3.5/5 - There is a lot of really good stuff in here. I think the strongest sections are on wounds, sexuality, and a man's longing for his woman. I do find that most of the references to outdoor activities (hunting, fishing, rock climbing, etc) work best as an allegory for adventure in a man's life... a man can work in a cubicle and have tame hobbies and yet be a strong man of God. A man doesn't have to be into fishing to be wild at heart. The core tenet is to fight for what's worth fighting for, and chase your passions, never get caught in the mundane. A sense of achievement and adventure are important parts of being a man. Contrary to what the author suggests the world does not need more "dangerous" men, the world needs kind and patient men that will fight for their families, pursue their passions, and make their relationship with God the first priority.


P.S. - I did knock some points off the rating because of the author's clear lack of knowledge on first-century Judaism, especially pertaining to Paul and Pharisees. No, Paul was not disillusioned with his Jewish faith and practice. Nor are Pharisees "weasels". That is clear anti-Jewish sentiment, their faults in the Gospels are some of the same things many of us today are guilty of as well. I think the author could use a history lesson on early Judaism but I digress. Good book nonetheless.

First and foremost, what a great book! That might be obvious with the time this book has spent on the bestseller list, but it needs to be said, this is a great book. John Eldredge does a fantastic job of unpacking masculinity and what God calls men to be. Wild at Heart, subtitled Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul, does just that. John takes a look at what makes the masculine heart and soul come alive and then explores how we need to call that out in our journey to manhood.
He starts off the book by addressing "the wound". This is huge and before you can get to the "rest of the story", you have to start by healing your wound. Everyone has wounds and John does a great job of unpacking the wounds most men receive and how to recover their masculine hearts, given to us in the image of a passionate God.
John explores three big theme's that he says are essential to men; a battle to fight, a beauty to rescue, and an adventure to live.
A battle to fight: I think this really hit home for me as I watch my 3 year old nephew play. He is all boy and it is clear when every stick turns into an imaginary gun or sword that will be used to defeat the "bad guys". He is always ready to take on any "bad guy" that stands in his way. John Eldredge says that at some point, that warrior spirit was crushed and pushed down. As he says, our churches today are filled with "really nice guys" but we need to be reclaiming our warrior hearts, hearts that are God given!
A beauty to rescue: To me, this ties into a battle to fight, deep down men want to have somebody to fight for and women want to be fought for. That is why timeless fairy tales, generally, have the story line of a damsel in distress being rescued by her knight in shining armor. To me, this brings back memories of my college days when I was pursuing and dating my wife. The dates I would plan, the hours spent talking to one another, I was fighting for her heart. The book then challenged me to continue that fight. Often times, once we hit marriage a man's mind shifts, it goes from fight for her heart to I have her heart...what now? John did a great job of reminding me to fight for my wife's heart on a daily basis and I have found when I pursue my wife, her heart comes alive!
An adventure to live: This last section tied everything together. With a battle to fight and my beauty to rescue, it is going to be an adventure. The big thing I realized is that my beauty wants to live the adventure with me, and I love that! The adventure is so much better when I get to share the adventure's with Heather.
John makes that point that in most churches today, if you look around you will find that the majority of Christian men are bored. I think this book does a great job of exploring the masculine heart and what it will take to recover our hearts and live how God designed us to live. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. Now that I understand my past and the journey that God has me on...it is anything but boring!

I tried to read this but couldn't get out of the first chapter. I hate quitting books but this guy just is too caught up in being overly masculine. I've always been seen as a "manly" man but this guy takes it way too far. The world is different than it was 300 years ago and some additional skills are needed like for men to be able to communicate and express ourselves. Eldredge just simply states that that is "womanly" and that there are and should be distinct roles and behaviors for men and women. The guy is stuck in the past and delusional. Don't bother. Read some Hemingway instead.

Words cannot describe the loathing I have for this book. Instead of going on a complete rant and diatribe that nobody would read, but might make me feel better, I will highlight some of my problems with this book.

1. Shoddy theology--as I read this book, I was wondering...has the author read the Bible? Are you familiar with your supposed source material? Some of the major problems include Eldredge's complaint that by placing Adam in the Garden, God already tried to 'tame' Adam. Eldredge also at one point compares Jesus to William Wallace of Braveheart and Mother Theresa. Eldredge then suggests that Jesus was more like Wallace (a fictional character....yes to my atheist friends, the irony is not lost on me).

2. Lack of source citing. If you are going to write a book on men...please do some research other than watching movies. Movies may be good examples...but when you write stuff like, "I think me are like....(fill in adjective) because Gladiator makes me feel good..." you have a problem. First and foremost...movies AREN'T real...you are basing your theological observations on FICTION. (Yes atheist friends....the irony is not lost)

3. The view of women. According to Eldredge, women are passive helpless beings waiting for men to rescue them. They seem to have no other purpose then to be beautiful for men.

Books like this do more harm to the Christian message then good. Unfortunately, they become popular and people outside the church think this is what Christianity is about.

I think Christianity has a great deal to say about men and men's role in the world. Unfortunately, this book has very little in it to recommend it.

Not sharing my full thoughts on this review, but if you want them, I’ll share them with you

To live for an adventure, to rescue a beauty and to fight a battle. Sounds like a story...like a tale of dragons, ladies in distress and war for the homeland against the dreaded enemy...like all movies...great books...great tales...stories tell of woes, foes and overcoming great obstacles. These are all great truths, but are they any truer than your own life? But, does your life seem like you are just sliding through, getting by one-day-at-a-time? That's how most of us live, to survive for the next weekend, to get that job done...all struggle, little reward, and we get to get up the next morning and do it all again. But, there is more to our lives than duty, obligation and being the nice guy. But are we as men equipped to go on adventures, strong enough to rescue the lady in distress and brave enough to fight the foes for those we love? Most are not.

If you think, want and hope and desire for more to life...READ THIS BOOK. There is more, plenty more, and, you have everything needed to live life with freedom, excitement and purpose. What keeps us from the real life we would like to have? A lot, this book is a key to help unlock men from their hearts of quiet desparation and how to be a vibrant, valiant man. There is a cost (personal efforting) but what of true value doesn't require commitment and dedication.

For yourself, your significant other, for your children and all of those in your sphere of influence...READ THIS BOOK...there are people just waiting for you to come alive...and so are you.

John Eldridge writes with the elegance of a drunk man driving home at midnight. There is little coherence, plenty of contradictions, and a sprinkling of heresies and blasphemies. Few authors do so thorough a job mischaracterizing God and the Christian faith. By the end of the book I was confused as to whether God wanted me to go off and buy myself a really big gun, or just crack open an extra beer for Jesus. His interpretation of the Bible is tenuous at best, and often leads the reader to false conclusions. If I had to judge whether Eldridge is a Christian or not by what he wrote in this book, I would have serious doubts about his faith.

He hyperfocuses on masculinity to the point that it warps his view of what actually matters. There is almost a desperation to his words as he twists Scripture to fit his worldview that all men should be "wild", "adventurous", and nature-loving. It's clear he's addicted to the thrills of danger, and somehow deluded himself into believing every man is just like him. He even insists that if you think otherwise, you haven't found your "true self". This line of thinking is dangerous and damaging to all the men who don't like the same action movies as Eldridge does, and ultimately leads the reader further and further away from Christ.

In my opinion, the most egregious claim Eldridge makes is insisting that humans are naturally good. He claims we are all living as our "false selves" and need to rediscover our "true selves". By his words, all people are inherently good; we've just been wounded in our youth. He further claims that God's role is to help us reclaim this "true self" that we have lost, rather than what the Bible actually says about God destroying our sinful selves and remaking us completely. Eldridge's theology directly contradicts the core doctrine of Original Sin, which states that all people are born with sin, and that our true hearts are evil. By pushing against this, Eldridge pushes against Christianity itself.

This book is utter trash. I have wasted precious hours of my life reading it, and if I could get a refund on those hours, I would. Sadly, no man can wheel back the hands of time, and so instead I must take vengeance on Eldridge's garbage by writing a poor review. I know Goodreads only allows us to go down to one star, but it's zero stars in my heart.

P.S: On a personal note, Eldridge thinks it's okay to talk trash about Mr. Rogers. No good Christian speaks poorly about Mr. Rogers. No one.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has never thrown a book, let alone the same book, against the wall, clear across the room, but have always wanted to.

I couldn’t keep a copy of this on my shelf because I kept giving it away. Even though John wrote it for men, it still spoke to my heart. When I look back at my single years, I have no regrets. I’m so glad I allowed the Lord to show me that I had adventures to live before I got married, and that it was okay to be wild at heart!

I hate this book so much.

Very good book. Best chapters are near the beginning and end. Talks about masculinity in a different light than what is typically discussed today. Good call to action throughout the book. The end of this book leaves readers wanting to read the sequel. I disliked how John Eldredge keeps plugging in his website but i understand it’s a business.

Often times when reading Christian books I hit a spot where I have to "eat the meat and spit out the bones." There were a few of those moments in this book, but overall? Loved it.

I first heard of it from a former professor and the background story to why I wanted to read Wild at Heart is worth mentioning. I was helping paint the professor's house for some cash over the summer. In the middle of a hot August afternoon I attempted to kill silence by asking, at the peak of my a.d.d., the famous question from the movie "Fight Club." I asked, "If you could fight any person from all of history, who would you pick?"

Without hesitating my professor answered, "There was a kid who used to pick on me in 6th and 7th grade. He used to beat me up almost every day. I'd fight that kid."

Taken aback, I had to ask for clarification, "Wait, you're telling me, as a grown man, you'd go back and beat up a kid? You wouldn't face him as an adult?" Unflinching the professor said, "Well, I may have fought back as a kid, but I was always taught to turn the other cheek, and it emasculated me. Made me feel like less of a boy. That kid kind of took that from me. So yeah, I guess if I had to do it as an adult, I would. As a kid, though, I'd still fight him. Either way, I would like to go back and kick that kid's butt."

I still kind of laugh at the complete honesty of this good friend and mentor. He went on to tell me how so many Christian young men are taught to turn the other cheek and then never stand up for themselves. How this book helped set him free from the bondage he'd been put in by years of being told to be a doormat.

I checked out the book and saw exactly what he meant. I also feel like this book prepared me for fatherhood, being a better husband, and overall, being a better man. Not just a Christian man, but a better man.

I highly recommend this for every human male.