Rating: 
Summary: passionate,inspiring motivating and dangerous!!!!
Review: I imagine John Eldridge will come in for hard criticism with this book.His ideas are great but not politically correct.I could not agree more with his idea of what we are,how we are and where we naturally gravitate to , if we follow our real desires.I do agree with him also that it fits in very well with what we read in the bible and in our daily walk with the Lord.
It could be a little dangerous to read this book if your woman wants you as a sedated pet, because you won't be the same afterwards.I think for fathers with sons this is a must as for those in charge of child care facilities(to better understand the ways children play,and what they need to play).
If you want to live your spiritual life to the full as a warrior,if you want to teach your sons to reach out with confidence in a cruel and desparate world, you should read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: I am a man and I'm ashamed of this author
Review: This guy is out in left field. No, he's not even on the ballfield. He's in outer space.He starts with a premise that God made man in the wilderness and women in the garden. This is in contrast to Genesis 1 where God made a world that was perfect, until it was corrupted by man's original sin. Then we degenerated into killing animals and living in a wilderness when God kicked man out of the garden. Eldredge does stupid things like risk his son's lives by putting a canoe (for the first time ever) into a raging river at flood stage. He glorifies the cavemen images and glosses over what the Bible says about men. He mocks the safe men and glorifies the dangerous men. He forgets that God shunned Esau the wild man and chose Jacob, the mama's boy and soft-skinned conniver. Eldredge thinks men need to be warriors and fierce. Yet God told David he couldn't build the temple because he was a warrior. God granted that privilege to David's son Solomon, a philospher king, the wisest man ever. He twists the story of Ruth in the Bible and makes her out to be a scandalous seducer of men. My wife is a great Christian wife and she was very offended by this book. She doesn't need rescuing by Eldredge or anyone else. Eldredge mocks the character traits outlined for a woman in Proverbs 31. Once he degenerates into his theory that all men have a wound, he really goes off the deep end. He even gets so weird as to use an example a Costner movie in which they discuss the size of a child's genitalia. He recommends beating up bullies instead of turning the other cheek and its really a sad example of a man who has some desperate inner need to feel important and hope that other people believe him, thereby making him feel he knows what he is talking about. He goes off on tangents about how he would rather be William Wallace than Mother Teresa. Yet he bases his knowledge of William Wallace on the Braveheart movie and not on the biographies which paint a different picture of the man. I would actually encourage people who have a strong faith to read this book, then challenge others to avoid this false teaching and Hollywood movie theology. It's almost laughable, until you realize this guy probably really believes this. Pity the poor men and boys who take this to heart. They'll be headed for a seat in the therapists chair before long.
Rating:
Summary: Warped & A Step(s!) in the WRONG Direction
Review: This book takes what could be a good message to men ( for that matter- all humans) - Be strong- & warps it with a so much macho male stereotyping that I vacillated between disbelief & anger while reading it. The notion that to be strong a man must be "dangerous, wild & rescue a beauty" is ludicrous & simplistic. It reduces the wholeness of a man to a caveman image. There is so much depth & dimension to a man that if I were a man I would be insulted by this book. Great strength in a man comes from wisdom, humility, & love, along with a passion for life in whatever he has been given the desire to pursue. However this is true for a woman as well.
As a woman I AM insulted by this book. The references to women in this book reduce a woman to that of someone who is on this planet solely for a man. In addition women are said to be lonely, controlling and bitter because of their lineage from Eve- while Adam's great contribution to the male population is that he did not rescue her. The references to a woman needing to be rescued teach men incorrectly that women lack strength & teach women not to desire & develop strength from within themselves. I shudder to think of the impact on our daughters ( & sons) whose fathers take this to heart & encourage this type of thinking. I think a book on developing strength and character in a man, when written correctly, could make a wonderful read. This book does not.
Rating:
Summary: I get it!!!
Review: I get it. I finally get it. I have always had a hard time figuring out the heart of a woman. I know this book is about men, but I finally understand why women are the way they are, and its beautiful. The heart of God is multi-faceted, and the woman is the embodyment of the tenderness, caring, nurturing part of the heart of God, that was placed there by divine design. The balance between logic and emotion which is the fulcrum of diversity between men and women is so simply stated in this book that I wonder how I missed it for so many years. It is one of the most refreshing and helpful books I have read for understanding me, my wife, my father and my son.
Rating:
Summary: Wild at Heart
Review: This book is changing my life. I am a person who can count on both hands how many books that I have read. Books that others have suggested that I read because they could not put them down, I would purchase and put them down with ease because they did not keep my attention and did not speak to my heart. My thanks to John Eldredge for being honest and baring his soul for me so that I can get in touch with my own. This book is very timely. I will read it again after I finish it the first time.
Rating:
Summary: Go to the source instead...
Review: If you want to know how to be a good Christian man...read the New Testament. This book skips the parts about "the greatest of these is love" and "turn the other cheek" and "blessed are the peacemakers" and many, many others. It is riddled with stereotypes and poor interpretation of scripture. The author takes outdated notions of what it means to be a man and tries to pass them off as biblical truth. It takes a lot more courage and wisdom to be one of the "nice guys" that the author disparages than it does to be one of his "wild at heart warriors." This is a hurtful and destructive view of manhood.
Rating: 
Summary: Mercenary or Warrior?
Review: Eldredge's Wild at Heart will strike a chord with many men. "A mercenary fights for pay....The quality of a true warrior is that he is in service to a purpose greater than himself." How many men are mercenaries in that they go to battle (work) each day to help achieve someone ELSE's dream rather than their own. Eledredge argues that men were meant to be warriors rather than mercenaries. Eldredge asks the questions, "What would you do if you had permission to do what you really wanted? What makes you come alive?" He goes on to suggest, "Don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive because what the world needs are men who have come alive!" Wild at Heart is a good tool for introspection for men and a good reference for women who want to better understand the men in their lives. It is a bit heavy on the movie references for my taste (Every man dies. Not every man really lives - William Wallace). But the the analogies to Braveheart, Gladiator, etc. may resonate with many men. This is a good book and well worth reading especially for those who are facing a significant life change that may have them questioning their direction.
Rating:
Summary: Taming, but could open some new avenues for you.
Review: A very unusual book that describes mens God given innate behaviour, more so identity, but I feel this book was written more so for women, for many reasons. One I believe John is speaking for men from himself, he wants to show his own feelings in this book to help women free themselves of the petty cares of men. In other words, let it go, forget it, and be free. That is just one reason, one that no one else mentioned. This is a fantastic book and can open up some new Via's for both men and women. The book is Biblical Christian based, I am not however so I tend to be critical of the possibilities. If you are not biblical and want a real good book on freedom, passion and adventure you will discover, I must recommend reading SB 1 or God By Karl Mark Maddox.
Rating:
Summary: This book will speak to you!
Review: Fantastic read! Mr. Eldredge has a gifted writing style that allows the reader to roll with the words as if in conversation with one of your friends. In fact, you will find parallels to the conversations you have had or sometimes were too embarassed or not insightful enough to have with your male friends. The meaning of what it is to be a man and the fights we have in our minds jump off the pages of this book. This book lived up to every raving review that drove me to read it in the first place.
It is for the Christian man and the non-believer in that it puts the voice of man first without condemnation. It will prove insightful on how to raise your sons and daughters and it will improve your relationship with your spouse. Truly a brilliant piece of work that you will share with your friends. I did!
Rating: 
Summary: Food for Thought
Review: Society HAS emasculated men during the past several decades. It was refreshing to have their innate differences brought to light and heralded. Through the reading of this book, I was given a new appreciation for, and a better understanding of my husband. Poor guy! All along I've been trying to tame him! This book is for women as well as men. The beginning section helps us understand men better, and the end can be applied to both men and women. I think "the wound" was overemphasized. This whole middle section lagged for me, and my husband as well. It would be helpful for anyone who has been deeply hurt in childhood, but I disagree when Eldredge says every child has experienced this. I think it is possible to grow up with a halfway normal childhood into an emotionally healthy adult. I wonder if Eldredge gives enough consideration to different temperaments? I'm sure most men could relate to what he claims is at their core, but I would hate for a man to think he must be gay because he can't identify with the man described in the book. I also wished he'd given a little more attention to self-control and other Fruit of the Spirit that might take some extra work for men, who are wired with this natural aggression. I winced when he talked about fighting rather than turning the other cheek - not because I'm a woman and am uncomfortable with fighting - believe me, there are plenty of times I'd rather fight! Jesus was NOT a wimp, but He did practice humility when it came to his personal rights. Isaiah 42:2 talks about the quiet, submissive demeanor of Christ. "He will not cry out, nor raise His voice." There's another verse that I can't find right now that talks about Him being insulted (bullied) and yet He remains quiet. We can't always cater to our innate nature. There are many tendencies to which I am prone, due to my basic disposition, make-up as a woman and sinful human nature that I have to fight, not encourage. I'm glad I hung in there; I almost stopped reading halfway through. In the end he emphasizes that man's answers are found in God - that's where he'll find strength and adventure. (He talks about this throughout the book, but man seems to be more of the focus earlier on.) He encouraged me to revisit total surrender of my life to God.
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