Rating: 
Summary: Title Misleading
Review: Certainly Dr. Dobson has done much good work in promoting the pro-family agenda. The problem with this book is that it does not directly address the responsibility of raising boys. Make no mistake, boys and girls are different and Dobson does a good job of pointing out this difference. But if you want to read about the research concerning the difference between the sexes, and the cultural assault on boys, then you are much better off consulting "The War Against Boys" by Sommers. There are indeed, numerous funny stories and pointed anecdotes mixed with helpful insight and advice in this book. But if you are a Christian looking for consistent Biblical wisdom to help you raise a boy into a man you can do no better than "Future Men", by Douglas Wilson. Wilson's book is so solidly Biblical that it will expose to many "Bible believing Christians" just how far from Biblical thinking most American Christians are. While Dobson wants us raise "good boys", Wilson tells us how to grow men.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a MUST-READ.
Review: Humankind's favorite form of escape and avoidance is denial, and then when things go wrong, their favorite form of coping is to blame someone... everyone... anyone... but themselves, and to file lawsuits and blab to the media. Dr. Dobson's book is as plainspoken and straightforward and painfully truthful as it can be in an agonized effort to get humankind out of denial and into reality. This is not only a well-written piece of work, as are all of Dobson's books, but, because of the plain truth of what he says, and the peril of our times, probably the most important work he has ever done. Reading this book with an ear to hear and a heart to learn may change not only the rest of the days of your family's lives, but each of your eternities as well. God keeps offering us love and light. Let's get our heads out of the sand and for the sake of our precious sons and daughters fly in OUTRAGE against a culture that is determined to destroy them.
Rating: 
Summary: God save us from Ourselves
Review: Dr. Dobson means well -- he quotes an alarming list of statistics on suicide/murder/violent crime rates of teenage boys and then goes on about how to protect our young men. But he spends so much time ranting against the feminist movement of the 70s and the sexual revolution, the negatism is very disheartening. There are some parts of the book that are so offensive, its hard to get through to the helpful information (and I would hardly call myself a flaming liberal -- I gave up my career to stay home with my 3 boys). For example, he states that men are in positions of authority at most corporations because they are, by nature, risk takers and sexism plays no part, those ... Feminists are making it up and should leave it alone. But yet, Dr. Dobson says too many fathers are too busy at work and not with their kids. Perhaps if they weren't so busy running their companies, they would be home more often... I think everyone would agree that teenage boys need to be sexually responsible and they need their fathers involved in their lives -- 2 major tenets of Dr. Dobson's argument -- but turning back the clock to 1950 is going to help no one. Parents of boys do need tools on how to guide their boys , but this unfortunately is not the place to get them. The chapter titled "Origins of Homosexuality" was down right scary.
Rating:
Summary: What Dobson Does Best
Review: In "Bringing Up Boys: Practical Advice and Encouragement for Those Shaping the Next Generation of Men," James Dobson gets back to what he knows best, child psychology. While over the years, Dobson has been outspoken for better and for worse about things within and outside of his expertise, many parents agree that what he has to say about families is solid and accurate. In "Bringing Up Boys," he gets his message across. What is his message? It isn't very complicated: Focus on rearing your son with love and with Christian principles, and you'll do a lot of good for him as he becomes an adult. Not unlike "Crisis in Masculinity" by Leanne Payne, Dobson asserts masculinity can be encouraged, and should be fostered, and with Christ as the center of your family, things have more hope. Granted, the book is not for everyone. He says a few bold things that might make a nonChristian cringe. He doesn't shy from or water down his Christian beliefs, but, just like any parenting book, his worldview influences his ideas, whether liberal or conservative. Consider that a caveat, and with Dobson's reputation with Focus on the Family, no reader will likely be suprised as he integrates his faith with his psychology. While "Bringing Up Boys" is not the last word in parenting boys, it is a place to consider some tough ideas, and react to what Dobson states. He unapologetically refutes and denounces some popular thoughts on modern psychology, and gives plenty of things to consider. For the reader willing to be challenged, or for those readers who are fans of Dobson, Focus and desire to learn some pragmatic thoughts on parenting boys, I fully recommend "Bringing Up Boys: Practical Advice and Encouragement for Those Shaping the Next Generation of Men" by James Dobson. Anthony Trendl
Rating:
Summary: Thank God that James Dobson has the guts to say it
Review: So James Dobson joins the anti-harpy chorus led by Laura Schlessinger and Rush Limbaugh to enlighten us with unadulterated Traditional Patriarchal Values. Finally! Thank God that we have people like Dobson to teach us that most of the troubles we have today are the fault of those uppity feminazi women who just don't understand that their place is in the home. If they would only take the trouble to stay in the kitchen and make good home-cooked meals while they sent their boys out to hunt deer and play tackle football, later calling the whole family in to sit down together and ask God's blessing on their male-led family and invoke God's curses on the Damned Liberals-- well then, God would bless this country a thousandfold! Dobson in "Bringing Up Boys" helps us see that the downfall of western civilization is due to men acting like WOMEN instead of fighting, belching, and generally behaving badly. I'm sorry for the sarcastic tone, but no more sorry really than I suspect Dobson is for his slander about working women, gay people, psychotherapists, and pretty much anyone who dares to think differently than the traditionalist patriarchs of the past 5000 years. Dr Dobson, we need to move forward into a 21st century AD where all people are valued for all the good they can bring to the table, not back to the world of the 21st century BC where everyone just shut up and deferred to their male elders. (If it was good enough for their grandfathers, well then, by golly, it would always have to be good enough for anybody!) Cultures, like the people that make them up, learn and grow with time. Like any child growing up, cultures make their share of mistakes and missteps, but let me tell you: our acceptance of strong women into positions of leadership and power, and of gay people as full participants in our society who are worthy of our love and respect, are not missteps! They are part of our growth and maturation. Please go back to your study, James Dobson, and start work on a new book, one that helps parents raise children of character and integrity WITHOUT relying on the defamation and vilification of other people.
Rating:
Summary: Unfortunate
Review: Well, certainly there's a biochemical basis for some of what defines males as males; differences in hormones and so on must be taken into account when considering what makes a man a man, or in this case a boy a boy. But to completely disavow any possibility that part of gender roles come from society (and probably a large part) is to cram one's fingers in one's ears, close one's eyes, and yell "I can't see it so it must not be true" at the top of one's lungs. Perhaps some of the advice in this book will assist in raising boys more effectively than a parent could without it, but that doesn't seem likely. This book is centered on maintaining the gender roles defined by our society that simply aren't as clear-cut as Dobson wishes they were by nature. And one word about the chapter on the "Origins of Homosexuality": well, first it seems obvious that the boy whose letter Dobson reproduces ought to have some counseling, but not because he's struggling with "prehomosexuality," a condition that I've never heard mentioned except here, but because his self-image is being ruined by the stereotypical gender roles that people like Dobson himself are trying to enforce. And it's awfully presumptuous of Dobson to say the he knows better than the AMA and to declare that, despite years of study and investigation by the AMA, homosexuality IS a disease. Clearly this is his own personal view, a view not shared by many of his contemporaries, and this personal indulgence is dangerous in a setting in which he's giving advice. Yes, I agree that masculinity is sometimes looked down upon and especially villified because of the sort of repression men have historically put on women. But believing in such clearly-defined roles about men and women is as ignorant as saying that it is a sin for men to shave their beards. Overall, I would expect more from a doctor than this very closed-minded and quite possibly dangerous book.
Rating:
Summary: Re: Be Informed
Review: This book is critical for raising boys to be morally and ethically responsible. It is written from a Christian viewpoint as opposed to an anti-Christian one. To the OPINIONATED who mistakenly think that "James Dobson is just an ultra-conservative. And that his "observations" have no basis in education, psychology, or any other respectable science, being purely based in his own right wing conservative relgious agenda for this country," I would submit the following FACTS: For 14 years Dr. Dobson was an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, and served for 17 years on the Attending Staff of Children's Hospital of Los Angeles in the Division of Child Development and Medical Genetics. He has an earned Ph.D. from the University of Southern California (1967) in the field of child development. He is a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, a licensed psychologist in California, and is listed in Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare. By far enough credentials to refute said uninformed critics. The ideas and arguements in the book are outlined logically and should even make sense to non-Christians who are seeking to instill moral and ethical values in their boys.
Rating:
Summary: Completely misleading....
Review: There was no mention to all the religious references in the Audio CD. I could not get through all of it due to the constant references to how you "cannot raise children without a strong faith in Jesus Christ." This completely turned me off to the rest of the book and I feel that the descrition misrepresented what the book was about. It should have said that it is about raising children with the help of the Lord.
Rating:
Summary: Be Informed
Review: Before you buy this book, you should know who Dr. James Dobson is. This is ultra-conservative. His "observations" have no basis in education, psychology, or any other respectable science. They are purely based in his own right wing conservative relgious agenda for this country.
Rating:
Summary: Wouldn't reccomend
Review: I agree with a previous customer reviewer - this was not what I had in mind. My husband and I are very traditional, but we were both offended by the anti-homosexuality stuff and anti-working mother stuff. While there might be some sound advice in this book, I cannot in all good concious reccomend a book which proliferates an attitude of hate and intolerance towards people who think differently than oneself. The challenge to raising children, let alone boys, is to raise loving, accepting children with high self esteem, who do not feel threatened by people with differing beliefs. I didn't get anything like that from Dobson.
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