The Decline of Men: How the American Male Is Getting Axed, Giving Up, and Flipping Off His Future

By Guy Garcia

Why are so many of today's supermen super-clueless?

Why do so many men prefer the escapist digitized world of Spike TV and Grand Theft Auto to the reality of their own lives?

An entire generation of men is slacking off. The struggle to redefine what being a man means in today's world has resulted in widespread male confusion, leading to rampant malaise, alienation, and disconnection. In this eye-opening exploration of this crisis of contemporary American manhood, award-winning journalist Guy Garcia sheds light on a problem that has wreaked havoc on the American family. Packed with startling statistics, informed by pop culture, and narrated in the entertaining style for which Guy Garcia is known, The Decline of Men is an important wake-up call to the distressing reality of the American male

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 6, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061981906

Reviews for The Decline of Men

[josh1oconner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"The Decline of Men" isn't what you expect. When I first read the summary I envisioned some sort of counter-feminist rebuttal of women's rights, but what I found was an interesting venture into the plight of the modern day man. The author (Guy Garcia) dives headfirst into understanding the implications of modern society on the male gender and examines how work toward gender equality has impacted men. Written with a focus on modern society and pop-culture The Decline of Men manages to inform while entertaining. Garcia weaves together a variety of topics from men's health to action figures in order to show how men are perceived in today's society. He doesn't make excuses for men, but instead shows how various elements of progress for women have displaced men or created confusion regarding their place in society. He looks at where men are losing traction (such as jobs and education) and he looks into areas where men have avoided taking care of themselves (such as preventative health). The cross-section of information that Garcia references is worth picking up the book in and of itself, his explosion of facts provides plenty of resources for additional research. Instead of throwing together a droll recollection of history and explanation of gender, Garcia manages to present a powerfully entertaining glimpse of the male gender. I found it reminiscent of the stylistic prose found in "Freakonomics". He also works to explain where females are in relationship to males and where both genders are headed. I didn't find "The Decline of Men" to harp on any one particular perspective but in the same vein it can be a little hard on men. The facts concerning men can be somewhat difficult to accept as Garcia shows that the male position at the top of the foodchain is rapidly dissolving. He attempts to show the weaknesses in the male position and how those weaknesses should be addressed in order to prevent a disruption in establishing equality in gender relationships. If you are interested in understanding how gender affects our position in modern society, "The Decline of Men" of men provides an excellent insight. While it is important to understand gender in a traditional sense, Garcia also enables the reader to think critically about how gender will shape society in the future. He allows us to understand that we must be constantly aware of how gender alters our communications and shapes our perceptions. "The Decline of Men" is really a warning about society overall. We can't ignore the needs of one group just because they are doing okay at that particular moment, Garcia points out that all of our actions need to be holistic and comprehensive to prevent marginalization of a previously dominant group.