Wild at Heart

Rating:
Summary: It's a Narrow Path that Few Find
Review: I'm not at all surprised at how easily some reviewers of Wild at Heart give in to the notion that it's a childish view of masculinity that gives men permission to be "pigs". The fact is, this walk through life and our walk with God is called a "Narrow Path that few find" for a reason. It's only natural that those who get taken out degrade into a sort of cynicism, and find it necessary to attack in the same sort of childish way they were so quick to claim to be against.
John makes the point in this book that we have lost what it means to truly be man. It's been stolen, stereotyped, and severely watered down by the society we live in. Wild at Heart invites a man to take a journey with God to recover his true heart and find the life we have been promised. It's a priceless secret, and it's worth every step. Remember, it's not the critic who counts...

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Wild
Review: Since there are so many who are voting for the feminization of men, John Eldredge works hard in the beginning of this book to convince us about the proper wildness of men. My wife found it quite good writing and as stimulating as I did. Mr. Eldredge is just making the case that many men become too civilized and "nice" in our institutions and work places. They lose sight of their real purpose and give up on life.

The second half of this book is the must read. It shows who are the true enemies of those who are meant to be "Wild at Heart." The author's answer is what is incredibly wild and what every man and woman should know.

Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Time and Paper
Review: There are an infinite number of creatively acerbic ways in which one might say it, but the simple fact remains: this book is awful. This book reads disturbingly like one of those comically misguided "hygiene manuals" from the early twentieth century, as the author rails against the evils of [wancking] and battlefield cowardice. The overarching theme of the book seems to echo Leo Durocher's infamous adage that "nice guys finish last." Eldredge constantly implores men to throw off the cultural expectation of "niceness" that modern society has thrust upon them, and begin fighting some unnamed foe in their necessary struggle to regain their inherent "wildness." He even goes so far as to suggest that it was this inner pull towards wildness that caused him to take up residence in the "wild" west town of Colorado Springs. And I just thought it was the weather. This book rehashes all of the old stereotypes of men as daring knights and women as damsels in desire of rescue. The author expresses his latent urge to be William Wallace (maybe it's the kilt), and even waxes poetic about a Civil War soldier who envisions his own senseless death but cannot resist "the call of battle." This is a childish and woefully misinformed tome that would seem to appeal only to those with delusions of grandeur and/or little man's syndrome. In short, don't waste your time.