The Seasons of a Man's Life

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Great book, great read for everyone. Author discusses the primary phases of adulthood in great detail, and very thought provoking way. Book discusses the life cycle as several distinct phases that we all go through one way or another. Having going through a transition myself, reading "Seasons" is an eye opener. If anything the more you know about your own transition, the better you can deal with it. Also, the phases help in understanding others too. Season's work will no doubt last for many generations to come.

Rating:
Summary: Dated Material
Review: This book reads like a bad psych textbook from the 60's & 70's; because thats basically what it is. There are some masculine universal truths but you really have to search for them. The case studies & occupations are dated & irrelivent to baby boomers in the 21st century and not very helpful IMHO. Still there are a few pearls and saving graces but you really have to work hard to read this one.

Rating:
Summary: Dated Material
Review: This book reads like a bad psych textbook from the 60's & 70's; because thats basically what it is. There are some masculine universal truths but you really have to search for them. The case studies & occupations are dated & irrelivent to baby boomers in the 21st century and not very helpful IMHO. Still there are a few pearls and saving graces but you really have to work hard to read this one.

Rating:
Summary: A Life Saver
Review: When I was looking for books along this line, I saw the review titled "This book provides insights that could save your life" and thought that this book might be the one to read. It was. This book can be a life-saver, literally. It certainly made a huge impact for me.

The book may be a bit too much for a person to read unless they like psychology. No, it is not hard reading, it just may be too much material unless you were looking for specific advice. Although you may be tempted to jump to your immediately applicable section, I would suggest reading chapter 2 (on men's different eras) before doing that.

The author has a friendly, mature, informed approach. It is analytical, yet comforting. Certainly a book to recommend for men in your life that are going through changes.

Rating:
Summary: A Life Saver
Review: When I was looking for books along this line, I saw the review titled "This book provides insights that could save your life" and thought that this book might be the one to read. It was. This book can be a life-saver, literally. It certainly made a huge impact for me.

The book may be a bit too much for a person to read unless they like psychology. No, it is not hard reading, it just may be too much material unless you were looking for specific advice. Although you may be tempted to jump to your immediately applicable section, I would suggest reading chapter 2 (on men's different eras) before doing that.

The author has a friendly, mature, informed approach. It is analytical, yet comforting. Certainly a book to recommend for men in your life that are going through changes.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: You can't ask much more from a book than that it changes your life.

Or more correctly, it helps you change your life. I first read this book during my last transition ten years ago, and I'm reading it again for this one. It made all the difference last time, and I'm dipping into the same well a decade later.

Levinson reasoned that while Piaget and Freud had well documented the stages of development of infants and children and adolescents, it mostly stopped at 20. It's as if that's it--you're all grown up now!

He thought perhaps there were changes, phases and stages of adult life akin to those of children. When he researched this with a large number of American males he was surprised to find just how consistent they are.

You can almost set your watch--oops! 25 years old! Time to find a mentor! Ooops 55 years old! Time to be a mentor!

The major transitions he identified at the decade turnovers. They seem to be times of significant discomfort, questioning, reassessment, and redirection in a man's life. They are followed by a period of consolidation and stability--until the next transition ten years later. While the transitions are different for each person and the results are different for each person, each of us in our way goes through them. The "mid-life crisis" he calls the "mid-life transition", since it's only a crisis if you don't get through it well.

This is not a particularly easy read (Gail Sheehey's "Passages" is easier), but if you, or someone you know is trying to figure out "what next?" try this book.

Hey, it worked for me.