Rating: 
Summary: It has its flaws but by & large I highly recommend it
Review: I've read most of the reviews & I think the author has been sorely misunderstood by those in opposition. It could be because these folks have managed to read 1/4 - 1/2 the book before deciding it just isn't their thing & proceeded to diss it. Eldredge never said that men ought to be irresponsible. He repeatedly highlighted the importance of responsibility & accountability - to both God & man. A REAL man takes responsibility for the consequences of his actions. Jesus was meek & humble, but He was also tough & rugged. He worked w/ wood, hung out w/ burly fishermen & tax collectors, & died on the cross for sinners.
Being wild, dangerous & aggressive doesn't mean being reckless, abusive or irresponsible. It's all about balance. Remember that the Lamb is also the Lion.
We each have a purpose on earth. Eldredge speaks of emotional healing & finding our purpose in God, to have something to fight & live for. To deny self is to crucify our sinful, worldly desires & bad habits (eg: pornography, gluttony etc). I don't think God means ignore self. Many churches are really telling the congregation to ignore self, though they never explicitly state so (I don't mean to say that you shouldn't attend church, keep in mind that the earthly church isn't perfect). To ignore your heart's yearnings is to miss out on God's blessings for you. I believe He blesses everyone certain gifts & talents, & places certain desires in our hearts, for one's enjoinment & in fulfilling His purpose.
Do not ignore your yearnings thinking that you are being selfless & humble! Certain desires are planted within your heart by God. If you have a dream, don't sit & wait for it to happen. SURRENDER your talents & desires to God & ask Him to do something about them. This book teaches just that. Eldredge's efforts to illustrate his point w/ characters & quotes from movies have made this book an entertaining read. It isn't necessarily bad. Movies are, in fact, a good source in bringing about awareness to the world about certain issues. It depends on the choices we make (in my country, gory violence & hot-n-heavy love scenes are censored, thank God). There is always an element of truth in movies, though admittedly, many are also corrupted & far-fetched.
Note also that Eldredge has never agreed w/ everything about the media's portrayal of real men. He made his point very clear. Though a woman, I have always been wild (while maintaining my femininity). In fact, it is thru' this blessed trait (among a few other channels) that God drew me to receive Him. God created the woods, the river, the lake, the sea, the hills, the mountains, the land etc. He speaks to us thru' His creation. Read the Bible - God more often than not utilizes nature to illustrate His points. Being horse-crazy, I especially take delight in Job 39: 19 - 25 & 41: 12 - 34. I dare you to read it & say God is a 'nice guy'. Now don't get me wrong, there are certain views of Eldredge's I disagree w/, like when he told his boy to physically fight back a bully. To me, a real man doesn't need to prove himself. Do it like Jesus - walk away quietly (Luke 4: 30). It's childish & utterly stupid to get yourself involved in a fist or gab-fight. However, I don't expect every Christian author or preacher to be perfect. It is entirely up to the individual to take the initiative to seek the Holy Spirit's involvement in discerning right from wrong. This book isn't just for men. For both genders, it will bring unfinished businesses you thought you've got over w/ to the surface. As for my taste in men, long before I read this book, I have always prayed for a husband who loves God w/o being a 'nice guy'. And if I were to have kids in the future, I'd instill within them a desire to live God-fulfilling, passionate lives.
Rating: 
Summary: Must READ
Review: This book was so insightful and helpful in understanding men especially men that have had wounded hearts! My husband and I read it together and both agree that all men and women should read it before dating and after marriage. Just a FANTASTIC author and nurturing to the soul!
Rating:
Summary: Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
Review: I had been wondering for many years why I felt so empty and longed for something else even though I am a Christian. I found excitement in reading westerns and science fiction but I was still missing something. When a friend suggested Wild at Heart I ordered it and had it read in about 4 days. This has been one of those "turning points" in my life. I recommend it to any man and the women in their lives (wives, girlfriends, mothers, etc.)
Rating:
Summary: Basic Message seems Correct
Review: A lot of negative reviews seem to simply say that the author is wrong but not really explain why. I am just selecting Michael Bauer's review as an example, and I'm sort of writing in response to his points. In general, it seems to me that Eldridge is quite correct in his description of today's church. Church is full of mostly women, and boys who grow up thinking to be Christ-like is to be "nice," they have been taught mostly by female sunday school teachers who naturally portray Jesus more often as the meek lamb-holder than they depict him as the revolutionary kicking merchants out of the temple, if they ever discuss this side of Jesus at all. Michael Bauer seems to think that Eldredge's view of a hero stands in contrast to Jesus' example. Perhaps, he misunderstood the book. Christ is our example, it's just that when Jesus says turn the other cheek, or when he actually does it, say for example by not calling down 10 billion angels to destroy his opposition, he does it as God-man, as one who has the power to destroy, but chooses not. What makes Jesus humble and merciful is that he has the power to destroy, and chooses not to do it. It's not simply the fact that He does not destroy, it is that he does not destroy, but he could have. It isn't merciful just to be weak.
One must first find her strength, and know she has it, before she can choose to lay it down, before she can turn your cheek, she must have one. Many men, who think they are christians have yet to find their strength. Many men attending church are just mister rogers type wimps. They do not resist the urge to fight back, and with steady maturity turn the other cheek by choosing to love rather than fight. They are scared to fight (fighting being metaphorical more often than not, in eldredge's book.) Jesus was not scared, he called out the religious leaders of the day, he virtually cussed them out as a brood of vipers, he stood up to everyone, and feared no man. He was a super hero. Eldredge is encouraging men to be real men, to find their strength. I did not feel he was only promoting some macho man image of christian men. He is not saying that men should never cry, or that they should be insensitive and non-relational. In fact, I think if you could speak with Eldredge, he would encourage men to become more relational in their roles at Church, perhaps by teaching Sunday School, and not spending all their time in board meetings. Michael Bauer says that "We must patiently wait for God's call and continually be seeking His Word, even if it means remaining in our seeminly unexciting Mister Rogers'-type churches." I believe he is half wrong. Eldredge would agree that we should wait for God's call, and seek his Word. However, a lot of the time we're waiting for a sign in the sky, when God has placed a desire in our heart, and a dream in our mind. Moreover, I don't think we should remain in our Mister Rogers churches, if that's not the Church God intended. The church is the people, not the building obviously, but are the people really living up to God's design? Would you want to be a part of a mister roger's movement if God wanted you to be fully man or fully woman, neither of which fit the mister rogers image? Of course not, you would do his will, that's the point of the book, it's saying that Men are falling short of God's will by being anything less than 100% man, and they are failing themselves in the process. Michael Bauer also says we should not forget: "this small point... it's all about obedience... doing God's work (not seeking to fulfill our own desires for adventure). It's about willingly being persecuted for speaking God's name and God's word, rather than our own. Wow! Now that's what I call a hero." I think he simply has a problem with logic here. He seems to think (mistakenly) that following our own desire for adventure is always incompatible with obedience, and doing God's work. That is simply not true. If we are Christians, we discern what desires are Godly from those that are not. It's not simple but it's possible. Often the same desire can be both wrong and right, based on intensity, timing, etc. The desire to eat, for nourishment can be good, it helps us take care of the temple, but it can be bad when we become gluttons (as many Christian men, including pastor's seem to be) or it can be a bad desire when we should be fasting. At any rate, I think Bauer is frequently assuming that Eldredge would disagree with what Bauer is saying when in fact Eldredge probably would support these ideas, like being obedient to God's call. Where they would disagree is what exactly that looks like. Are we doing God's will by warming a pew in a mickey mouse vanilla Jesus church? Or are we doing God's will by getting in the thick of the fight, engaging non-christians on their turf, building relationships with non-christians, and sharing the gospel with them at the risk of being rejected? Some call it Wild it Heart - God simply names it sin.
Rating: 
Summary: JUNK!
Review: Has the church losts it's ability to discern the voice of the true Shepherd? When I see just how many people buy into this garbage, my spirit is grieved. I can't imagine Jesus ever acting this way toward anyone. Everything I see of His example while on this earth was submission to His Father's will, gentleness, kindness, unconditional love, purity, truth, holiness, righteousness. Meekness is "strength under control." He came to shatter the common and traditional ways of "playing church" or rather synagogue. He came to set the captives free, to heal, to forgive, to restore humanity to what He'd created it to be before the fall in the garden. He came to redeem all of His creation - women and men - equally. He taught the disciples to get down on their knees and wash the feet of each other. He honored women by recognizing their acts of worship, valued them by teaching them in the presence of the men, by healing them, by commissioning them for ministry, evangelism, preaching the gospel. And after He sacrificed His life in a most humiliating display of love, He sent the Holy Spirit to lead and guide women and men alike into truth. I have no doubt that this type of material is just one more way His heart is grieved over the condition of the church today! I long for His return ... to set the record straight! Never forget that whatever you teach ... He will hold the teachers to a higher standard and to accountability. Let's not misrepresent His truth!
Rating:
Summary: Thoughts on Hero Worship at Easter
Review: In today's media-driven world of heroic stereotypes such as John Wayne, Indiana Jones, Braveheart, etc..., I cannot think of any less of a heroic image than a lonely, deserted, naked, bloody, beaten Jewish rabbi hanging on a cross left there to suffer and die as people watched (including His previous subjects and previous adoring fans who were expecting a heroic, Braveheart-type king to resuce them from the Romans). And yet, what they got was this unheroic weakling-type, who seemingly failed in his quest to rescue the Israelites. ... Or so they thought ... However... Contrary to John Eldredge's vision of "a hero", never has there been (and never again will there be - until the sounding of the trumpet for the second coming) more of a heroic, humble, unselfish example of heroism such as this, since man was put on the earth. Jesus died for us - not for a want of adventure, but because He wanted to live in our hearts. Yes, Jesus gave up His life for us. From the "Wild at Heart" doctrine, it would seem that the only thing that we are willing to give up, (or to avoid) is a lifestyle with God in which we may have to wait around patiently for God's next command. When we are committed to a lifestyle with God, we are unable to be in charge of our own lives (if we truly turn over the reigns). God has purchased us with a price. Therefore, we are not free agents to go out on our own, selling ourselves to the highest bidder who happens to dangle the most attractive offer of adventure in front of our faces. We must patiently wait for God's call and continually be seeking His Word, even if it means remaining in our seeminly unexciting Mister Rogers'-type churches. I am also wondering what could be more boring (albeit certainly quite adventurous) than being a persecuted Christian prisoner living in a secured hole in the ground (with only bars for covering) somewhere in Southeast Asia. It must be extremely monotonous living each day (for months or years) with lack of available space to turn around, or to be able to fully stand upright. Living with rats and snakes, exposed to the overwhelming sun during the day, and to the rain as it fills one's small dungeon. Boring, maybe. And yet, what a way to live out God's adventure for our lives. And don't forget this small point... it's all about obedience... doing God's work (not seeking to fulfill our own desires for adventure). It's about willingly being persecuted for speaking God's name and God's word, rather than our own. Wow! Now that's what I call a hero. Are there any beauties being rescued? Probably not ... at least probably not anyone's beautiful blonde wife. However, the actual "beauties" being rescued are the ones being brought into God's Kingdom (as opposed to a castle somewhere away from a fire-breathing dragon). Well, let me take that back. Maybe it's the same thing if we consider Satan to be the fire-breathing dragon. The rescued beauties may be the ones to witness the persecution - maybe other prisoners, guards, etc. - who willingly submit themselves to enter into God's Kingdom. Yes, that is truly heroic. Some call it Wild it Heart - God simply names it sin.
Rating:
Summary: Wild at Heart
Review: This book was very insiteful into the essence of men as well as women. Brings understanding to the phrase "we are made in the image of God". I recommend this book for men and women alike- especially women raising boys.
Rating:
Summary: Someone is making sense for a change.
Review: I only read the exerpt but if the entire book follows the message that Christian men are being taught to be just 'nice' but that should not be the 'limit' of his self. Free expression of being the man God created him to be should be the goal. We are losing the dreams of our childhood 'who we want to be when we grow up' and it's turning Christians into automatons. God is a wonderful 'Creator' - making us all unique but Christianity seems to be propagating the notion that we should all be the same, lose our dreams and become a part of the one. Careful what you are believing people. If this book propogates being true to your true 'self' and believing in God at the same time then read on.
Rating:
Summary: Who's in Heaven?
Review: After reading some of the other reviews of this book which focused on the author's admiration of violent men such as William Wallace, and the movie character "Gladiator" I had one more thought. If men such as these are examples of what Christian men are meant to be then what is heaven like? Does anyone really believe such men are saved and in heaven? Perhaps this is the real question.
Rating:
Summary: How readest Thou?
Review: Take a few scriptures out of context of the whole, season them with some popular writings and song then wrap the whole in the romantic violent "heroism" of modern film and you have nice dish called "wolf in sheep's clothing." Eldrige lures us into his book by appealing to our carnal natures and somehow making us feel comfortable with a little scripture quotation. A critical reading of this book reveals it to be theologically weak at best (if not simply heritical), intellectually weak, poorly written and organized. Sublimely hidden in its pages are statements that undermine the basis of salvation: justification and santification and skips right to renewal. However, he renews God in his image, not man in the image of God. This is a feel good book for the tired pilgrim who is lured off the path to salvation by the author. Our new age and Christian Book stores are full of such works. Anyone searching for the true path to salvation and spiritual happiness is best refered to Bunyon's Classic "The Pilgrim's Progress." This is the original "Field Guide" to the soul.
Beware of false doctrine. The "Old Paths" are tried and true. Shorcuts lead to death. Holiness leads to true happiness. The author asks: Why are so many Christian men bored? The answer is simple. They are not santified holy. The seek something other than Jesus and are not "meet for heaven." To paraphrase our Lord: Better Mr. Eldrige should have a stone around his neck and cast into the sea than face judgment for leading others astray. The cure for Post-Modernism is Puritianism. Hooper died for the truth. Watson and Wesley were persecuted and gave up all for the Gospel. Bunyon wrote his Christian field guide from prison...
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