The Broken American Male: And How to Fix Him - Softcover

Boteach, Shmuley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312541503 ISBN 13: 9780312541507

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2009

Synopsis

Why do American husbands come home from work too exhausted to interact with their families? When did a healthy quest for prosperity become a twisted game no one can win?

Shmuley Boteach has discovered a disturbing common thread in the families he meets: men responding to the pressure of competition in their work lives by turning away from their loved ones. In a world that judges men by the size of their paychecks and the wattage of their fame, the personal commitments of family and romance which once defined male greatness no longer even rate. As a result, we see more and more stressed-out dads, distracted husbands and miserable human beings who use alcohol, the internet, and sporting events as numbing stand-ins for the authentic thrills of real life.

In THE BROKEN AMERICAN MALE, Boteach doesn't just outline the problems facing marriages and nuclear families. He also offers inspiring solutions, showing how wives can help their broken husbands rediscover what is valuable in life, and become heroes again to their own families.

About this title

About the Author:

RABBI SHMULEY BOTEACH is the host of a radio show on the "Oprah and Friends" XM Channel. The Rabbi of Oxford University for eleven years and the London Times Preacher of the Year 2000, Boteach is also the author of eighteen books and an award winning syndicated columnist.

From Publishers Weekly:

From a very young age, Boteach explains, men are bombarded with messages defining success "exclusively by money, power, fame, and preferably a corrosive amalgamation of all three" (think Donald Trump); for the average American man, this definition results in a deep but hard-to-pin-down sense of failure that stains his perception-of himself and his environment-and inevitably corrodes his relationships, "bringing down the American female and family with him." Boteach, Rabbi of Oxford University, author of Kosher Sex and star of the Learning Channel's "Shalom in the Home," offers a detailed prognosis of the current state of the American family based on his work with families facing familiar crises (constant fighting, depression, anorexia, sexless marriage), "approximately 70 percent" of whom suffer from "Broken American Male syndrome." The book's first third takes a hard but sympathetic look at the syndrome's symptoms and effects (such as waning libido, empty ambition, escapism and substance abuse); the middle third examines underlying causes ("soulless capitalism") and collateral damage ("The Inadequate American Female," "The Uninspired Child") on the way to chapters providing sound advice and practical solutions-beginning with a "New Definition of Success," one measured "by the quality of our relationships." Though rooted in Judaism, Boteach's lessons are applicable to anyone hoping to understand and overcome feelings of failure in themselves or their loved ones.
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About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0312541503
• ISBN 13: 9780312541507
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304