Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Iron John : A Book About Men by Robert Bly ISBN: 0-679-73119-9 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 04 February, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.13 (55 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Possibly Important, Definitely Flawed
Comment: Poet Robert Bly takes the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale of the wild man and his foster son and turns it into an extended metaphor for an archetypal initiation into manhood, asserting that modern men are victims of a culture that fails to connect boys with older male mentors. The book is a mix of amateur pop psychology, ecumenical syncretism of the Joseph Campbell variety, and a heavy dose of '80's-era political-correctness. Together with Sam Keen's "A Fire in the Belly" it was one of the bibles of the short-lived 'Men's Movement' of the early '90's.
A 'new' male model emerged in the '70's; 'sensitive guys', who painfully discovered that male sensitivity is not valued in this (or indeed any) culture, by either men OR women. The traditional male, confident, dominating and aggressive, continues to be the desired ideal. Why do so many men come down with sensitivity, and what can be done about it?
According to Bly, in halcyon days of yore boys were initiated into the true nature of manhood either deliberately by cultural rites or incidentally by working alongside their fathers. He blames the industrial revolution for causing a disconnection ("Iron John" contains a great deal of digressive social criticism and liberal finger-wagging) and asserts that modern men are now raised by women without the necessary immediacy of bonding with older males. The book is full of symbolism and poetry conveying a bleak picture of male emotional wounds.
Bly touches on issues many men obviously find important, but he offers no real solutions beyond the vaguely-sketched initiation process that emerges from his discursive interpretation of the title fairy tale. All men are victims in his view, especially those who think they aren't! He is fearful of offending feminists and tries to placate their presumed disapproval by qualifying his call for wildness with obsequious proclamations of allegience to feminist theory. He expends a good deal of blame on traditional conservative targets, and new-agers are also targets for scorn. If you find victimization theory attractive this book may have something to offer, but it's a view not exactly symbolic of strength and empowerment.
Rating: 4
Summary: Coming of Age
Comment: This book finds its inspiration in the tale of Iron John, here using a Grimm's version in translation. The story describes a boy's coming of age, and the role that the "wild man" Iron John plays in facilitating this process. In examining this process, Bly meditates on various aspects of manhood, from men's relationships with their fathers to their strength as "warriors". The patchy references to mythology and anthropology help provide contexts in which to situate these meditations. These references sometimes overly romanticize the "traditional" and past, and sometimes contain mistakes. The book also overlooks American male activities that can be construed as initiation rites, such as academic passages (a mentoring professor) and athletics (a good coach). Nonetheless, the passionate call for men to embrace their masculinity, against any cultural forces counter-acting this trend, can't be ignored. This book is also quite poetic at times, possessing a strong narrative voice that's never lacking in grace or opinion. To men coming of age, this book will have value; as the field of "men's studies" comes of age, this book will remain a classic.
Rating: 4
Summary: Lyrical and resonant....
Comment: I'd thought from the opening pages that this was going to be another trite and superficial book - after all, what would a poet, however existential, know about the holes of the soul. But soon after, the book became fascinating, even difficult to put down. There's certainly a strong strand of personal experience and prisms that color the narrative, but having said that it doesn't take anything away.
Definitely a book that can safely be called lyrical. A simple yet powerful writing style makes for a book that plays with your imagination.
 |
Title: King, Warrior, Magician, Lover : Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine by Robert Moore ISBN: 0062506064 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 16 August, 1991 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: Fire in the Belly : On Being a Man by Sam Keen ISBN: 0553351370 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 March, 1992 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
 |
Title: A Little Book on the Human Shadow by Robert Bly ISBN: 0062548476 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 22 June, 1988 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
 |
Title: The Sibling Society by Robert Bly ISBN: 0679781285 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 27 May, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
 |
Title: A Circle of Men : The Original Manual for Men's Support Groups by Bill Kauth ISBN: 0312072473 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 1992 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
