If you didn’t watch the Women’s World Cup final last month, you missed out on more than a great match. Andrew Ladd reviews three books that explain how soccer can save society.
Good Reads
How One Cuban-American Won the Pulitzer
Prizewinning author Oscar Hijuelos talks to Andrew Ladd about his new memoir, growing up in Harlem, and men’s struggle for identity.
A Billion Wicked Assumptions
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.
The Legend of the Barefoot Bandit
A modern-day folk hero in the tradition of John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd, the Barefoot Bandit captured the imagination of a country going through hard times.
Winning Friends and Influencing People, 75 Years Later
Andrew Ladd tackles an updated self-help classic—now sans sexism and racism—to find out whether its advice still holds water in 2011.
Superdad Chris Shulgan on ‘Cocaine’s Son’
“Superdad” author Christopher Shulgan reviews Dave Itzkoff’s new memoir about his relationship with his cocaine-addict father.
Pathological Persuasion
Andrew Ladd wonders if men are a little too excited about the power to control minds.
Science Guys
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
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.”
On ‘Manthropology’
Andrew Ladd reviews Peter McAllister’s new book, “Manthropology: The Science of Why the Modern Male Is Not the Man He Used to Be.”
The Drugs Don’t Work: Christopher Shulgan’s ‘Superdad’
Shulgan’s memoir about his drug-addicted parenthood is a confrontation with destructive ideas of masculinity. But not all of it rings true.
Immortality, Inc.
Can we stop the aging process? Should we? Andrew Ladd explores two books that tackle our quest to stay forever young.
Villain Worship
Andrew Ladd reviews new books by Alan Greenberg and John Waters.