This was an interesting read!

This book had some good insights into the emotional miseducation of boys and why they have problems as a result. However, they take 240-some odd pages to make their case and 10-15 pages giving insight into what can be done about it. I would have liked more outcomes on the individual case studies instead of an introduction and then leaving it to continue the authors' theories. I think more people should read stuff like this to at least raise awareness of the cultural model for boys and to help develop a healthier cultural model. Ultimately the lesson of the book is: Leave no room for doubt that you love your boys, teach/show them how to express their emotions, and appreciate the differences they bring to the gender table.

I really liked the chapter about mothers and sons.

This is an older book that I had avoided reading because the title and the book jacket made it sound kind of new agey/touchy-feely. It really wasn't at all. It is written by two psychologists who have worked with teen boys for a long time and thought that the fact that boys didn't understand their emotions was causing them a lot of trouble.

Much of what they wrote in the book was spot on. I especially appreciated one of the early chapters that discussed the cruelty of boys. So often I have heard people say that girls are so much meaner than boys. My experiences with my classmates, my brothers, and my son have not proven that to be true, but I thought I must have a unique experience. Seems I have not; it's just that adults tend to overlook or ignore what can be extreme cruelty among boys. This is one among many reasons why boys can't identify their feelings - the adults around them don't acknowledge them.

My complaint about this book is that there is too much description and not enough explication of what we can do to alleviate the boy problems the book describes.

If you just want to read the "take-away" you can get away with only reading the last chapter. The rest of the book is full of experiences that is to get you to believe the last chapter.

I can imagine myself wanting to read it again in a few years.

I think it will be helpful not only in understanding my son, but also helpful for my relationship with my husband.

Such an insightful book!

Very insightful book for anyone with boys and/or men in their lives. I wish there had been more practical information in some areas but overall worth reading.

This was an interesting book. It has been criticized in some reviews for focusing mostly on the stories of very troubled boys and not giving readers concrete steps to take to avoid that often heartbreaking fate. I think this book as many compelling and helpful insights that parents and educators can use, even if it doesn't give a concrete road map or dialog prompts for all of them. I was often brought to tears by some of the stories and explanations I read, and having lived through some of this with my younger brother who was labeled as a troublesome boy when he was very young, and suffered through grade school, high school, and college (which he never did finish and included a diagnosis of bipolar disorder that may or may not be accurate), I see the truth in much of what they discuss, and I have a new and better awareness of how I might be better as a parent to a young boy and how to better be his advocate as he gets older and moves through the school system.