Michael Gurian

Much of the theory or explanation of what makes boy "tick" was very interesting and insightful. Some of the suggestions for raising boys to become healthy men were very helpful. Unfortunately, I found that the book relied too much on "social engineering" to be very practical. In short, this book is Mr. Gurian's appeal to society to change their ways so that boys can be saved, rather than a more practical guide for parenting. As just one example, Mr. Gurian suggests in the end chapters that show more we should force media providers to make more healthy media for boys and teen males. In a perfect world maybe we might be able to achieve that, but I think it is impractical in this one. So it would be more helpful to have suggestions that exist in the world that is. In the end, I think social change occurs as homes change. The more that families change in healthy ways, the more society changes. This difference in opinion made this book less helpful for me. show less

Every parent and teach of boys should read this book. Gurian explains why schools fail to educate boys effectively and how that can be remedied. His work is controversial, especially when he draws conclusions based on research in neuroscience, a field beyond his expertise. So not all of his conclusions are necessarily based in solid research, but they often seem intuitively correct. And the solutions he suggests may be worth a try to see if they help boys become more engaged in their education.

In wresting between 4 and 5 stars, mainly because while this is an incredibly powerful, touching, and necessary novel, it is written a little heavy-handed. Which is fine, if you’re a teen boy reading this (while I read a lot of YA, I do try to keep in mind that I’m not the intended audience. So while it may have felt a little obvious to me, for a struggling then it could be exactly what they need to hear).

I can see a lot of people relating to this book, and taking away the many show more important messages and the sincerity that comes through. show less

Picked this up after reading an article in Scouting in late 2009 about building better boys. This is an academic study based book with "lessons learned" and "tips" for implementation discovered over an extended time period (20 years??). Very thought provoking.