Don't let the fact that this book is edited by two men fool you. This book treats white, heterosexual men as sadistic oppressors and is driven by a women's studies/feminist and sometimes Marxist agenda.

You can get the complete summary of the book from this quote contained in it: "Heterosexual men maintain their status by the oppression of gay men; middle-aged men can maintain their dominance over older and younger men; upper-class men can exploit working-class men,; and white men can enjoy priviledges at the expense of men of color."

(I am not sure here whether a middle aged gay man dominates a young heterosexual, but I digress...)

If you want to find a positive image of (non-gay) men it is not here.

Articles include (with a quote from each article):

Men on Rape , "Rape may be America's fastest growing violent crime; no one can be certain because it is not clear whether more rapes are being committed or reported." (uh, so therefore let's just assume it is true as a basis for the article...)

Getting Off on Feminism, "There has to be a difference between being straight and being a breeder. And breeding is just one of the many assumptions that our culture applies to male heterosexuality." (Written by a feminist male who is really much too worried about what all his feminist pals think of him)

Life Styles of Gay Husbands and Fathers, no quote. A balanced article about the experiences of males who figure out they're gay after being married and having children. This book has a very high gay to straight ratio in articles however that overstates the prevalence of homosexuality among men.

Fraternities and the College Rape Culture, "A rape culture is strengthened by rules that permit alcohol only at fraternity parties. Under this system, men control the parties and dominate the men as well as the women that attend." (This actually was an evenly balanced article that focused on how to structure organizations and events to reduce the potentiality of rape)

The Fathers' Rights Movement: Contradictions in Rhetoric and Practice, "Indeed, fathers want to play a role in their children's lives, but for most, that role is merely a continuation of their predivorce role of the traditional father who exercises his power and control." (the "but for most" helps the authors dismiss my anecdotal evidence of being a single parent. Note we can say "single mother" easily and understandably but "single father" requires explanation so we have to resort to "single parent".)

The grammatical errors in the quotes are from the book and are not typos.

Some articles use made up statistics, gross generalities, and outright distortions to make their point. Many of the articles are balanced in and of themselves but, taken as a whole collection in this book, present a distorted view of "Men's Lives."

Kimmel and Messner are acomplished researchers, yet I find no reason for the "cute" little additions such as average male size charts and sarcastic quizes revolving around the "gay or straight" issues. We are saturated with sexuality in our day and age, we don't need it from our scholars as well.

The fourth edition of Kimmel and Messner's Men's Lives is an engaging anthology accessing the forefront of scholarship about diverse men and masculinities. Going beyond earlier texts and collections, Men's Lives now reflects the development of greater theoretical sophistication and coherence in a field once often represented as anecdote and generalization. It is not simply "good men's studies," it is good gender studies. An instructor's resource manual is available and provides relevant summaries, experiential learning exercises, and examination questions, plus key terms, films, and internet resources.