The modern male is struggling. It matters, and we must do something about it. In Of Boys and Men, Richard V. Reeves explores the issues so many males face in silence. His research has led to surprising revelations regarding men and health, the social sphere, education, and the age-old nature-versus-nurture debate. He pushes back on ideas that have been widely accepted with little examination, such as “toxic masculinity,” and puts into words what so many have observed, which is that boys and men are ignored as society and its social constructs continue to evolve. What is going on with our boys, with our men? Without political partisanship, Reeves brings this question to the fore of modern discourse, and in doing so, does a service to us all.

Amerie's Book Club

The subtitle of this booklays out the three areas the book explores: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It. Reeves surveys a wide range of social science scholarship on the issues men and boys face in the contemporary US to argue for a gender politics that can accommodate their specific needs. Rather than treat men as a monolithic identity, Reeves breaks down the problems men face by race, class, and education level to underscore the different challenges they encounter. Reeves’s sensitivity to the impacts of race and class on masculinity sets this book apart from other titles. Though Reeve’s project of rehabilitating American men might lend itself to anti-feminist efforts to roll back the advances made for women, Reeves encourages readers to pursue liberal gender politics that achieve greater opportunities for men and women by being sensitive to their unique needs.

Choice Reviews

When Beauvoir was writing her manifesto on the plight of women, she noted that “the most mediocre of males feels himself a demigod as compared with women,” and that “a man would never get the notion of writing a book on the peculiar situation of the human male.” Nowadays, there are many such books. Self-doubt has broken through the supposed imperviousness of masculine self-belief. Reeves’s book is only the latest; it is also one of the most cogent. That’s not just a consequence of his compelling procession of statistical findings. It’s also due to the originality of his crisply expressed thesis: that men’s struggles are not reducible to a masculinity that is too toxic or too enfeebled but, rather, reflect the workings of the same structural forces that apply to every other group.

The New Yorker

In some ways the world remains male-dominated, yet many men are falling behind, says the author. Boys do worse than girls in school in many countries, and are more likely everywhere to end up in prison or kill themselves. He suggests practical, incremental reforms, such as having boys start school a year later.

Economist

Throughout most of Richard Reeves’ excellent new book, Of Boys and Men, I wasn’t just nodding along, I was foot-stomping. Too little has been written about the troubles of boys and men.

The Bulwark

Of Boys and Men has garnered widespread praise, and for good reason. Reeves isn’t content to simply point out a dispiriting social problem and be on his merry way. He offers solutions…. Reeves has written a tremendously thought-provoking, well-researched, and convincing book on the plight of the modern man. As a policy wonk, he proposes policy solutions.

Christianity Today