this is the first book i've read on masculinity. i was surprised by how much of it i really identified with, not only with how i feel but how i grew up. not sure what that's about exactly. but i really appreciated his approach to masculinity and his thinking on creating a masculinity for a new era. some of this stuff felt a bit dated (it was released in '91) and i kept wondering what he would say now. but overall i really enjoyed this book. i think there were some comments in it that were a bit flippant and offensive, but when read in context didn't seem that bad. i just wished he would have chosen his words more carefully sometimes. again, though, i enjoyed the book. ( )

Wow what a read. Im actually going through it for the second time.
Must read for all MEN no matter at which level you are at. it is an amazing compilation of ideas and fundamental masculinity - to the deepest core of your psyche stuff you won't find anywhere else.
Sam did a great job portraying the history of evolution of manhood, analyzing tribal initiation and other psychological aspects of Man - woman relationship. As well as what happens when Men fail to achieve virility and remain mommas boys.
for many reasons I have not gone through my initiation into manhood, this book is helping me as we speak now to expand my horizons and look down into my own psyche to extract some answers. and I did. The best thing(so far) I got out of it is realization of importance of separation from the mother.
I have not seen my mother in 10 years, but I only now have realized, I was still connected to her and it is stopping me from becoming a man that I wish to be. to quote sam keen - when a man can say a sincere no to a woman, only then he can say a sincere yes. a man must separate from women and be comfortable without them first, before he can be truly transparent and fully engaged in a relationship with her and not the other way around.
Also another thing I learned. is for any man to be fullfilled in life he must first decide where he is going and then decide who he is going with.
most of the time it is the other way around what these guys do. and its never good for any relationship.
if you havent read this book. you're missing out on a lot. ( )