If you visit Ms. Breathnac's site, you will find helpful advice for meditating and a new outlook on incidents in your life. The book did not offer that, though it proposed to. Her charity work is tremendous and the woman seems to have an endless amount of love and energy. The book seemed more like Chicken Soup for the Soul with a test at the end than anything that offered daily guidance and affirmations. But like I said, maybe it just wasn't for me.

Despite professing a desire to get away from stereotypes, the book reaffirmed the idea that men and women can't understand each other without the aid of trite touchy-feely books like this one. I felt that this book didn't cohesively address ANY of the issues of manhood. Some of the essays were genuinely touching, but most of the ones I really liked didn't illuminate manhood but personhood. Breathnach's introductions and comments were by far the worst parts. They framed the simple musings of the essays awkwardly, imposing structure and themes where they didn't belong.

The writers seemed to be reaching hard to delve some deep female part inside when they would rather be marlin-fishing or something. I found the discussions of intimacy the most readable, possibly because having sex is apparently the only thing men have in common with women. In trying so excruciatingly hard to show feelings, many of the writers turned to, you guessed it, life and death situations such as a spouse's cancer, war in Africa, parental loss. The kinds of things it takes to get guys to emote, I suppose. Could you perhaps let us know how you felt to see your child be born? Ease a child's anxiety over some imagined terror? Let us know why you hate, really hate, the guy in the car in front of you? So you would throw yourself down the stairs if it would make the Vikings win. Uhuh. And sex is the closest thing to God. Gotcha. Now we know you write with it, in addition to thinking with it.

This book has been written hundreds of times before.

"Hey man, like we shouldn't get wrapped up in like whether we are MEN or WOMEN cause we are all like HUMAN BEINGS."

"So like, you know, we should like abandon all those traditional male STEREOTYPES and become more like, you know, LOVING and COMPASSIONATE."

Yes, this book has been written hundreds of times before; it has the same old recipe for total capitulation. And the fact that Michael Segall and others like him have nothing new to say shows just how UNliberating feminism really is. I don't call it very "liberating" that virtually everyone who has written on the subject has the same "cookie cutter" response to it -- it sounds more like Soviet-type journalism.

Don't tell me that feminism is "here to stay", Mr. Segall. If you have the guts, tell me how we can triumph over it. Are you afraid of total victory? If so, WHY?

If ever you needed evidence of the pernicious influence of feminism on women, this is it. Men are turning off powerful women en masse, and turning them down--in the last minute--in the sack. Nevertheless, the author seems to believe that feminism is with us forever, and he suggests ways in which men can maintain fulfilling relationships with its masculinized victims. Don't miss this book. It's first rate!

In the introduction of his book, Segell states that a man's search for his soul mate is well worth the effort. To be successful though, a man has to realize the feminist movement has brought about changes to the rules of the game. These changes in turn have dictated changes in a man's approach to finding his soul mate. A man has to become a "standup guy". He defines a standup guy as: "One who has developed emotional autonomy and independence; his psychological sophistacation not only confers greater personal power, but is an important component of a truly egalitarian relationship; and one with an ability to see the world from the other side especially when it comes to a sexual relationship." While Segell believes these traits are essential to finding a soul mate, there are still characteristics possessed by a man and a woman that are tenets of Nature. His chapter entitled, "What Women Really Want", is pivotal to understanding what's necessary for making a relationship work between a man and a woman in today's world. Being a standup guy is what it's going to take for a man to find fulfillment in a sexual relationship. The payoff in happiness is a tremendous one. A critical component to a successful relationship according to Segell is a man's willingness to assume a greater responsibility in raising a family than a man has in past generations. The chapter entitled, "Daddy's Boys", drives home this message. Not only does assuming this responsibility play a major role in a man's relationship with his wife, but it greatly influences the children's initiation into adulthood especially for boys. Michael Segell is to be congratulated for sharing his voyage of self-discovery with other men. Men in their 20's and 30's should take his advice to heart if they are searching for a soul mate. It isn't easy, but anything worth fighting for never is.

I was also very intrigued by the subject matter of this book and had high hopes for getting some clear answers. It almost always seems to be the case, however, that most self-help/insight books do pretty well at raising the questions and describing the problems, but are much less clear about answers and resolutions.

I have found that the "modern male" in the "post-feminism" era is addressed in a much more satisfactory way by an author named David Deida (which I found through another site, LiveReal.com).

To speak broadly, the core problem is essentially one of resolving a paradox - being neither a macho jerk nor a sensitive wimp, but evolving beyond both types, to become a man with heart and strength, manliness and compassion.

Issues like these can't be dealt with or resolved on a surface level; while it's great to see these issues brought more into the open, topics like these, if addressed properly, bring up deeper questions and have to be met one that level.

This book has an intriguing subtitle: "Manhood after Feminism" yet delves into very little of either manhood or feminism. The first 51 pages or so talk about the typical relationship of 18-30 year olds. After analyzing a few basic differences there are about a total of 9 paragraphs which contain a few basic suggestions for men: "be dominant yet affiliative" is one example. After that Michael Segell sits naked with a few other guys and talks about sex, visits the Promise Keepers, and the New Warriors. Thereafter we receive a few more suggestions. Then comes his chapter titled "Sexual Manners" which instead of offering anything worthwhile he tells a few stories and offers some information anyone with any manners could create. The rest of the book discusses his relationship with his father which changed after his brother died. Then his father dies and he has some sort of reawakening which someone might be able to get some use out of. So I would recomend the first 50 pages to anyone curious to hear the thoughts of 4 females and a couple males complain about the other sex and anyone who needs some information on teaching their sons the proper actions and reactions to threats on their masculinity. The topic of "Manhood After Feminism" is a good one and I hope a book comes out which actually offers some valuable insight on that issue. It is a book to read cover to cover, not out of intellectual curiousity on the gender studies after feminism.