defines a new culture of masculinity for himself and his own sons. Highly recommended.
--Literary Mama.Com

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Plain View Press (May 1, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 154 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1935514903
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1935514909
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.35 x 9.21 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 2 ratings

About the author

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Michael A. Messner

Michael A. Messner

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Michael A. Messner was born in Salinas, California, and educated from kindergarten to Ph.D. in California's public schools. He lives in Santa Fe, NM with sociologist and author Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo. Messner worked as a professor of sociology and gender studies at the University of Southern California from 1987 to 2023. His recent books include Some Men: Feminist Allies and the Movement to End Violence Against Women, co-authored with Max Greenberg and Tal Peretz, published by Oxford University Press in 2015. The first of two books on military veterans who become activists for peace, Guys Like Me: Five Wars, Five Veterans for Peace, was published in 2019 by Rutgers University Press. The second, Unconventional Combat: Intersectional Action in the Veterans' Peace Movement, was published by Oxford University Press in 2021. His new book, The High School: Sports, Spirit, and Citizens, 1903-2024, will be published in March, 2025 by Rutgers University Press.

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5 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

  • L. Dekker
    5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Father's Day Gift
    Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    A beautifully told and moving story of a classic American family. The author's grandfather, "Gramps," a World War I vet, gives his son a "special gift" of a rifle for Christmas, 1934 along with a letter full of happiness and pride but carefully admonishing his son to "Never point it at anybody. Always make sure it is unloaded when not in use." The author's father passes the tradition along to his own son, who, when he finally kills a deer, vows that he will never, ever shoot another one. Along the way we meet the mothers, sisters, and dogs of the author's childhood and receive more useful advice such as "be sure to dry your heads good before you go outside" (from "Dad," a high school football coach.)
    The book includes several sweet and evocative photos of life in the 40's through the 70's and ends with a heartfelt and hopeful letter to the author's two sons. Despite very different upbringings, Messner manages to pass on a legacy of affection, love and "manhood" to his own boys.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Ty Geltmaker
    5.0 out of 5 stars dads and guns
    Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2011
    Mike Messner has written an elegiac story of men and boys hunting, then giving up the gun. It's as simple as that, but even better in the details of his growing up in Salinas during the "Davey Crockett" years of the 1950s. This memoir of "fathers, sons, and guns" will resonate with anyone who was ever taken hunting and then decided it was not for them, even if there remains an affection for the unstated love implicit in the rituals of the hunt. As a kind of "Bildungsroman"/coming of age story, the book will also be a good read for active hunters who follow the sacred rules Messner was taught by his dad and his beloved "Gramps." The book moves in two directions, reflecting on the author's past while ruminating also on his own sons' identities as caring men and his relationship with them. The women in this deeply humane story are always there, though Messner's focus is on the male dynamics of the extended family. And if you've ever been a dog's best friend, this memoir will befriend you. At just 150 pages this memoir is gone before you know it; but then it lingers, as if you have just sifted through a well-kept family photo album.
    3 people found this helpful
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