I’d seen Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves recommended on Instagram several times as a must-read for parents of boys. As a new father to a son, writing a blog about raising boys, it quickly hit the top of my reading list. The premise of the book is simple. Boys and men are struggling and we need to do something about it as a society. Overall I thought this was a good look at the issues collectively facing men and boys, which has some very strong points, but also some notable flaws. I liked the author’s emphasis on intersectionality, the importance of the role fathers have in raising children, and how he doesn’t shy away from proposing significant changes to address the relevant issues. Most of the drawbacks, in my opinion, come from the author’s self-proclaimed position as a centrist, which leads to treating both sides’ viewpoints as equally legitimate and some glaring ommissions in his arguments.
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