Rating: 
Summary: Excellent but misses one major point.
Review: The "Boy Code" and the idea that "boys must be toughened up" has existed for generations. But, in the past, there was a reason for this. As a young man in the 30s, it was explained to me in this manner. I had to prepare myself for entry into the world where I would be responsible for a family and their well being. Such a life would lead to many encounters requiring decisions. When emotions take over, reason goes out the window. Therefore I must learn to surpress my emotions and control them. When there is a reason for "toughing up" the process can be endured with little problem. But today, the reson no longer exists. Boys and girls are taught that women will stand on their own requiring no help from a man. As a result, the procces of "toughening up" becomes a meaningless tourture endured without reason. (wish you had a spell-check with this.)
Rating:
Summary: A long overdue book
Review: After decades of feminist propaganda about how girls were supposedly suffering from low self-esteem, we finally learn the truth: our boys are in real trouble, and it is much more serious than how they "feel" about themselves. Pollack's work is excellent, even if he is a voice crying in the wilderness. He believes that the "gender straitjacket" was placed on boys unintentionally. I disagree: forces in government and academia have long sought to marginalize men and boys, and we see the results of their "work" all around us now. In short, what American society (especially public education) has done to boys is cruel and criminal. Pollack's work is an important step toward rescuing boys from those who deny their pain and seek to stifle their individuality and uniqueness.
Rating:
Summary: A walk down memory lane
Review: While I was reading this book, I felt like I was answering a lot of old questions from my past. Dr. Pollack did a wonderful job in his interviews and his examples of boys dealing with their problems. I felt like there were times when I was depressed but yet did not know it. Using Dr. Pollack's revised diagnosis measures for depression, there were in fact many times that I was depressed as a teenager. I am going to recommend this book to both men and women to show that the "boy code" can be changed if we as a society will look at boys with a different light.
Rating:
Summary: a useful academic study
Review: This book provides many insights into the raising of boys. Pollack draws on extensive academic research to illustrate how the stereotypes of masculinity place enormous pressures on boys and what parents can do to counteract them. I agree with others that another fascinating, if very different, take on the subject is Our Guys, by Bernard Lefkowitz. While telling a story, it makes many similar and equally thought-provoking points. Both will lead to many vigorous discussions among parents. My book group read both and had some of our liveliest debates.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting insight and ideas.
Review: As the mother of both boys and girls I knew from the start that they were wired differently. It's helpful to review the ideas in this book to gain insight on the male perspective. However, like its counterpart 'Reviving Ophelia' I think this book focuses too much on the negative and not enough on the positive and the solutions. If you want solutions to everyday parenting problems check out Perfect Parenting - The Dictionary of 1000 Parent Tips by Elizabeth Pantley
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent insight to fiding some answers.
Review: I find the book gives some new insight for those raising or working with boys. It needs to be digested and review and incorporated in to family living if progress is to be made with our young men.
Rating:
Summary: Serious Issues, Astounding Book
Review: This book first caught my eye over a month ago at a retail store. For me, an adolescent, reading this book was more than appropriate. It helped to bring into focus many of society's problems. Some of them I have never thought about. Not only is this book educational for adolescents and adults alike, it also delivers a unique perspective upon the country today.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: Finally a man who will come out and say what needs to be said. We treat our boys as if being kind to them will make them weak. It is through gentle guildance and unconditional love that strength is built in both boys and girls. It's time for our society to give up the myth that hitting children, yelling at them, and treating them as if they are animals to be trained will somehow turn them into caring adults.
Rating:
Summary: Found: a message; wanted: an editor
Review: All those who have complained about the book's length are right: it's at least twice as long as it needs to be. But its message is crucial -- just how crucial can be seen in the fascistic "quit-whining-and-go-to-church" low-star reviews below. These horrifying social visions -- essentialist, mindless, cruel -- masquerading as plain-spoken common sense are all too typical of the "real" world we needlessly bully our sons into believing is "the way things have to be," not a singularly rigid, emotionally cold (but far from inevitable) version of "the way things are" right now. People like Pollack are potentially forces for a much-needed revolution in this country's popular understanding of the connections between biology, gender, and behavior. If you have sons, do any kind of work with boys, or were once a boy yourself, do yourself and your world a favor and read (or at least skim!) this book.
Rating: 
Summary: First-rate issue; second-rate book
Review: Real Boys has received tremendous publicity in the wake of the recent school tragedies across the country that involved boys with guns. Dr. Pollack has appeared on many talk shows and given many interviews. Our "Dad's Reading Group" in Boston eagerly anticipated Real Boys as our monthly project. We were sorely disappointed. The issues involved in raising boys (and raising girls) are tremendously important and complex. Dr. Pollack's treatment is repetitive and superficial. The book is filled with, "as I will discuss in a later chapter". Unfortunately, when the issue is touched upon later, there usually is no more depth than with the initial allusion. Sweeping statements are made about the separation of boys from their mothers at early ages as these young men are forced to accept the "Boys Code". Sweeping statements, by nature, are inaccurate. The book also has a self-aggrandizing tone ("although many people believe that ...., my research shows..."; with no reference to allow the reader to judge the quality of the "research"). The tragedy is that a book that is widely touted to provide insight into important issues is really only marshmallow fluff.
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