• The Male Brain

  • A Breakthrough Understanding of How Men and Boys Think
  • By: Louann Brizendine M.D.
  • Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
  • Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (958 ratings)

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The Male Brain  By  cover art

The Male Brain

By: Louann Brizendine M.D.
Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
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Publisher's summary

Dr. Louann Brizendine, the founder of the first clinic in the country to study gender differences in brain, behavior, and hormones, turns her attention to the male brain, showing how, through every phase of life, the "male reality" is fundamentally different from the female one. Exploring the latest breakthroughs in male psychology and neurology with her trademark accessibility and candor, she reveals that the male brain:

  • is a lean, mean, problem-solving machine. Faced with a personal problem, a man will use his analytical brain structures, not his emotional ones, to find a solution.
  • thrives under competition, instinctively plays rough and is obsessed with rank and hierarchy.
  • has an area for sexual pursuit that is 2.5 times larger than the female brain, consuming him with sexual fantasies about female body parts.
  • experiences such a massive increase in testosterone at puberty that he perceive others' faces to be more aggressive.

The Male Brain finally overturns the stereotypes. Impeccably researched and at the cutting edge of scientific knowledge, this is a book that every man, and especially every woman bedeviled by a man, will need to own.

©2010 Louann Brizendine (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

"Louann Brizendine has done a great favor for every man who wants to understand the puzzling women in his life. A breezy and enlightening guide to women and a must-read for men." (Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence)

What listeners say about The Male Brain

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Facts mixed with interpretation

I found this audiobook to be a plug for Brizendine's personal beliefs. It was fascinating to learn about the various hormones that influence the male brain. I found however, that Brizendine takes many liberties in her interpretation of this data. Her thesis seems to be centered around the idea that males are completely controlled by hormones and simply cannot help themselves in their actions. In other words, we apparently have no choice in the behaviors we participate in. Scholars should not pass their opinions off as facts unless they preface them as such.

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45 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Very Narrow

I admit that I haven't gotten that far into the book and I am struggling to find the inspiration to finish it.

While her conclusions might be correct about extroverted sports jocks it is by no means a conclusive study of male mentality or motivations.

In the section where she describes boys from the age of about 2 to 10 the attitudes and behaviours supposably produced by testosterone in no way resemble my development years.

I was hoping for something that would help me my wife and myself understand me and my son better but up until now all I have found are numerous anecdotes on bullies, alpha males and sport jocks.

Anybody who is or knows a male who is introverted, bookish or intellectual will have a very difficult time believing Brizendine.

I am going to trudge through about 2 more hours of this dribble with the hope of finding something more substantial and meaningful, but that is all I can give her.

There are just too many fascinating, high quality books to waste more time on this dribble.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Story of the Male Brain

The companion book to The Female Brain (which I think helped me understand my wife, daughter, and mom - although they are yet to agree). Being the owner of a male brain myself, I was pleased to receive an owners manual (seems a little late at 40 - but shoos complaining? Turns out that all the ways my brain fails to help me make good decisions are understandable, if not excusable, by the mix of hormones and wiring that evolution has left my brain to cope with my environment. My male brain changes as I age due to the effect of age related hormones and changes in biochemistry.

Understanding the biological and hormonal routes of my emotions may help me recognize a gap between the reality I perceive the reality that those around may be interpreting. Like most brain books, the central message is that we are dealing with an enormously complex apparatus that may not always cause us to act in our best interest (as evolution cares about passing on genes, not making us or those around us happy). In the future I'm going to use my brain to think about the hormones and molecules being released at any given time when things start to fire wildly (causing stress, anxiety, anger, etc. etc.) - in an effort to recognize that with the passage of time the world may feel somewhat different.

The Male Brain has been pretty well panned in the reviews I've read. My advice is that if you are not a neuroscientist to start than you will get lots out of the book (I did). Brizendine is a good writer and a good storyteller. She may simplify - but simplification in this case advances rather than detracts from understanding.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed, but a bit redundant with her other book

So I enjoyed both books (The Male Brain, The Female Brain) by this author, but to a friend, I'd recommend they read only one of the two. (whichever is the opposite of their sex I think.) There seemed to be a decent amount of common material, and reading them back to back, I felt like I was listening to the same book twice at many times. Good books though! I think they should be required reading!

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely amazing

loved every minute of it. Can't say so about the female brain. This one has a lot more scientific info and a lot less gossip and anecdotal scenarios than the female brain.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

WORTHWHILE!

l am a 68 year old retired male. Always intrested in the 'why' people are the way they are. Read both books when they first came out. Understood the Male Brain more than the Female Brain. (Understandable). Could identify with most of the Male Brain. Was married for 31 years, then divorced ((amicably) younger spouse's request; 10 year age defference) at age 62. We have two daughters & two granddaughters. One (the first) that is married and does not like father's conservative views. The youngest was never married; she (31) and her two amazing daughters are currently living with me. I can not definitively say the books could have worked for us; however, not realizing this information is detrimental in the current sexual/politecal revolution. My background is in physics (USAF Missile Guidance & Control Systems, and Computer Technology); 30 years. Avocation: Theology/Sociology/Philosophy (Eastern and Western); 50+ years.
Knowledge is never out of style...!



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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I Read This On The Heels...

of Brizendene's book on the female brain. Both books do a great job of exploring how hormones and brain structures tend boys and girls in different directions. These are science books and not just venus-mars pop stuff, but they are written to be understood by the layman. Read them together.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A Follow-up to The Female Brain

I listened to the "Female Brain" with interest and thought I would gain as much information from Brizendine's second volume, "The Male Brain." I was not disappointed and found the book a most informative read. It will help me understand my grandsons better for sure. Essentially, Brizendine takes us through the life of the male brain from childhood through the mature adult years. If you have any interest in the behavior of men around you - this is a great little book and place to start. It is well written and Kimberly Farr has not been better at narration.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant book!!!

This book should be required reading, especially for people in their 20s and 30s. I love books like this. They tell you what's up, and you decide how you feel about it, and what to do or not do with the information.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Hard truths

Any additional comments?

This book is full of science which may make it a hard slog for some people. But if you want the full understanding of the male brain then this is one of the best books on the topic. Becasue the author explains the changes to the male brain and biology over the course of life this book is also helpful to parents.

This is a well presented educational book. There is no 'interpretation' of science by the author, nor does it rely in 'questionable reseach'. Unfortunately for some people the facts presented in this book will be hard for them to confront. Particularly those who believe in such things as the blank slate, or that gender is only a social construct. It's also agenda free which is another refreshing thing about it.

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2 people found this helpful