Men at Midlife

A few years ago I wrote a research paper for a college class in the psychology of personality. I read extensively from the literature on men at midlife and this book by Farrell and Rosenberg stood out for it's sensitive, penetrating and revealing portrait of what can be a difficult time in the lives of American men. Though a work of research backed by numerical data, this is a book that is readable cover to cover. The authors not only look unsparingly at the demands that our society makes on males but also thoroughly review the different schools of thought on maturation and put these to the test. They find actual "crisis" at midlife to be uncommon but describe a denial of the true self as the rule for a majority of men. Also related is the difference that class makes in the likelihood of satisfaction at midlife. This book is the standard by which I would compare any work on male midlife and I can't recommend it too highly.