Be a Man

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In the first chapter, "The Journey", Levi describes his experience as a partisan and his capture by fascist militia in December 1943. He is transferred to a detention camp near Modena. After several weeks, the six hundred and fifty Italian Jews in the camp are told that they will be leaving, their destination Auschwitz (a name which means nothing to them). They are crammed into freight cars without water; the train travels slowly through Austria, Czechoslovakia and into Poland. On arrival, those capable of work are separated from those who are not. In "The Last One" Levi describes the audacious schemes he and Alberto devise to acquire goods to exchange for bread. At the end of the day the prisoners are assembled to witness the hanging of a man who has taken part in an uprising. At the moment of death he cries out "Comrades, I am the last!" The prisoners look on passively, robbed by now of any autonomy. If the The Way of Men is the book on the biological/ anthropological nature of manhood, The Code of Man is the book on the philosophical vision of manhood. Like Michael Kimmel’s Manhood in America, Anthony Rotundo’s American Manhood gives a concise history of manliness in America. Unlike Kimmel, Rotundo is able to maintain a bit more objectivity and doesn’t bludegon the reader in the head with anti-male rhetoric.

Ordained to the priesthood on April 21, 1989 for the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania, Father Larry Richards has served as Pastor of St. Joseph Church/Bread of Life Community, also in Erie, since July 1, 2002. In addition, Father is the founder of the DME (Divine Mercy Encounter) Retreat Program for the Diocese of Erie This quote summarized the power of the book for me. Do I have desire or does desire have me? Do I have a relationship or does my relationship have me? Do I have anger/shame/sadness or do they have me? ETC ETC. I just finished this profound book by Robert Masters. It goes against all conventional ways of thinking about manhood that have been shaped by the media and modern society.

The shaming effect of telling a man (or boy) to “be a man” is rarely seen for what it is, being commonly viewed as a kind of tough-love support (psychologically akin to “spare the rod and spoil the child”), especially in authoritarian or militaristic contexts. She had gone further than anyone I knew in a game that was never only a game, one that was about power and fear, about the refusal to comply with the vulnerabilities one is born into”.

That might seem like a controversial thesis to some, but Baumeister lays it out in a very sensible, straightforward, non-inflammatory, and ultimately hard-to-argue-with way. Heuses studies from the growing fields of evolutionary psychology and sociobiology to explain why cultures have exploited men the way they have. And he explainshow and why certain aspectsof male and female behavior are hardwired and that these differences should be used to complement each other rather than asfodder in the gender wars. To Be a Man clarifies what’s needed to enter a manhood as strongly empowered as it’s vulnerable, as emotionally literate as it’s unapologetically alive, a manhood at home with truly intimate relationship.I follow him at a distance down the street. He passes under a mulberry tree, so I pass. He crosses to the other side, so I cross. He stops to look up at a tall building they are raising, and I too stop to look up, and it seems to me that I could go on doing this for a very long time, shadowing a life”. The visible presence of these “soft” qualities induces far more discomfort in most men than the “hard” ones. But once they are brought out into the open and respected/honored — which takes courage — they can coexist with the capacity to express anger skillfully and take strongly directed action, empowering men in ways that serve the highest good of all of us. This book was an incredible read. But to be honest I have had a hard time figuring out how to review it. Fr. Larry Richards in this book, challenges us to be real men, authentic men, men of God. It is a call to be true Christian men, to be a Catholic gentleman. The last part of the poem, beginning meditate, explains Levi's purpose in having written it: to record what happened so that later generations will "ponder" (a more literal translation of meditare) the significance of the events he lived through. It also parallels the language of the V'ahavta, the Jewish prayer that commands followers to remember and pass on the teachings of their faith.

Newell’s idea of honorable and virtuous manliness is aligned almost perfectly with the conceptionof manliness that we espouse on AoM. I’ve actually read this bookagain several times since my initial reading a few years ago and I still find it as stirring and as relevant as the first time I read it. In the last 8 years, I’ve dived headfirst into getting an education in the meaning and nature of manhood.I’ve read dozens of books on the biology, psychology, anthropology, and philosophy of masculinity, all in searchof developing a multi-facetedanswer to the big questions surrounding the male experience: What is manliness and where does it come from?Why is it that we associate aggression, risk-taking, and bravado with manhood? How did past cultures harness the traits of masculinity for good rather than evil?Nicole Krauss’s Holocaust short story in a refugee camp got to me more than it might have if I wasn’t already tender myself. A year later he resumed his work, but in a much more compassionate, radically inclusive manner, centered to a significant degree by the practice of becoming intimate with all that we are — high and low, dark and light, dying and undying. He became a student again, completing a PhD program in psychology at Saybrook Graduate School in 1999; his dissertation received the highest award (dissertation with distinction). In 1998 he co-edited the Fall issue of ReVision: A Journal of Consciousness and Transformation (the theme of the issue being “Intimate Relationships and Spirituality”). I have seen many men suffering from shutting themselves off to their own depths, cutting themselves off from what would enable them to have truly fulfilling relationships — not just their empathy, vulnerability, and capacity for emotional literacy, but also their true power and strength, their authenticity, their capacity to anchor themselves in real integrity. This book is a brave and full-blooded deep-dive into the challenges and opportunities facing men and masculinity in the 21st century. Masters brings an array of unique insights, taken from years of his own personal practice and gleaned from decades of work with male clients, to support men on their journey towards mature manhood. This book is a very valuable read for men and women alike.” In 1981 he won his first literary prize — an all-expenses paid trip for two to Hawaii — for his story of a particularly perilous Indonesian adventure he’d had 8 years earlier. This spurred him to immerse himself more fully in his writing. He also deepened his psychospiritual work, which spread worldwide in the late 1980s.

Joe Ehrmann, former NFL player, cofounder of Coaching for America, and author of InSideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives Patruno, Nicholas (2008). Understanding Primo Levi. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-57003-791-7. A manly handshake is a firm one, even a steely one; a manly approach means, among other things, keeping it together emotionally, not losing one’s cool. Save the Males is a book written by female writer, Kathleen Parker, who criticizes the feminist movement for creating the male-bashing culture that’s taken root in America during the past 30 years. She then goes on to argue how the anti-male rhetoric has been bad for both men and women. Baumeister uses studies from the growing fields of evolutionary psychology and sociobiology to explain why cultures have exploited men the way they have. Baumeister argues that much of male and female behavior is hardwired and that these differences should be used to complement each other instead of as fodder for the gender war.Benchouiha, Lucie (2006). Primo Levi: Rewriting the Holocaust. Troubador Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-905237-23-5