"Michael Kimmel argues that it is time for men to rediscover their own evolution. Drawing on a myriad of sources, he demonstrates that American men have been eternally frustrated by their efforts to keep up with constantly changing standards. Kimmel contends that men must follow the lead of the women's movement; it is only by mining their past for its best qualities and worst excesses that men will free themselves from the constraints of the masculine ideal."--Provided by publisher.
Part 1. The making of the self-made man in America, 1776-1865. The birth of the self-made man -- Born to run : self-control and fantasies of escape -- Men at work : captains of industry, white collars, and the faceless crowd -- Playing for keeps : masculinity as recreation and the re-creation of masculinity -- A room of his own : socializing the new man -- Part 2. The new man in a new century, 1920-1950. Muscles, money, and the M-F test : measuring masculinity between the wars -- "Temporary about myself" : white-collar conformists and suburban playboys, 1945-1960 -- Part 4. The centemporary "crisis" of masculinity. The masculine mystique -- Wimps, whiners, and weekend warriors : the contemporary crisis of masculinity and beyond -- From anxiety to anger since the 1990s : the "self-made man" becomes "angry white men."