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THE MASCULINE MYSTIQUE

Name: THE MASCULINE MYSTIQUE
Author: Andrew Kimbrell
ISBN: 0-345-38658-2

THE POLITICS OF MASCULINITY

by Andrew Kimbrell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1995

There are a few circular arguments and some repetition, but Kimbrell does seem to arrive at solutions that bolster men...

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Kimbrell's prescription for the "grim condition of the American male" involves what he calls a gender revolution, one based on the rediscovery of masculinity as "a primal generative and creative force."

A public-interest attorney and environmental activist, Kimbrell offers sound analysis and remedies for some of the social ills that impact on the fears, confusions, and personal problems of men. He finds their origin in the Industrial Revolution, when individual family units were displaced from the land and self-sustaining farmers were turned into wage earners and city dwellers. The loss of independence was accompanied by a loss of both pride and a sense of responsibility. The ensuing glorification of competition and the profit-driven notion of "success," coupled with the reality of the mass of men being relegated to menial jobs and repetitive factory labor, is manifest in a wide range of ongoing and often increasing male-oriented problems, from violence and depression to heart attacks and sexual dysfunction. Kimbrell disagrees that the so-called masculine traits of aggression, selfishness, and insensitivity are the "inevitable result of biology." Masculinity itself has to be "recreated" in the public consciousness as a quality that stresses cooperation, efficiency, stewardship of the planet, and the nurturing of others. The goals and strategies of the male communityhis Manifesto for Men should include a national "father policy" that erases fatherlessness by fighting for "profather" restructuring in the courts, on the job, in the welfare system, and throughout the government bureaucracy. Mentoring programs should direct men in actively aiding one another and their families, but also in seeing to the welfare of the unemployed, disabled veterans, minority males, men in prison, and the homeless.

There are a few circular arguments and some repetition, but Kimbrell does seem to arrive at solutions that bolster men without having to denigrate women.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-345-38658-2

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1995

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.