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The Boy Crisis  By  cover art

The Boy Crisis

By: Warren Farrell PhD, John Gray PhD
Narrated by: Warren Farrell PhD, John Gray PhD
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Publisher's summary

What is the boy crisis?

It's a crisis of education. For the first time in American history, our sons will have less education than their dads.

It's a crisis of mental health. As boys become young men, their suicide rates go from equal to girls to six times that of young women.

It's a crisis of sexuality. Sex is a minefield for our sons. They're bombarded with mixed messages, afraid of being either too sensitive or not sensitive enough.

It's a crisis of fathering. Boys with less-involved fathers are more likely to drop out of school, drink, do drugs, become delinquent, and end up in prison.

It's a crisis of purpose. Boys' old senses of purposes, being a warrior, a leader, or a sole breadwinner, are fading. Many bright boys are experiencing a "purpose void", feeling alienated, withdrawn, and addicted to immediate gratification. Compounding this issue are addicting video games that lead to distraction and ADHD.

So, what is The Boy Crisis? A comprehensive blueprint for what parents, teachers, and policy-makers can do to renew our sons' sense of purpose to help them become men, fathers, and leaders worthy of our respect.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2018 Warren Farrell and John Gray (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Boy Crisis

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Good points ruined by social justice interlogs

The major point of this book would have been better presented without the author's prejudice against the second amendment and his entreat to get us talking about global warming at the dinner table. Inserting his own political/social agenda items just kind of discredited his authority, and my acceptance of his message was blunted.
I agree there is a boy/man crisis and Mr. Farrell makes some great points towards that effect. However I found him harder and harder to listen to as he began inserting non-facts and blatant agendized opinions. It would have been so easy to have left those parts out-but he didn't. And I would not recommend this book based on my wonderment at the authority of Mr. Farrell's opinions.
(I know the word 'agendized' is made-up, but I like it, and it expressed what I was trying to say exactly.)

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49 people found this helpful

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Healed a Deep Wound with my Daughter

Would you listen to The Boy Crisis again? Why?

Yes, as it The Boy Crisis does a great job of describing what the boy crisis is, and how it has become one of the greatest hidden secrets of our time. It explains that this is a crisis of Education, Mental Health, Fathering, and a lack of Purpose.

This book is priceless. I believe that if it were available during my marriage, I would have my daughter in my life today.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The stories about the young men that carried out the school shootings.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were too many to list as the book is filled with data and insights that describe what the Boy Crisis is and what needs to be done to address the serious issues facing them.

Any additional comments?

This book enabled me to heel years of deep sadness and hurt. Written about the boy crisis, it is just as relevant to a girl crisis. As a father who saw his teenage daughter grow up fatherless due to divorce, I am so very grateful for Warren’s immense amount of research and reference to numerous studies that helped me to understand the causes and the impact of children losing a parent. If you are a fatherless child or a parent of a fatherless child, be prepared to feel sadness, anger, and even shed some tears, but don’t stop reading. By the end, it is possible that you can heal a wound that has affected your entire life.

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30 people found this helpful

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skip the section of woo

Doctor Farrell's portion of this book was wonderful. He gives a lot of insight into how and why boys and men think and act. Honestly, if all of the book other than section six (maybe it was five) was here I would have given the book a five star overall review.
The portions narrated by Doctor Gray are terrible. First, he has a voice meant for print. Second, and more importantly, the advice he gives is dubious at best. Does your child have autism? Get them some yogurt made from breast milk and they might just be cured. I wish I was joking. Oh, don't forget the supliments available for purchase on his website. Because the pharmaceutical industry is just in it for the money, not like the alternative medicine industry.

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18 people found this helpful

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Excellent Discussion of a Critical Topic

I’ll begin with a caveat: this review applies only to the portion of this book written by Warren Farrell. For more on John Gray’s (thankfully) small section of the book, see the final paragraph.

The Boy Crisis is an incredibly thoughtful book written by a man who has been actively working to improve the lives of every member of our society for decades. His more recent focus on the gender specific problems of men and boys came about because of the great need of men and boys for advocacy, advocacy at the level seen with certain women’s groups. I say certain to underline that some women’s groups view the denigration of men as equivalent to the elevation of women. The author is well aware of this trend of portraying men negatively and unfairly, but not once does he allow resentment or bitterness to slip into his discussion. Rather, Farrell’s equanimity and grace give further clout to his message. This is not about men vs. women. It is about men and women helping each other find better lives for themselves and their children.

Farrell brings to light the huge, but largely ignored, struggles that men and boys face in our society today. From the societal expectation that, “As a male, I am disposable,” to the terrible dilemma that fathers face where showing love by providing at work (as is expected of him by family and society) paradoxically alienates him from the family that gives his life meaning. Farrell also ties in, with a poignant story from his own life, the blatant discrimination against fathers in family and divorce court. This discrimination is also seen in the ACA legislation, in federal committees, and in popular media.

This book personally resonated with me. It gave voice to so many social injustices that face men and boys today. It also underlines, with statistics and stories of actual sufferers, how society today doesn’t seem to care about those injustices. Indeed, how does the “wage gap” still get so much attention when the “workplace death gap” and the “suicide gap” receive none?

The book gives a message of hope, however. Discussion of the importance of fatherhood, and of fathers, to our society leaves the reader with a renewed sense of purpose. Farrell also outlines strategies for fixing The Boy Crisis that extend to the personal, the familial, and the political. Overall, Warren Farrell’s “The Boy Crisis” is a fascinating, moving read, and I think everyone, both men and women, should give his ideas some real consideration.

Caveat:
John Gray’s section on ADHD is less about the scientific evidence regarding ADHD, its causes, and its viable treatment options, and more about the presentation of data in a misleading way in order to support Gray’s narrative. John Gray’s section reads like a scaremongering tabloid, it detracts from the important social issues of The Boy Crisis, and could cause parents to seek medically unsound options for their children. Note that Gray is an author and a family/marriage counselor. He has NO formal pharmacological or medical training. His section of this otherwise well written, well researched book should be taken with a lump of salt, or disregarded entirely. Take your child to a certified medical doctor if you are worried about your child’s health.

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15 people found this helpful

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This is the reason men are going their own way

It is a book that everyone should be aware of. We as a society need to cure the issues in men, not cure the symptoms.

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great writing and performance by Warren Farrel

I really enjoyed Dr Farrells writings and findings on how children, boys especially need their fathers to help them overcome the traps of modern society and avoid livingmeaning deprived lives. He is ofcourse very liberal and that seeps through his writing but i only found myself screaming at the car radio a couple of times while listening to this book.
John Gray's part of the book should be separated into a different book called 'John Gray kills your fun' or 'Stop having so much fun!' by John Gray.
If this book had only the part read by dr Farrell i would have given it 5 stars.

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I feel betrayed...

I had a great deal of respect for Warren Farrell's previous work and activism, and was excited to read this book. While the basic arguments he presents may have merit, the science and statistics used to build those arguments are flawed and misleading.

After he presented a few statistics that caught me by surprise, I did my own research. In one particularly notable case I found that while the statistic he cited was accurate, without proper context it was extremely misleading, and using it in the way he did undermines the validity of the point he was making.

Moreover, John Gray wrote several of the chapters towards the end of the book, going into the pharmacology and neurochemistry associated with ADHD. ... Except that Dr. Gray is a kook. His bachelor's and master's degree in the "Science of Creative Intelligence" was from a dubious university of yoga and meditation, and his PhD was mail ordered from the unaccredited and now-defunct Columbia Pacific University. Making him legitimately an expert of absolutely nothing, and certainly unqualified to write authoritatively about psychopharmacology or neurodevelopmental disorders.

I actually feel kind of betrayed. I honestly respected Warren Farrell and his previous works, but these revelations call into serious question the authority of his expertise and his integrity for co-authoring a book with a complete fraud.

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Warren Farrell good John Grey bad

The Warren Farrell sections of this book that take up its majority are pretty darn great but when it switches to the John Grey chapters near the end I was taken aback. John Grey continually states that homeopathic treatment is FDA-approved which is a blatant lie, pushing for limited studies and experimental treatments. While there are certainly unique cases the research in these areas indicates that individuals can be harmed by such treatments and more research is certainly needed.

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Lots of information

The first 3/4 of the book is great the last part will push you up against your wall of beliefs. The dr John Gray talks about how you can cure your sons adhd and Autism with homeopathic treatments. It’s a little hard to swallow but who knows.

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So disappointing...

This book was so good right up until chapter 32 when it started pedaling conspiracy theory, pseudo-science BS "natural remedies and cures" for ADHD and Autism. I had been planning on recommending this book to so many people because it addresses the deep social and cultural problems our men and boys are facing, but now I basically have to throw it in the trash. If you want to read this book stop after chapter 31.

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