This has to be one of the most interesting and enthralling studies that I've ever read. I may have some personal nepotism too the fact that the content does have connections to me, but I strongly encourage anyone who has any form of connection to males to read this. Mr. Pollack has put a lifetime of work on the pivotal problem of developing young men, and it shows. As a young adult this was a clear cut look into lots of familiar experiences and made me think about lots of troubles young men still face to this day. I strongly believe that most importantly parents or guardians that live with any age of men read this amazing study and think about in everyday life.

Although the style of the book is academic, the writing was rather approachable.

Being into reading lots of gender-related literature, this book didn't provide me with a great deal of new information. However, to anyone less well-read on the topic, I'd say this book provides a great wealth of information about how boys (and men) are enculturated in western society, often to their detriment, and provides practical advice regarding how to counteract the damaging aspects of our culture.

Even with the background of gender-studies and a familial culture of egalitarianism in terms of gender roles, I found this book to be both informative and practical, and despite the fact that I don't agree with the author on all counts, my impression is that the vast majority of people would benefit greatly from reading this book.

Highly suggested reading for all men and all women who are mothers of boys.

Great book with a lot of information. It just needs more practical information for boys of different age groups.

Really interesting book about the Boy Code and the mask of masculinity that we consciously and subconsciously put on boys in American (and global) society. Easy to read prose and focus on action items to implement the lessons learned in the book. Would recommend to anyone.

One of the best evidence rich books on boys.

good book on raising boys in our culture that gives us mixed messages

I read this book back when I was going to school at the U. It was required reading for one of the classes I was enrolled in. I loved it! I never thought I would enjoy a book like this as much as I did. But I decided I need to read it over again now that I have experience with my own "real boys" and see if I think the same.

Some good info but not enough 'how to' that was useful.

don't make boys suppress emotions ("boys/men don't cry!")
be a good example
recognize boys behavior patterns and work with them to get them to express their feelings

what else?

To be honest, I didn't read this whole book. I really enjoyed the first chapters about the myths of masculinity and the important and unique ways in which mothers and father relate to and parent their sons. I would highly recommend this part to parents of young boys trying to navigate parenting boys in modern American culture.

After chapter 8 I felt like the book slowed down significantly. I skimmed the rest of the book and didn't feel like I was missing much.

Crappy. Seriously, this came highly recommended, but I was totally unimpressed. At the same time as he pushes the obvious (don't tell your son to "act like a man" when he cries, take his feelings seriously, &etc.) the author is also doing whole chapters on the special (and different!) relationships between mothers and sons and fathers and sons. In other words, there's no attempt to repudiate the gender divide, only to ameliorate its negative effects on boys. He's perpetuating the mother/father gendered responsibility and affect split even as he bemoans the trials young boys go through in a gendered world. I stopped reading about 2/3 of the way through because I was too irritated to continue.

A must read for all Mothers of pre-pubescent boys.....