Kindlon, Daniel J

Child psychologist Michael Thompson investigates the emotional development of American boys in the early twenty-first century, identifying the causes of declining grades, rising violence, and repressed emotions, and looking at what can be done to reverse the trend.

Presents a comprehensive analysis of the present and future life of girls who are excellent academic achievers, leaders in high school, shine in sports, and have high levels of self-esteem, motivation, and confidence.

Attempts to help parents and educators better understand boys are they truly are by showing how males, beginning at a young age, are systematically steered away from their emotional lives toward silence, solitude, and distrust.

Offers insight into the behaviors and feelings of boys, examining the question of what boys need to become emotionally whole men, and arguing that American culture is forcing boys into lives of isolation, shame, and anger by suppressing their emotional lives in service to ideals of manhood.