The Broken American Male: And How to Fix Him

From a very young age, Boteach explains, men are bombarded with messages defining success ""exclusively by money, power, fame, and preferably a corrosive amalgamation of all three"" (think Donald Trump); for the average American man, this definition results in a deep but hard-to-pin-down sense of failure that stains his perception-of himself and his environment-and inevitably corrodes his relationships, ""bringing down the American female and family with him."" Boteach, Rabbi of Oxford University, author of Kosher Sex and star of the Learning Channel's ""Shalom in the Home,"" offers a detailed prognosis of the current state of the American family based on his work with families facing familiar crises (constant fighting, depression, anorexia, sexless marriage), ""approximately 70 percent"" of whom suffer from ""Broken American Male syndrome."" The book's first third takes a hard but sympathetic look at the syndrome's symptoms and effects (such as waning libido, empty ambition, escapism and substance abuse); the middle third examines underlying causes (""soulless capitalism"") and collateral damage (""The Inadequate American Female,"" ""The Uninspired Child"") on the way to chapters providing sound advice and practical solutions-beginning with a ""New Definition of Success,"" one measured ""by the quality of our relationships."" Though rooted in Judaism, Boteach's lessons are applicable to anyone hoping to understand and overcome feelings of failure in themselves or their loved ones.