If you’re the parent of a boy, Dr. Leonard Sax’s book Boys Adrift: Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men is required reading. A decade ago, Sax, a family physician with a doctorate in psychology, began to notice a distressing trend: Parents were concerned about their unmotivated, underachieving sons. In talking to teachers and parents across the country, he discovered that this was a national phenomenon that crosses social, racial and economic lines. In Boys Adrift, Sax investigates five factors that contribute to what is becoming a national epidemic. He looks at the way children are taught and the role that video games, prescription drugs and environmental estrogens play. He also notes the lack of male role models in the culture at large as a contributing factor. This is fascinating, often unsettling stuff. Fortunately, Dr. Sax offers a program for change. His important book gives a wholly original perspective on American boys in decline, and thankfully offers information to help reverse this trend.
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
