The masculine mystique

American men are in crisis. We see the consequences all around us: the alarming increase in male unemployment and homelessness, punitive custody laws that deprive men of their children, and high-pressure competitive jobs that leave men vulnerable to stress-related diseases and substance abuse. Andrew Kimbrell has seen the fear that men are living with and has heard their anxious voices. In The Masculine Mystique, he traces the turbulent history that has brought men to this crisis. From the laws of enclosure that first separated men from their land centuries ago to the steep decline in real wages earned by American men in the last twenty years, Kimbrell explains the shifts that have steadily undermined men and created a destructive masculine mystique. As a lawyer, activist, environmentalist, and father, Kimbrell urges men to mount a campaign of social, political, and community action. Through stories of men who are working to better their condition, he gives us much-needed models. His political manifesto outlines the platform men need to adopt on a personal, legislative, and societal level.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.