Difference between revisions of "Manliness"
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(Professor Mansfield discusses at length the writings of Ernest Hemingway, who Mansfield calls "the writer in our time (or just before) most celebrated for manliness." Mansfield compares Hemingway to Homer in the manliness of their works.) |
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| − | '''Manliness''' is a book by [[conservative]]-leaning [[Harvard]] Professor | + | '''''Manliness''''' is a book by [[conservative]]-leaning [[Harvard]] Professor Harvey Mansfield, who identifies and extols this trait which has been recognized since [[Ancient Greece]]. |
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| + | An entertaining read, the book is short on culture and [[American]] political history (except talks extensively about [[Teddy Roosevelt]]), while long in academic arguments based on literature. Professor Mansfield points out that ''[[Macbeth]]'' contains [[Shakespeare]]'s most praise of manliness and has many enlightening discussions of literature, such as a passage about Henry James' anti-feminist ''Bostonians''. | ||
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| + | Professor Mansfield discusses at length the writings of [[Ernest Hemingway]], who Mansfield calls "the writer in our time (or just before) most celebrated for manliness." Mansfield compares Hemingway to Homer in the manliness of their works. | ||
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| + | Mansfield sees manliness in athletes (too many to mention, he points out), and also in a few women such as [[Margaret Thatcher]] (a favorite of right-of-center professors). Mansfield omits enough discussion of manliness among military heroes, such as [[Stonewall Jackson]] or [[George Patton]] (Mansfield does include a mention of the movie). Mansfield does contain some passing references to [[George Washington]]. | ||
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| + | The book is excellent but has notable omissions: no mention of [[muscle car]]s, by which young [[American]] men found expression of their manliness in culture. The book admittedly avoids the issue of [[homosexuality]], and it predates the rise of the very manly [[Donald Trump]]. The book has only a very superficial reference to [[Phyllis Schlafly]] and fails to recognize the significance of the defeat of the [[Equal Rights Amendment]]. | ||
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| + | ====10th anniversary interview==== | ||
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| + | Mansfield chose to mark the tenth anniversary of the book's publication by giving a [https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/video/harvey-mansfield-viii/ c.75min interview] about it to Bill Kristol for the Foundation for Constitutional Government. A transcript and audio podcast are also available for download at the website. | ||
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[[category:books]] | [[category:books]] | ||
| + | [[category:manliness]] | ||
Latest revision as of 17:17, August 16, 2021
Manliness is a book by conservative-leaning Harvard Professor Harvey Mansfield, who identifies and extols this trait which has been recognized since Ancient Greece.
An entertaining read, the book is short on culture and American political history (except talks extensively about Teddy Roosevelt), while long in academic arguments based on literature. Professor Mansfield points out that Macbeth contains Shakespeare's most praise of manliness and has many enlightening discussions of literature, such as a passage about Henry James' anti-feminist Bostonians.
Professor Mansfield discusses at length the writings of Ernest Hemingway, who Mansfield calls "the writer in our time (or just before) most celebrated for manliness." Mansfield compares Hemingway to Homer in the manliness of their works.
Mansfield sees manliness in athletes (too many to mention, he points out), and also in a few women such as Margaret Thatcher (a favorite of right-of-center professors). Mansfield omits enough discussion of manliness among military heroes, such as Stonewall Jackson or George Patton (Mansfield does include a mention of the movie). Mansfield does contain some passing references to George Washington.
The book is excellent but has notable omissions: no mention of muscle cars, by which young American men found expression of their manliness in culture. The book admittedly avoids the issue of homosexuality, and it predates the rise of the very manly Donald Trump. The book has only a very superficial reference to Phyllis Schlafly and fails to recognize the significance of the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment.
10th anniversary interview
Mansfield chose to mark the tenth anniversary of the book's publication by giving a c.75min interview about it to Bill Kristol for the Foundation for Constitutional Government. A transcript and audio podcast are also available for download at the website.
