A new memoir by a trauma surgeon sheds light on the different ways we can all suffer.
Reading For All Mankind: The Voodoo Wave
August 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Andrew Ladd reviews a new book about surfing, and wonders what it can teach us about being a good man.
Reading for All Mankind: How Should Good Men Treat the Planet?
August 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Sometimes living a ‘green’ lifestyle can seem difficult if not impossible. Andrew Ladd reviews three recent books that try to figure out why.
A Billion Wicked Assumptions
May 16, 2011 By 13 Comments
The pop psych book that attempts to deduce our true desires by analyzing millions of search-engine queries is riddled with flawed reasoning and all-too-convenient conclusions.
Errands With Andre
April 25, 2011 By 2 Comments
GMPM columnist Andrew Ladd meets up with author Andre Dubus III to talk about violence, empathy, and Dubus’ new book, Townie: A Memoir.
Winning Friends and Influencing People, 75 Years Later
March 29, 2011 By 2 Comments
Andrew Ladd tackles an updated self-help classic—now sans sexism and racism—to find out whether its advice still holds water in 2011.
Savage City, Great Soul
March 22, 2011 By 5 Comments
Andrew Ladd reviews two books that remind us how messy even the most celebrated social change can be.
Taking Guns Out of the Closet
February 23, 2011 By 7 Comments
Will Weaver’s “The Last Hunter” highlights one of the biggest stumbling blocks to a productive debate about guns in contemporary America.
Pathological Persuasion
January 27, 2011 By 4 Comments
Andrew Ladd wonders if men are a little too excited about the power to control minds.
Science Guys
January 4, 2011 By 11 Comments
The hunt for a theoretical particle reveals an alarming trend in science: the competition to be the next “great man”—at any cost.
The Triumph of the Brute
December 6, 2010 By 3 Comments
Through his reviews of two novels—Franzen’s “Freedom” and Percy’s “The Wilding”—Andrew Ladd argues that modern men ought to embrace “the rougher side of masculinity.”
The Drugs Don’t Work: Christopher Shulgan’s ‘Superdad’
November 13, 2010 By 1 Comment
Shulgan’s memoir about his drug-addicted parenthood is a confrontation with destructive ideas of masculinity. But not all of it rings true.
Villain Worship
July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Vocalyze
“When I was in a men’s group in 1972, I distinctly remember feeling edgy when we would hug.”
“My son and daughter keep reminding me that things are changing.” The times they are a changin’ (comment and Marco Magnani video cover of Bob Dylan song.)