Rating: 
Summary: Best book I've read about raising boys!
Review: As a mother of a teenage boy, I wish this book had been around 18 years ago. What William Pollock writes about are some of the issues my son faced while growing up. Now I know what he was going through. I wish I could turn back the clock and change the way I responded to my son- or known why he acted the way he did.This book does not negate what girls face in society - that is another book and another story. But we have to realize that not all boys are athletes and all boys have feelings. The 'Boy Code' has to go! I have recommended the book to my sister and sister-in-law for raising their boys and I intend to make sure the Superintendent of our school district will get a copy!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent and comprehensive book about boys today
Review: Pollack writes very well about the struggles that adolescent males face today. His book is comprehensive, concise, insightful, and helpful. The thought remaining after reading the book was, "It really 'aint that easy."
Rating: 
Summary: Good
Review: thought it was a little repeating of itself kind of got sleepy
Rating: 
Summary: Ignores the trauma of circumcision
Review: I find it amusing that Dr. Pollack can write with such passion about the trauma that a boy feels when separated from his mother on the first day of kindergarten but completely ignore the incredible trauma of ritual genital mutilation performed without anesthetic on millions of boys every year. If an adult male wants to cut off part of his penis because of unproven health reasons or irrational religious convictions, that's his choice. But the circumcision of a child (male or female) is child abuse, plain and simple, and any book about children that fails to point this out is hypocritical.
Rating: 
Summary: A Pebble Tossed in a Pool....Sadly, Few Ripples
Review: I enjoyed this book, thought the author presented some interesting arguments, would recommend it to parents who are trying to get some definition about what parenting might require in the present society. And yet throughout I got the impression that the author wasn't really getting to the heart of the matter. I'm not suggesting he skirted issues or got mired in some swamp of political correctness (and for the second I'm grateful). But there is no way to discuss the problems of young boys and girls without getting seriously into how gender is portrayed in the present day culture. A previous reviewer asked rhetorically if the negative slant in books like this was a consequence of men's self-hatred (because men still have a lot of power, certainly the ones who grew up in the same generation as the author, so what, this woman asks, is the deal, that doesn't make sense). My answer: yes, the culture, at present, does seem to be cultivating this kind of self-hatred in men, it's not something which touches men equally, I think plenty of men, individually, escape its effects completely, but this a cultural force, it's been around for a few decades, and it's the aftermath, I suspect, of the women's movement, a social revolution which is still unfolding within the society. The problem, I suspect, isn't that the society has changed but that the culture hasn't changed fast enough to keep up. The critique of all things male, in other words, is directed at a time when gender stereotypes truly did havea lot of influence, men and women rebelled, but we haven't quite broken out of the old paradigm, and so men and women argue from premises whose roots are decades old (not saying there's no room for debate but who doesn't think the society hasn't changed radically during the past thirty years?). And kids, I think, get caught up in that. The larger dilemma parents face is how can they raise strong sons and daughters in a time when the society is still carrying around a lot of baggage about gender. Children, after all, should start off with a clean slate. If adults succeed in imposing their own angers and anxieties on children we won't accomplish all that much, parents will be setting up the next rebellion. My hunch, the author had to hit these issues square on, swing in an attempt to slam the ball out of the park, and with this book he's hit a ground rule double (a fine effort but one that's easy to forget). I don't think the culture is close to dealing with this, there are too many sacred cows, think the next generation might do a better job because for them the women's movement of the 1970s will be ancient history.
Rating:
Summary: This book is the biggest piece of nonsense I have ever read!
Review: The author's research is just a little too "convienient" if you know what I mean. I'd like to see the original reports of his "studies". This book is so depressing, it basically says (forgive my bluntness) "you girls are lucky, it sucks to be a boy". Dr. Pollack is lecturing us about breaking the boy stereotypes, yet he's reinforcing them by the statements he makes in this book. There is no answer presented to the problem posed in this book. 397 pages on nonsense.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good.
Review: I bought the book, but I have more questions, and cannot find out how to contact the author. I feel if you write a book, you should be avaiable for questions. The book was good, but I have more questions.
Rating:
Summary: Thank God being "child-centered" is not spoiling!
Review: It is a relief that professionals are beginning to recognize that being a healthy "child-centered" parent does not spoil our children, BOYS INCLUDED. I admire this book, along with the work of Michael Gurian's "The Wonder of Boys." I feel that most parents intuitively want to protect "little boys," but society ridicules these instincts. It is a great boost when professionals champion protecting children emotionally as well as physically. This message needs to be directed toward public schools. Although there are many good-hearted educators, the abuse kids receive at school ranges from indifference to outright brutality, which unfortunately often comes from adults who are emotionally unavailable themselves. I have observed teachers deliver brutal treatment to kids, mainly boys, as young as fourth grade. Upon questioning this interaction, I was assured that it is "good for kids to be exposed to a variety of personalities" so they can learn how to interact with different kinds of people. This so-called "strengthening experience" from people who are supposed to be the adults only serves to harden kids to other people and even to themselves. Children from strong, loving families survive this trauma, others do not. I hope this book opens up a national debate on how children are treated and sets a new awareness on the changes society needs to make in order to prevent further tragedies such as we have seen lately.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting insight and ideas.
Review: As a mother of boys and girls I knew from the start that they were 'wired' very 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 solutions. If you want solutions I'd recommend - for parents of ALL kinds of kids: Kid Cooperation (How to Stop Yelling, Nagging and Pleading) by Elizabeth Pantley AND The Perfect Parenting Dictionary of 1000 Parent Tips by Elizabeth Pantley.
Rating:
Summary: if you care about boys
Review: This book is wonderful. Not only does the author understand the world in which our boys live, but gives great options for encouraging boys to be true to themselves. The best part is that the author keeps coming back to the mom and dad. Of course the parents have the biggest affect on the child! This author respects that influence and encourages us to advocate for and listen to our boys. This is a great book for those of us who sense that boys are often in a no-win bind; we can help them navigate through the rough times of boyhood into a truer manhood.
| 
