Really interesting thoughts. Most i agreed with, some i did not. Reads more like a text book so it took me a while to get through. I learned a lot and gained a huge appreciation for all the youth programs and scouting done by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints. These programs offer so much to what a growing up boy needs. I had no idea how vital these programs are as well as how important the role the leaders play. Glad I took the time to read it!!

Lame. I'm all for recognizing differences between the sexes, but I found him a poor authority to do so. On a side note, one can't argue boys have problems in single-female headed households because they don't have male role models and then argue that it's fine to have same sex parents and society just has to make sure they fit in a few good male role models here and there and they'll be fine.

Astute. realistic observations about the general need to orient boys to their gender in modern world and how to communicate with the male mind/feelings. Found some of his observations useful in getting my sons to adopt responsibility at an early age: the principle of right channeling of aggression into chivalry. But the area on sexual morality would have been better left out because it says nothing concrete, which of course it can't unless there is are principles being proposed.

I really couldn’t get past the flawed logic of much of the book that boils down to “because cavemen did X, boys are evolutionarily programmed to do “Y”. First off we have very little data on specific behaviors our ancestors engaged in. Secondly this assumes that evolution stopped millions of years ago and is now a static process. Lastly there is absolutely no evidence how any of this informs how boys are today. Making evolutionary arguments about modern behaviors is Lamarckian at best and Kiplingist at worst.
In addition, many of the things he says that are supposedly specific to boys could be said about either sex (that boys need 3 families for example) . Everything he says takes on a gendered tone and is seen through a gendered heteronormative lens. I think if you follow the broad generalizations (and in my opinion incredibly sexist from both a female and male point of view) in this book as something you should apply to an individual child I think this will get you in trouble.

At the beginning of the book, I was leaning towards 4 stars. I was learning a lot about males that I didn't know, and it started to make some things make sense. However, as the book went on, I enjoyed it less. I felt a little helpless. I disagreed with some of his views, particularly on sexuality. And I felt like he was teaching a lot of theory without any practical suggestions of HOW to do certain things. However, as I said, I learned a lot and I definitely recommend the first part of the book. :)

I read 200 pages before getting thoroughly distracted by the other books on my nightstand and found some topics thought-provoking and others annoying. Interesting: boys should be - or need to be - involved in groups such as sports, boys need to be motivated by helping out the greater good (clean your room to help the family vs clean your room so you can find things - my example). Annoying - author seemed to be addressing broken families and while seeming open-minded also much emphasizing Christianity. I'm not sure I agreed that culture needs to accommodate boys not change them - isn't part of parenting socializing your children to the culture? There were many thoughtful and useful messages and others that I needed to skip - as with most other self-help / parenting books. I do wonder if the author has children. I plan to pick up Wonder of Girls.

This book teaches you how to raise a young man from an infant into a respected, loved man. It is especially helpful in giving ideas on how to successfully communicate with toddlers and gives you confidence in what you're doing as a parent. It's VERY helpful as it gives the scientific explanations of the male brain as well as how to best relate to him at every stage in your son's life.

It seems the best thing I can do for my sons is stay married to their father! A good read, I agree with his concept of three family circles and being mindful of all the influences in a boys' life. Not really applicable for my boys' ages but I'll keep it around for reference!

Since I have two boys and am married to a man, thought this would be a good read. It did have some interesting things...probably more than I'm giving it credit for. But all the sex stuff was completely off base. Oh, well. Gather the good stuff.

The beginning and middle - super helpful. Lost me on all religions lead to the same God/Universe part - even if he didn’t flat out say that. The info/ideas about boy culture and discipline being a system were helpful; I wrote those down and will be implementing them!

I was really hoping this book would be a winner. As a mom of five boys, I love learning about them and always appreciate new perspectives. I thought his scientific analysis was helpful, but I totally disagree with his application principles.

I found this book to be very enlightening. He points out gaps in our societies method of male upbringing and how that is leading to gang formation, dead beat dads, and other problems in male culture. He then uses the remaining text to inform his audiance in what a boy needs, and how to provide it so they grow up to be healthy contributing members of socity. I really enjoyed the Jack and the Beanstalk analogy. I did disagree with some of his assumptions, but overall learned a lot.