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Iron John: A Book About Men |
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| Author: Robert Bly Published: 2004-07-27 |
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List price: $15.00 Our price: $10.20 |
Usually ships in 24 hours As of: January 07th, 2009 03:17:12 AM |
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Customer comments on this selection. Men find modern meaning in primal mythLooking through the lens of myth, poet Robert Bly concludes that the Industrial Revolution pulled families apart. He blames absent fathers who failed to initiate boys into adulthood for many of today's cultural woes, including passivity among men, unhappy marriages and the prevalence of gangs. Bly cites stories from the ancient Greeks through the Brothers Grimm to show that young men's struggle to achieve mature adulthood has remained constant throughout history. The myth of Iron John follows the development of a young prince from his early ties to his mother, to his maturation and entry into the world of his father. Mothers, says Bly, must relinquish their babies to enable their sons to grow up. Bly uses his ramble through literature to explore deep issues that play out in men's personal and work lives. His metaphoric, poetic language may be off-putting to concrete thinkers, but getAbstract recommends Bly's classic to men and women who are looking for insight into modern men's psychic drives and struggles.  Iron John helps men identify the voids in their realityI am writing this 1/2 way through the book, but so far I am impressed with Bly's ability to tie the meaning behind ancient fairy tales and traditions which bound men and boys together with the social ills that result today from the lack of these ties. I found the book really struck a resounding chord for me, perhaps moreso because I was raised by my mother and grandmother in a fatherless household until the age of ten. The book helped me understand some things about myself that I had not realized and led to some productive self-reflection. Iron JohnIron John is a good book in the sense that it is willing to say things that might not be popular. I thought that much of the book was reaching a little, but some ideas were right on the money. For example, i couldn't agree more with the parts about a boy having to steal the key to manhood from under his mother's pillow. a mother would prefer her boys stay boys forever. other parts, about having to be in touch with nature for a man to be a man in the old tradition was a little lacking. i think the author loves the outdoors therefor if you want to be a man in his eyes you have to like the outdoors as well. worth reading, but dont think it is going to change your life or anything. Thought ProvokingBly finds in "Iron John" the universal themes of men and their development. A mans life is usually not pretty or just. He struggles throughout and endures much suffering. It almost appears that the rough trail defines a part of manhood. It seems harder today for men to honestly find a garden that hasn't been spoiled by politically correct thinking or bias. The Universities that once fostered free thinking have had to defend themselves for their openness. I find Adult Ed. courses to be the best, under the radar, classes for cultivating in a walled garden. It's ashame public education has become so out of touch with the needs of boys and young male adolescents. Bly taps into the buried psyche of men with his discussions about descent and grief, the King and the God-Woman. This book helps men understand their wounds better as well as their fathers. GURU AMONG MENRobert Bly is a modern day Carl Sandberg. Iron John was on the Top 10 Best sellers list. This is one of my favorite books and I highly recommend it for young boys, men, and women with children that have no father at home! In todays society dysfunctional families are at an all time high and "Iron John" can furnish helpful and insightful information. I really enjoyed the metaphors and mythology; "The lad leaned over and looked into the smooth and reflective pond water and didn't see his own reflection but that of three female wolves looking over his shoulder." The lad lived at home with no father or brothers but with his mother and two sisters and had no identify of his own. Highly recommend anything on or about Robert E. Howard (1906-1936)The Best of the Best writer/poet ever. Must Reads = Blood & Thunder, The Life & Art of REH by Mark Finn, The Last of the Trunk by Paul Herman of REH Foundation and Selected Letters of REH by Rob Roehm of REH Foundation, One Who Walked Alone by Novalyne Price, The Dark Barbarian & The Barbaric Triumph by Don Herron, Solomon Kane, Kull, Conan, Bran Mak Morn, The Last of the Frontier, Lord Samarcand, and anything of Weird Works and Weird Tales by Greenberg, Life After Life by Dr. Raymond Moody, The Star Rover by Jack London, and my favorite The Beast from the Abyss about cats, I Am A Barbarian by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and The Best of H.P. Lovecraft. |
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