John Eldredge believes that men are Wild at Heart. “Deep in his heart, every man longs for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.”

Men find themselves in a world that tries to domesticate their longing for adventure. “For after years of living in a cage, a lion no longer even believes it is a lion . . . and a man no longer believes he is a man.”

It’s not just the world that tries to beat the wildness out of men, all men struggle with a wound from their fathers that they must overcome, Eldredge insists. He says,“Every man carries a wound. I have never met a man without one. No matter how good your life may have seemed to you, you live in a broken world full of broken people.”

I appreciate Eldredge’s invitation to risk, to create a mission, a purpose bigger than himself. I resonate with Eldredge’s challenge to risk opening your heart to what God has made you for. He encourages, “don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive, because what the world needs are men who have come alive.” I appreciate how this is tied into God’s purpose for us, from the very beginning, to have dominion. We are those who are made for adventure and are written into God’s adventure.

Eldredge reiterates, “The most dangerous man on earth is the man who has reckoned with his own death. All men die; few men ever really live.”

On the other hand, Eldredge often pushes past mere complementarianism into patriarchy. He tends to overstate the differences between men and women and understate the differences between men. I was surprised that Eldredge doesn’t even attempt to back his claims with psychological research and his biblical support is little more than proof-texting. I don’t think Eldredge is wrong that there are differences between men and women, I just think he exaggerates those differences.

I’m sure there are plenty of men who resonate with most of what Eldredge says. I wasn’t one of them. And, while I think Eldredge would be more helpful to that type of man’s man, I also would want to caution a man cut from that cloth to drink too much from this fountain. For instance, Eldredge paints Jesus as the ultimate man’s man, and bashes those who feminize Jesus. Jesus is a man of great strength and purpose, to be sure. And yet, is his strength most often found in his meekness and humility? In his gentleness and compassion? That’s the kind of man I aspire to be.


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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!

Eldgrdge has no concern for gender fluidity. I didn't swoop in and save my wife so I'm not a real man. I like camping though, so maybe I'm a guy?
His narrow components to masculinity easily support any man looking for an excuse to join the good ole boys club, any man hoping for a woman to spend all day serving him or any parent who thinks "boys will be boys" is an excuse for sub-par behavior. There are better options out there for the 21st century.

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.

What a sad excuse for a book's premise. I paged through this, after reading some of the ridiculous reviews, and came away as disgusted as I thought I would be. As soon as men stop attempting to ascribe to outdated theistic (and frankly trite) models of masculinity, the world will be a much safer, better place. I pity women who read this and think they may have come away with a greater understanding of men, as it's a false understanding of throwback, primitive males who have no place in a world culture that can no longer support the aggression and chromosomal ennui predicated upon concepts that fall somewhere between moronic piety and some suppressed lizard brain urge that results in antisocial behavior. Evolve, for "god's" sake.

I usually like Christian devotional books, but I couldn't disagree more with the author's thoughts. I have a totally different perspective on what it means to be a Christian man, which doesn't involve mountain climbing or joining the military. I had high hopes for this one, but it was a dud.

As a preface, I still almost think I should just knuckle down and read on past the halfway point before reviewing this book; but I just can't. I've tried, guys, and I can't. I'll try to keep the review as brief as I can, because I have a lot of thoughts and not a lot of very gracious ways to share them just yet.

This book has a companion book called "Captivating," by John Eldredge but also featuring his wife Staci's voice, and I read that one a while ago and was blown away by its richness; it re-bestowed so much dignity on women as an equal part of God's creation, while remaining grounded in the gospel. (Those aren't mutually exclusive, by the way.) I went out and recommended it to at least 7 3/4 of my friends. "You have to read this," I said with big eyes, "it's incredible."

And now, here I am, reviewing the male counterpart book, and feeling about as disappointed as Denethor every time he looks at Faramir. My disappointment has principally to do with two elements in "Wild at Heart": 1) the sheer amount of generalizations, and 2) the self-coddling tone in which the book is written.

Because I don't also want to make any sweeping generalizations, I'd like to point out that Eldredge also made some good points that fell in line with the gospel, and that there are some rich things to learn from him too-- for example, how he illustrated Adam as the embodiment of God's strength, and Eve as God's beauty; or how he explained mankind's "wound," the detrimental strike men receive on their confidence on the daily (i.e. "Be a man," "Don't be a sissy"). He also pulled some Scripture in occasionally. But for the most part, my Discernment Radar kept going off and causing me to question how far he took his ideology, how he worded that ideology, and how he thought that that could possibly line up with God's Word.

Firstly, the generalizations. From the get-go, Eldredge makes sweeping statements about boys and girls. On pages 10-11, he says, "Little girls do not invent games where large numbers of people die, where bloodshed is a prerequisite for having fun. Hockey, for example, was not a feminine creation. Nor was boxing… On the other hand, my boys do not sit down to tea parties. They do not call their friends on the phone to talk about relationships. They grow bored of games that have no element of danger or competition or bloodshed.”

Sorry, what? While I recognize that many boys and girls fall into this example, I also can't help but think of all the kids who don't; and yet he uses this stereotype as a foundation for his book's message, that men are wild and that women are-... less wild, I guess. (Which, if you have any real-life women in your life, you'll quickly recognize how this is untrue.) There's no "Generally" or "Most girls seem to be this way"; it's just "If you're a girl, you like *these* things, and *these* things are off-limits."

Secondly, I call to question why Eldredge phrases this paragraph as if the thought of his sons talking to their friends about relationships (or any other example of *not* being emotionally stunted) would be a shame to him, as if he'd failed to raise men who were strong enough to stuff their emotions. I don't know his sons, I don't know their family dynamic, and I'm certainly not going to tell someone how to parent (not being a parent myself, that would be pretty foolish); but I have caught some wisdom about stuffing feelings, and how that's dangerous and unhealthy no matter what gender you are. This paragraph just generally seems to leave no grace for those who fall outside Eldredge's experience and understanding of boys vs girls.

On to the tone of the book. I described it as "self-coddling." An aside: as I was reading "Wild at Heart," I remembered something Jani Ortlund said when she and her husband Ray came to speak at our church. They had many wonderful, gospel-inspired things to teach us, but one thing Jani said has been needling me: "It's our responsibility and our joy as women to uplift our man's ego."

The word "ego" really bugs me, because if I took Jani to be using the word as we commonly understand it, she'd be advising us to bolster pride, which is the exact opposite of the gospel-- we're all to die to ourselves. If she means encouraging men's confidence as masterpieces of God's creation, as beings made to exhibit *his* strength, then I agree; but similarly to John Eldredge, Jani's wording leaves so much room to wonder whether she's calling for encouragement or for pride-coddling, that I end up disagreeing with what could possibly be a rich truth. "Wild at Heart" is saturated with phrasing that makes it sound as if Eldredge calls for a blind allowance, for women to let the men in their life to run buck-wild, exercising little to no biblical discernment. Read the book and you'll hear the ripples of arrogance: "boys will be boys," never mind growth or maturity.

This went on much longer than intended. But it's really important to me to show that I did try to unpack this book for what it was worth, and that this isn't part of a feminist agenda. I believe there are good things to glean from this book, but for myself, it left me feeling confused and a little frustrated. I don't see how it's helpful for believers to be shown such a separatist example of the differences between men and women, nor do I find that to be biblically true. God does separate, as he separated the sky from the sea, but he also brings many things together, and if we're to be brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, or even friends at all, then there can't be so little room for grace to work. My concern with "Wild at Heart" is that it might mislead another girl/woman like myself to view themselves as lesser than the men in their life, or like they can't be strong or wild or a leader too; the other side of that is that it could mislead boys/men to have not a confidence in Christ, but in themselves and their thrill-seeking nature.

I'd really love to hear what men have to say on all of this, but alas, none of my guy friends have read this book yet. Forgive me if this review has come across as a rampage, but I'm just trying to understand how I can show Christ's love to the brothers he's placed in my life, and this book only lends me confusion.

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.

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.

First off, ALL CAPS THIS BOOK IS NOT ONLY FOR MEN. Oh my word it is not only for men. Yes, it speaks to the untamed nature of who a man is but whoa, there is so much truth here. Strength is how the Father’s voice speaks, surrender is how we get there, and living with a misunderstood heart in this world (because we are living from the Father) is part of the adventure. From the many men I’ve had the pleasure of asking the question to, most unanimously say that the Father is who they are closest to in the entire Trinity. It really showed me that the Father’s voice is really the most organic voice of what a man hears in his own unique spiritual life, and that is truthfully so beautiful.

haha the only thing I would have to comment about is how Eldredge basically compared Mother Teresa to a noodle — which, if you lived in spiritual desolation for twenty years, founded an entire missionary ministry, strapped yourself alongside gang members and the poorest of the poor on street ministry and are only about 4’5” tall, I’m guessing there’s laughter up in Heaven for saying something like that. She’s probably sitting right beside Jesus at this very moment. Not a noodle.

الكتاب ملهمٌ ومتحدٍ للواقع الذكوري العام والديني بشكل خاص. يستخدم الكاتب خبرته الشخصية وخبرات آخرين ليجيب السؤال: ما هو الاحتياج الأعمق في قلب الرجل؟ ما الذي يميزه؟ ومن هناك يبدأ، بدلاً من البدء بما يجب أن يكون الرجال عليه كغيره من الكتب. الكتاب أيضاً غنيٌ بالاقتباسات وبه نظرة متميزة للنصوص والقصص الكتابية.

يُؤخَذ على الكاتب ما قد يُعتبر تعميماً وقولبة فيما يختص بالشوق العميق لكلٍ من الرجل والمرأة كأنما لا يوجد اختلاف بين رجل وآخر أو إمرأة وأخرى، ويُرى ذلك في كثرة استخدام تعبيرات مثل "كل رجل" و"كل امرأة"، وتكرارهما. كما أن الكثيرات من النساء سيرفضن تصويرهن بصفتهن أميراتٍ أسيراتّ ينتظرن رجلاً ليحررهن!

الترجمة العربية جيدة جداً باستثناء عدم وجود حواشي ومراجع للاقتباسات المختلفة. وسعر النسخة العربية مرتفع جداً بالنظر إلى حجم الكتاب وأسعار السوق المصري.

بوجه عام أنصح بقراءة هذا الكتاب لكل رجل راغب في اكتشاف المزيد من نفسه وتحقيق دعوته في الحياة.

Great book.. A journey to know oneself.. It is an interesting book.. Read it in one go..