The Men from the Boys: Rites of Passage in Male America

If you liked Iron John by Robert Bly, you will love this book. While Robert Bly looks to our past (literature and history) to find the key ingredients to a successful transition into manhood (using the Grimm Brothers' tale of Iron John), Ray Raphael focuses more on our current day transitions (or attempts thereof) into manhood. He takes the pulse of our efforts, both individually and collectively, with incredible accuracy. The book flows smoothly, focused around interviews with unofficial male icons of our day, including a champion body builder and a fighter pilot intermixed with "regular Joes" and others including a doctor, a fraternity brother, and an amateur athlete. Their candid responses and the author's talent for reading between the lines result in one of the most honest evaluations of male insecurities in print and the most powerful. After about three or four chapters when I realized how insightful and dead on the author is, I started to anticipate what his suggestions for addressing the problem might be. Chapter after chapter I found myself saying, "You're right, you're exactly right, so what do you suggest?" To spare you the same plight, I must tell you the "solution" never came. After some consideration, I think this minor let down is the result of the authors knowledge, it seems he has left no stone unturned in his assessment, he has such a grasp of the subject, it's only natural for me to want a solution from him. That being said, this is a great book. Ray Raphael's The Men From The Boys is an incredible resource thoroughly lifting the veil of mystery off epidemic male insecurity caused by ineffective initiations and poorly defined transitions into manhood.