Rating: 
Summary: Give this to your son's teachers...
Review: I am amazed. As a mother, I am so happy to be currently reading this book. My husband will read it soon. Almost all of my friends are teachers and constantly complain about the boys in their classrooms. I want to buy them this book as it gives such great insight into the lives of boys. Every father should read this book, it should be required reading. If all of our parents and teachers could read this book, we could change our society for the better.. I love boys (5 nephews and 1 extraordinary son!) and want them to be strong, emotionally savvy individuals. Read it and then remember it.(And do something about it to make a difference to your son/nephew/student). Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This book is full of great examples and stories from Kindlon's experiences as a therapist at an all boys boarding school. He is right on the money when it comes to understanding how to raise better men. If your a man or mother, you must take the time to read this book it will hep you raise better boys or understand the male culture better.
Rating: 
Summary: Anecdotes
Review: I gave this book TWO stars instead of ONE because of the included anecdotes about patients of the authors.Save your money, and read this review instead of buying the book:
Boys have feelings, not just girls.
Boys are just as sensitive as girls.
Listen to your son and he'll be emotionally healthy.
Boys are special because they have lots of energy. Nope...nothing about your son being gay, if that's what you're looking for. I just listed those four things off the top of my head without even thinking about the book. As I read over what I wrote, I see that my blind guesses were right: That's pretty much what the book says in its 250 + pages.
Rating:
Summary: packed with insight
Review: As a mom who had no brothers to help me understand my son, the thing I love about this book is that it helps me understand what's so great about boys (and men). The authors have such a positive (and thoroughly realistic) view of the energy, vulnerability, risk-taking, and even mischief, of boys. They show how vast the impact of parents, teachers, and peers can be on boys who are wrestling with the contradictions of adolescence: Boys must not be "sissy," but they still need love and support. Boys must not be "obnoxious" in the classroom, but they still need to stretch their limbs more than school recesses allow. Boys must not be "disrespectful" to authority, but they are driven to achieve autonomy. There are quite a few examples of teen boys who are getting in trouble of various kinds, and the authors offer poignant insight from the boys themselves about the feelings that drive the trouble-making. But the book also speaks to how we raise infant, preschool, and pre-teen boys. The authors also point out that many boys often receive very little emotional education from their parents or other authorities. One anecdote they tell is of a scary situation in which Michael, one of the authors, was tempted to follow the cultural "script" and say to his son, "You weren't scared, were you, buddy?" Instead he chose to say, "That was a little scary, wasn't it?" To which his son replied, "No, Dad, that was very scary." Yes, boys have feelings - and that does not make them wimps. After all, courage is action in the face of fear! In the companion chapters on the roles of fathers and mothers, this book gently explores what parenting can achieve at its best. These chapters are exceptionally approachable, and they offer specific suggestions for parents who want to better relate to their boys. The authors talk about how mothers nurture children's sense of self, while fathers challenge their kids to try new things. Fathers face a unique challenge in trying to treat their sons as young men without dropping into the male pattern of competition or jockeying for power. But when fathers offer acceptance and challenge simultaneously, sons are free to explore and excel. And mothers, ideally, offer their sons a "home base" of security and love, bountiful in empathy and emotional insight. Most of all, the authors continually challenge parents and teachers to help boys figure things out. Boys need encouragement, emotional insight, and freedom to explore as they reach for maturity. Particularly in its anecdotes (some from school and some from home contexts), this book gives so many examples of great ways to help boys through their rites of passage. I feel better able to raise my son in a healthy manner after reading this insightful book. PS - If you have ever wondered whether talking about feelings is the "psychologist's answer" to problems, rather than a real man's answer to problems, read this book. The authors actually manage to strike a balance between the need to be "manly" and the need for boys to express a greater range of feelings. They express respect for the times that men choose to be silent. And they explain why sometimes men might like to be free to say more.
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Summary: Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys
Review: This book is great. It's well written and very informational. It's not boring at all and the Authors don't offer any quick fix solutions that would give someone who is really having a hard time with their child a false sense of security.
It's a real book that deals with real children. It speaks to everyone who reads it.
Rating:
Summary: A "Must Read" for Every Parent or Teacher of Boys!
Review: This extraordinarily insightful, easy to read book will benefit any parent or teacher of boys. As I read it the first time, I was amazed by how honestly, truthfully and succinctly it described the challenges boys face. As the father of two boys, this is my bible. It is a reminder to celebrate the spirit of young boys and watch out for ways in which that exuberance can be stifled by parents, schools and other children. Armed with the knowledge contained in this essential guide to raising boys, parents will have greatly improved their chances of having a close connection with their developing boy and ending up with a man who is emotionally whole. This book may be of most value to women because it gives them insight into the lives of boys (and men) that are not otherwise available to women. For all the love my wife feels for our sons, she -- like all women -- has no first-hand knowledge of what it is like to be a boy. Instead, she (mis)interpreted our sons' behavior in light of her experience growing up as a girl, and by comparing it to stereotypes about boy behavior. This remarkable book gives women a unique opportunity to stand in their son's shoes and see the world from their perspective. Raising Cain merits the highest recommendation.
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Summary: Such an important book to ponder...
Review: This is such a profound and necessary book for parents (and everyone) to read. Such a subtle yet powerful message that boys/men are often times socialize to be detatched, emotionally-illiterate and how the consequences can range from simply personally painful to violent and sometimes deadly. I like the preventative message that this book provides and the compelling experience that the authors bring to it. Good work!!
Rating: 
Summary: Boys have got it tough
Review: Raising Cain is an excellent book that will provide much insight for parents, especially women, into the painful world of boyhood. The authors both worked at boys' schools for a period of time and developed the book out of their practices'. The book depicts the emotionally stunting messages that boys receive about being told to 'grow up' 'toughen up' 'get over it' and 'don't be a sissy'. The authors provide real evidence and example about how caustic these messages are to the souls of boys. One of my favorite parts of the books deals with the tough time that boys have in school, just for being little boys. The authors speak about the fact that boys do not develop an attention span as early as girls, and that they should not be punished for it. Also mentioned is that little boys are high energy creatures who need to have more effort placed into directing their energies, rather than being punished for fidgeting. I especially like the depictions of classes that start with recess, allowing boys to work off some energy so they can sit and concentrate. One thing that I did miss in this book was a full discussion of the fact that so many boys are suffering with no father in their home, many with no father in their life, leaving only what they see around them and on television to be their male role models. Because research has proven that the most important influence in a child's life is the same-sex parent, I think this was a bit of a strong omission. Perhaps, though, the authors felt that the subject was too complicated or intense to fit into the whole of the book. At any rate, what the book does contain is excellent and should be read by everyone, because everyone (even those who are single and/or childless) will be affected by the way that boys are brought up in our culture, whether you like it or not.
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Summary: This book is a big help in understanding boys
Review: I bought this book because a friend recommended it; they told me that it would give great insight into how a boy thinks and feels. He was right! I now understand much more about why boys feel the way they do, and do the things they do. It also helped me understand why I feel and react the way I do sometimes. The reasoning behind why I read this book is that I am a single guy that is embarking on journey to adopt a son very soon. I feel all the insight I can get on how a young boys mind "works" is going to be a great advantage when trying to help my child enter a new chapter in his life. I feel this book helped me and will help him. If you are a parent of a boy, a caregiver to a boy, someone that interacts with a boy, or just a guy that wants to know why you react the way you do to situations, get this book. I think it is well worth the cost to be able to help make a boy feel like it is ok to have emotions. To help a boy become a more emotionally literate man could be the greatest thing you can teach a boy. This book can you give you insight on how to do that and some understanding on how to recognize when a boy needs the support and emotional literacy to express his feelings. To just hear, "It is ok to have feelings" means a great deal to a boy.
Rating: 
Summary: Food for thought
Review: This fine book gives food for thought in raising boys. It reminds you of things you probably already know, such as that being yelled at hurts, and that even boys have rich inner emotional lives. Reading this book should make you more mindful of how your actions (or lack thereof) affect the boys in your life.
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