Good book but I’m not without criticism for it.


What I liked: Though I don’t think I’d reread it, I certainly do not regret reading it. The beginning of the book was good, and I felt like I deeply connected, particularly with a couple of the Eldridge’s pillars of the masculine heart. Reading this book gave me some inspiration to bring to prayer as I strive to live out masculinity better. There are definitely some areas where this book has led to me embracing the adventure of my life more, and I’m thankful for that.

What I disliked: I understand the importance of seeking healing from wounds, but in some chapters, it seems like the author chalks up any area where we aren’t living in accord with our heart to some past wound. While it is probably true that much of this results from some sort of brokenness, it isn’t always from a wound inflicted by someone else in my past. Often, it is simply because of my own past sin or my concupiscence.
While I agree with some of the author’s conclusions, he seems to use a good bit of anecdotal evidence. He also references movies a lot to prove points, and while I certainly enjoy a good story, if I wanted to read about Braveheart, I’d watch it. Finally, I’m not too fond of the writing style and think he could’ve said almost the same thing in about half the pages.

A friend of mine once made a good point by saying that many modern churches are trying to turn men into sweater wearing old women. Nowadays only the uniform has changed: untucked shirt, trendy blue jeans and a Starbucks cup. Eldredge provides an illustrative alternative to the mega church status quo.

I read this at a time in my life when I was searching spiritually, looking for a place to fit. I'm not saying that Eldredge's book provided an epiphany, but he helped to place in context the first century, subversive and radical message with the sometimes watered down, drained of color and suburban sermons shared today.

Before I write my review, let me first say that I heard numerous negative opinions about this book. In fact, it was overwhelmingly terrible, that I was warned to read this book with extreme caution. Being the avid reader I am, I like to give every book a chance and draw my own opinion about a particular book. There are many instances when I disagreed with the majority about their views on a book but unfortunately this was not the case. Let me first start with the strengths,then I will list the weakness and lastly my final thoughts.

Strengths: I liked how the author mentioned how most people have a flawed perception on what Christianity is. For example, Christians are not sinners saved by grace,but there are new creatures. They are made in the image of God, not only that but they are forever loved by their creator. I admired the bold attempt to approach the misconceptions about what it means to live as a Christian or not. Additionally the book was written very well, it was very easy to transition to the next chapter, that is always nice to read.

Weakness: As a Christian, I question this book content. Most scriptures that he used was distorted and heavily misinterpreted. I felt that the author used scriptures to justify his flawed perception about what it means to live as a masculine man. Speaking of that, what the Hell is he talking about that God created man for adventure? Using the first book of the Bible to justify your ignorance is not going to fly with me. Not all men are into cars, violence and want to attack everything that is in their midst. Not every man wants to be the priest and save the woman in distress. Not every man watches pornography because of his manly nature.The reason why he is struggling with lust has VERY little to do with his internal nature or whatever term he used. It has to do with lust and the fact that he is trusting his own willpower to overcome temptation and not Christ. You have got to be kidding me if you expect me to believe that every girl wants a 'manly man'.

I was extremely offended that this book was suggesting that the nice guys finish last. No woman wants a 'sap' but a guy that is going to take charge of everything. Granted I believe that a man is the provider of the family, I disagree that his role is to act like a raging lunatic for the sake of his 'manhood.' Also is he really asking the reader to examine their gender role in a relationship? After reading it, I literally shook my head in disgust,this book was only biblically sound in a subtle way.

While I appreciated the authors boldness to speak on matters from the heart; it outraged me that the perception of men were wild creatures and woman just want to be held. Trim that nonsense out, this is not a fairly tale, this is REAL LIFE!

Will I recommend this book? I will just pretend that is a rhetorical question!

Like many works which espouse a religious or philosophical value, this book has its appreciators and its detractors. The implications of the book's message are immensely significant; gender issues are frequently at the forefront of discussion in the social arena of our society. It's essential to understand, therefore, that the stakes are high for this book, as you can probably sense from other reviews.

To me, it is noteworthy how stridently many of this book's critics attack it. If I don't like a book, I'll perhaps offer a few measured words of critique and then put it down and move on with my life. The fact that so many people have taken it upon themselves to disparage this book with such verbose ferver, to me, is something of a hint at its true value. This book is neither "dangerous" nor "naive," despite what others claim.

In offering my own critique, I will note that Eldredge's presentation of ideas has some rough edges that could stand to be smoothed and that a few of his minor conclusions probably ought to be taken with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, his overall premise rings very true to me. We live unwittingly in a world in which masculinity is increasingly losing its divinely-appointed bearings. John Eldredge speaks to this problem straight from his heart, and he provides a good number of moral gems in this book that both men and women can profit from.

Eldredge speaks against the spreading "conventional wisdom" that being a man is somehow inherently a bad thing, and he observes that men are increasingly struggling to find a sense of masculine affirmation. He notes that men are blessed with unique gifts and abilities that need only to find proper expression, and that insisting that men be docile, submissive, "domesticated," and even apologetic is not in harmony with their divine purpose. God created man to be strong and "wild at heart," Eldredge says, and this is not incompatible with his intended roles of husband, father, and spiritual seeker. While Eldredge's language may be somewhat overly idealistic, his assertions that each man needs "a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue" seem, at least in my judgment, to be generally pretty accurate and insightful. Overall, the book presents a truly thought-provoking message.

It must be acknowledged that, just like nearly any other book, Wild at Heart has a target audience and a niche that will probably appreciate its message more than others. Those who aren't looking for what it has to offer will not likely get as much out of it. But I think anyone who is earnestly looking to learn something will find something worthwhile in this book.