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The Myth of Male Power Paperback – January 1, 2001

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 477 ratings

Challenges the notion that men have more power than women by showing that most men are not threatened by equality between the sexes

Editorial Reviews

Review

A deeply liberating work that empowers both sexes and deepens love...Read it, please. -- Harold Bloomfield, M.D.

Explosive...armed with hundreds of thoroughly documented statistics and legal citings...its very provocativeness.... --
Kirkus Reviews

Impressive and important. --
Nancy Friday

Intellectual dynamite...Farrell continues to open genuine communication between the sexes. --
Anthony Robbins

Powerful insights...For men and women, The Myth of Male Power could be an unforgettable wake-up call. --
David Kaplan, Houston Post

This is one terrific book...As groundbreaking and provocative as The Feminine Mystique was decades ago. --
Carol Cassell, Ph.D., author of Tender Bargaining

About the Author

Warren Farrell, Ph.D., is the author of Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say and The Myth of Male Power. Dr. Farrell taught at the School of Medicine of the University of California in San Diego, and has taught psychology, sociology, and political science at Georgetown, Rutgers, and Brooklyn College. He is the only man elected three times to the board of N.O.W. in New York City. He lives in Encinitas, California.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley Trade; Reprint edition (January 1, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0425181448
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0425181447
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.6 x 1.15 x 8.48 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 477 ratings

About the author

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Warren Farrell
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Dr. Warren Farrell began his research on gender issues in the ‘60s. His first book, The Liberated Man, was published in 1974. It was from the women’s perspective and the feminist perspective. By the ‘80s, he began noticing that men were feeling misrepresented, and his award-winning national best-seller, Why Men Are The Way They Are, was written to answer women’s questions about men in a way that rings true for men. The New York Post calls it "the most important book ever written about love, sex, and intimacy."

By the ‘90s, Dr. Farrell felt the misunderstandings about men had deepened and become dangerous to the survival of families and love. He confronted the misunderstandings head-on with the award-winning The Myth of Male Power, a book the The Library Journal ranked as “better than Robert Bly’s Iron John or any of Betty Freidan’s works.” (His books are published in over 50 countries in 15 languages.)

By the turn of the century Dr. Farrell wanted to provide the sexes with the tools to communicate-- in particular to hear personal criticism from a loved one, especially when given badly. That was the take-off point for Women Can’t Hear What Men Don’t Say, a selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. By 2001 Dr. Farrell completed research he had been working on for 13 years on the conditions under which children of divorce are most likely to be raised successfully. That book, Father and Child Reunion, has renewed the commitment of many dads to be with their children, and its research has helped judges understand the importance of dads.

Dr. Farrell’s most recent research is published as Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap -- and What Women Can Do About It. It documents the 25 differences between men and women’s work-life decisions. It was chosen by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top four “great career books to be read in 2006.”

Warren has appeared on over 1000 TV and radio shows, and been interviewed frequently by Oprah and Barbara, and by Larry King and Peter Jennings. He has been featured repeatedly on 20/20 and in The New York Times, in People and on Real People, in men's journals and The Wall Street Journal, and on the Today Show, the Tomorrow Show, and even To Tell The Truth.

Warren Farrell’s understanding of both sexes is symbolized by his being, on the one hand, on the boards of four national men’s organizations, and on the other hand, being the only man in the US to be elected three times to the Board of Directors of the National Organization for Women in New York City. Similarly, he has started over 600 men's and women's groups, and over 200,000 women and men have attended his workshops worldwide. He is the only person chosen to speak at both of former California Governor Wilson’s 1995 conferences – his Conference on Men and his Conference on Women.

President Johnson chose Dr. Farrell as one of the outstanding young educators in the United States. (The man's been around for awhile!) He has taught political science, psychology, women’s studies and sociology, and most recently taught at the School of Medicine at the University of California at San Diego. Dr. Farrell has been chosen by the International Biographic Centre of London as one of the World’s 2000 Outstanding Scholars of the 20th Century and, in quite a different take, chosen by the Financial Times as one of the worlds top 100 Thought Leaders. He has also been selected by the Center for World Spirituality as one of the world's spiritual leaders.

Dr. Farrell is in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World, but his best moments are at home. He has two daughters and lives with his wife in Mill Valley, California, and virtually at www.warrenfarrell.com.


Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
477 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book great, essential, and interesting. They describe it as insightful, eye-opening, and engrossing. Readers praise the writing quality as phenomenal and well-researched. They also mention the book makes good points and is fascinating.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

32 customers mention "Readability"28 positive4 negative

Customers find the book great, essential, interesting, and influential. They say it's worth the time, contains some of the best points, and is socially significant.

"...Overall, this is a fantastic read. It really did change my perspective of the world, and it made me a better person...." Read more

"Wow! What an eye-opening book. Also by far the most depressing book I’ve ever read...." Read more

"I think it is fair to write that this book is one of the most socially significant books ever written...." Read more

"...own emotions though, and look at the truth behind it, it is completely worth it...." Read more

22 customers mention "Thought provoking"22 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful, eye-opening, and engrossing. They say it's critical to their understanding of men's issues. Readers also describe the book as provocative and well-researched.

"...Dr. Farrell outlines many of these issues, and he brings a fresh perspective to why these issues exist...." Read more

"...What I appreciate most is that this book presents facts that are difficult to argue with and speak for themselves...." Read more

"...This book was critical to my understanding of men's issues and was instrumental in helping me in writing my first book "Swallowed by a Snake:..." Read more

"I just finished reading this book, and it one of the most insightful and scholarly works that I have ever read...." Read more

17 customers mention "Writing quality"17 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book phenomenal, thought-provoking, and incredible. They appreciate the well-researched, thoughtful, and insightful examination of a social myth. Readers also appreciate the references for all points.

"This book being so well researched and laden with factoids ad nauseam makes it a tedious read...." Read more

"...finished reading this book, and it one of the most insightful and scholarly works that I have ever read...." Read more

"...is no attack on women or feminism, but is merely written from a truly objective perspective, and can be appreciated by anyone capable of objective..." Read more

"...have giving me a different opinion on a few issues but Dr. Farrell is honest, fair & a wealth of knowledge on male & female issue!..." Read more

13 customers mention "Information quality"13 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-researched and fascinating. They say it makes a lot of good points and is an excellent tool for pointing out the myth of the elephant in the room. Readers also appreciate the great statistics that give power to arguments.

"...Knowledge is power. Hey, it's in kindle now with "text to speech" enabled. Have your kindle read it to you as you commute...." Read more

"Excellent work! Bold and revealing! Feminism is among the greatest farces ever perpetrated...." Read more

"...One possible reason: His simple, clear and factually accurate discussion exposes serious faults in feminism, but his attitude is sympathetic,..." Read more

"...or not you agree with Dr. Farrell, I think that you will find his work fascinating and open minded." Read more

3 customers mention "Argument power"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book makes a great argument.

"...Makes a great argument, tries to throw in the coup-e-grat and beats himself...." Read more

"...Farrell obviously did his homework, and makes an irrefutable argument. An indespensible reference for men." Read more

"Great stats, Gives power to arguments and shows you how much devil is in the details. Thankyou Warren..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2014
I highly recommend The Myth of Male Power for both male and female readers. The title of the book may sound a bit controversial, but the information inside of The Myth of Male Power is very reasonable. Dr. Warren Farrell makes his case about how male power in society is misunderstood, which he backs up with verifiable evidence. His credentials speak for themselves as he was elected three times to the Board of Directors for the National Organization for Women in New York City. Reading this book completely changed how I viewed issues in society.

There are some issues in society that every reasonable person in society would like to end such as homelessness. Dr. Farrell outlines many of these issues, and he brings a fresh perspective to why these issues exist. Before reading this book I was always confused as to how society could largely agree that so many issues such as homelessness were wrong, yet that didn't create a drive in society to solve the problem. The Myth of Male Power helped me understand why these issues are not solved, and it gave me the tools to apply my own critical thinking as to how we can solve these problems in the future.

Part of what I loved about this book is it didn't tell me what I was supposed to think. It made a case for why male issues are misunderstood, it helped me set up a new, more reasonable framework, and then it allowed me to apply my own critical thinking. This is the type of a book that you and a friend can read, gather completely different conclusions and perspectives from, and then you can have fun talking about the issues after. I personally read the book around 6 times already, and every time I read it I get something new out of it.

There is also an aspect of this book that will help people improve their daily lives, especially in regards to relationships, especially for men. Most books about relationships really cater to women in my opinion. They tell us men how it's okay to talk about our feelings. That's not what most men want to hear, it misunderstands why men don't talk about their feelings in my opinion, and it makes relationship books very uninteresting for men.

I know The Myth of Male Power wasn't meant to be about relationships, but it urges men to speak about their feelings, and further, it explains why men should speak out about their feelings. It really resonated with me about how my silence was hurting myself by causing others to misunderstand me, and it showed me how I was responsible for that mis-communication. Once I acknowledged this fact, I felt more empowered to talk to others in ways they could understand me. I realize now that in the past when I failed to communicate in relationships, it was because I felt that what I said wasn't going to matter anyways. I felt powerless, but I wasn't powerless, and in a way I have myself to blame for giving up on trying to communicate how I felt. Hopefully this can help me in future relationships.

Overall, this is a fantastic read. It really did change my perspective of the world, and it made me a better person. Before I read this book I believed in equality for the genders, and this book won't even attempt to challenge you on whether or not you should believe in equality for the genders. What it will do is give you the framework to help you challenge yourself on what equality for the genders means. What more could you ask for in a book?
18 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2015
I am a male who works in the mental health field and so I consider myself very aware in the areas of social justice, feminist theory, and how socialization affects genders, ethnic and other groups. I was shocked at how many of my own blind spots were illuminated by reading the stats and analyses in this book.

What I appreciate most is that this book presents facts that are difficult to argue with and speak for themselves. In fact, I think that if there was a "cliffs notes" version of this book that included only the stats then it might be even more influential to some who have a closed mind to the idea that men actually have it quite rough in our country.

I found myself thinking about how many times I have heard men be labeled as the "privileged" gender, as if it were that black and white and always easier to be a man. Now I finally know why those conversations always seemed severely oversimplified.

One recent reviewer simply said "A whiney book". I think this is a good example of Dr. Farrell's thesis. When a woman writes a book about how women are treated unfairly, it is usually called feminist progress, strength, courage, activism, advocacy, and a step towards equality. When a man writes a book about how men are treated unfairly, someone calls it "whining" in an attempt to mock/shame men into silence and not speaking up for change, by applying a label (whiner) that implies weakness for expressing vulnerability.

To any woman who feels confused about why men might be angrier than she would like, I urge you to read this book. As comes up over and over again in this book, most men want most of all to have female love, and we base our lives on how to obtain it and prevent losing it. As Dr. Farrell points out, teenage boys suffer more emotionally than girls when a breakup of a love relationship occurs, and men are far more likely to commit suicide when left by a woman than the other way around. I think most of us men don't even realize how powerless we feel to get women to appreciate us, especially since society is constantly telling us how powerful we are. If you want a loving connection with a man, this book might help you build empathy and appreciation for them, which could be a good step.
192 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Lucas Galindo
5.0 out of 5 stars Muito bom, pena que não tem em português
Reviewed in Brazil on November 20, 2020
Ainda estou lendo, mas é um ótimo livro!
crescendo63
5.0 out of 5 stars An essential read for any thinking male
Reviewed in Italy on November 18, 2018
Before reading this book, I had a vague feeling that some feminist position was unfounded and men weren't as privileged as they said.
But when reading it, I had a true revelation:
- I saw that many feminist myths are highly unfounded (the wage gap, among many)
- I realized women (in the Western world) are on average more privileged that men (sometimes way more)
- I discovered the many ailments that trouble many men, and most people simply ignore (men included)
- And I realized how deeply men, through the centuries and still today, have been considered "disposable" and have been "used" for the welfare of society in general, and women in particular.

In the end, I realized more than ever how much we need a truly egalitarian approach in our society (an egalitarism that has been neglected for decades by many feminists).
Without that approach, men and women will both keep struggling for power, and we will keep suffering because of that.

If you're a man (or a woman) and you feel something is wrong with the world and the relationships between the sexes, you owe yourself this read. Everything will become much clearer after.
Gaurav Satle
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing! Highly Recommended!
Reviewed in India on September 7, 2018
We don't talk about men or see things from a point of view that works in favour of "men", do we? In fact, all our conditioning & thought process is developed and formed in a way that burdens men with responsibilities and we think men are born & brought up as powerful beings. But is it really so? This book brings on a fresh perspective to the way we think and see the world. Highly recommended for students and people who want to accept new ideas and develop new thought process!
SOmtah
5.0 out of 5 stars Very impressive
Reviewed in France on December 3, 2017
The most interesting book I have read about masculinity. A must read for everybody interested synths subject. Very well written.
Bizkaitar bat
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting view
Reviewed in Spain on July 18, 2017
Although it was written many years ago, it is still actual, inspiring and clarifier. It helps to better understand the masculine psychology and its displacement of the present society.