Broodmales Book

A short and very readable book. The main narrative thread takes place over a single day, as Twigger waits for his wife to give birth. Interspersed with an increasingly tense countdown are accounts of past adventures and ideas on many aspects of modern life - in fact, Twigger seems to have more ideas, on a greater number of subjects, than anyone else I can think of.

As the subtitle ' . . . . in the lousy modern world' suggests, there is more than a touch of humour in this assessment of masculinity, but there is also a lot of thought-provoking, serious material too. Crucially, the author makes the division between what he calls male-being and male-proving. The first includes activities that help us become more resourceful, self-reliant and ultimately better people too, whereas the latter is the sort of self-assertive macho nonsense we see when, for example, men try to take charge of barbecues.

One tip: it's a fast read, but don't read too much at once or you won't allow the ideas time to sink in.