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Future Man: How to Evolve and Thrive in the Age of Trump, Mansplaining, and #MeToo
A sharply intelligent, explosively honest, and laugh-out-loud funny look at the state of masculinity and how to be a man, for fans of Jon Ronson and Matt Haig.
If ever there was an urgent need for a frank understanding of what's going on with men, it is now. Male rage and frustration have driven resurgent populism, mass shootings, and epidemics of addiction and violence. Powerful men who have abused their positions for decades have been and are being #MeToo–outed and dismissed. The patriarchy, that solid bedrock of male power for thousands of years, seems to be crumbling.
In Future Man, with his characteristic intelligence and humor, Tim Samuels assesses the state of contemporary manhood, its conflicts, confusions, and challenges. Trapped in bodies barely changed since cavemen days, men are contending with the stresses of corporate culture, lifelong commitment, rampant depression, and crazy expectations to be successful at work and at home. But how can you hunt and gather in an open-plan office? Why do men make up to 95 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs yet 93 percent of the prison population? Why do men commit suicide at more than three times the rate of women?
Drawing on his own experience and reporting, Samuels addresses such topics as dating, aging, fatherhood, porn, violence, mental health, and the trouble with monogamy as well as issues related to toxic masculinity, the man box, gender roles, and role models. The American edition has been updated and includes a new preface.
If ever there was an urgent need for a frank understanding of what's going on with men, it is now. Male rage and frustration have driven resurgent populism, mass shootings, and epidemics of addiction and violence. Powerful men who have abused their positions for decades have been and are being #MeToo–outed and dismissed. The patriarchy, that solid bedrock of male power for thousands of years, seems to be crumbling.
In Future Man, with his characteristic intelligence and humor, Tim Samuels assesses the state of contemporary manhood, its conflicts, confusions, and challenges. Trapped in bodies barely changed since cavemen days, men are contending with the stresses of corporate culture, lifelong commitment, rampant depression, and crazy expectations to be successful at work and at home. But how can you hunt and gather in an open-plan office? Why do men make up to 95 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs yet 93 percent of the prison population? Why do men commit suicide at more than three times the rate of women?
Drawing on his own experience and reporting, Samuels addresses such topics as dating, aging, fatherhood, porn, violence, mental health, and the trouble with monogamy as well as issues related to toxic masculinity, the man box, gender roles, and role models. The American edition has been updated and includes a new preface.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 16, 2019
16 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 28, 2019
So apparently for the first time in 10,000 years men aren't 100% in charge of everything and this qualifies as some kind of a crisis :)
I'm admittedly cynical about this new movement that is alarmed by the fact (largely) western men are now treated the same as everybody else on the planet and figured this book would help enlighten me.
Instead it's largely a summary of different articles, studies and books published over the past decade + that illustrates the different characteristics and tendencies of the male Homo-sapien and how many traits that were suitable for the "savanna" don't serve us well in the "city"
eg. Violent tendencies are useful during times of War- and not so much during peacetime
One issue I wish the author acknowledged is that huge populations of men have been suffering for millennia - from slaves to first nations to indentured servants to orphans to refugees to the destitute and poorest among us etc. etc. etc.
Instead he focuses almost exclusively on the recent phenomena of the destabilizing consequences to modern-western men trying to find their place in a society that they no longer have exclusive rule over.
I'm admittedly cynical about this new movement that is alarmed by the fact (largely) western men are now treated the same as everybody else on the planet and figured this book would help enlighten me.
Instead it's largely a summary of different articles, studies and books published over the past decade + that illustrates the different characteristics and tendencies of the male Homo-sapien and how many traits that were suitable for the "savanna" don't serve us well in the "city"
eg. Violent tendencies are useful during times of War- and not so much during peacetime
One issue I wish the author acknowledged is that huge populations of men have been suffering for millennia - from slaves to first nations to indentured servants to orphans to refugees to the destitute and poorest among us etc. etc. etc.
Instead he focuses almost exclusively on the recent phenomena of the destabilizing consequences to modern-western men trying to find their place in a society that they no longer have exclusive rule over.
March 28, 2019
I picked this book because I thought it will highlight few of the sufferings of males who stand at crossroads; where musculanity is not worshiped as was in time of wars and blunted men are promoted in modern systems.
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First of all it says few areas where males are more prone like suicide, heart disease, prisons, violence, falling musculanity, feeding disorders etc but it accepts males have been tbe dominant population throughout.
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CEO of big corporations and self made billionaires are men and nobel prizes are dominated by top male population but rest of mass is busy making ends meet in captive jobs.
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. Book is funny, witty, too open with frequent use of adult words and contexts.
.
It discusses how unexpressed testosterone leads to maladjustment leading to violence, mass shootings, divorce, rash driving and PTSD in males.
.
Book asserts that monogamy and religion help to live happier and fulfilling life and how today is the golden era of fatherhood.
.
.
.
Writing is deliberately made witty and humorous but underlying seriousness of message is maintained.
.
Book becomes a bit slow at junctures but overall it can be read very fast and every male should read it, although due to lots of discussion about sex; readers discretion is advised. There is a whole chapter on porn industry.
.
.
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It is manifesto of how modern man is faring and does not brag at any point that males are on suffering side. They just face a different sort off challenge; which is channelization of their musculanity into meaningful direction.
.
Thanks edelweiss plus and publisher for review copy.
.
First of all it says few areas where males are more prone like suicide, heart disease, prisons, violence, falling musculanity, feeding disorders etc but it accepts males have been tbe dominant population throughout.
.
CEO of big corporations and self made billionaires are men and nobel prizes are dominated by top male population but rest of mass is busy making ends meet in captive jobs.
.
. Book is funny, witty, too open with frequent use of adult words and contexts.
.
It discusses how unexpressed testosterone leads to maladjustment leading to violence, mass shootings, divorce, rash driving and PTSD in males.
.
Book asserts that monogamy and religion help to live happier and fulfilling life and how today is the golden era of fatherhood.
.
.
.
Writing is deliberately made witty and humorous but underlying seriousness of message is maintained.
.
Book becomes a bit slow at junctures but overall it can be read very fast and every male should read it, although due to lots of discussion about sex; readers discretion is advised. There is a whole chapter on porn industry.
.
.
.
It is manifesto of how modern man is faring and does not brag at any point that males are on suffering side. They just face a different sort off challenge; which is channelization of their musculanity into meaningful direction.
.
Thanks edelweiss plus and publisher for review copy.
April 16, 2021
Takes a long time to say little
I got this book for free and I can clearly see why such a supposedly well recieved book would need to offer free copies. The author doesn't seem to have wanted to write this and so didn't do a good job.
The author spends the introduction and a portion of the first chapter apologizing for writing this book and implying that men somewhat deserve any hardships they face due to historical gender relations (or the current narrative of them). Throughout the first haf of the book, he throws in little asides and apologies to appeal to the kind of people that would require such obsequious virtue signalling from a book on a politically incorrect topic. A quick glance at some of the other reviews reveals it didn't work. They still lambast him for having the audacity to write about men's issues. It lowers the quality and impact of the book and achieves nothing.
The author spends a lot of time waffling on meandering tangents and introspective asides only to rush through his points when he reaches them. Sometimes these are of good quality and a pleasure to read through, but mostly they slow the pace down like a parachute. In the end, this book became something of a chore. I had to read other books to take a break from reading this one.
When the author relays personal anecdotes, it tends to come across as whiny or boastful (often simultaneously). When he use non-personal anecdotes, they tend to be well told and engaging. The author has skill, but doesn't use it evenly.
Worst of all, some of the facts are incorrect. The book contains a deluge of facts and a scattering of figures. I came across one I knew to be very wrong and so checked his sources. A number of them are editorials, opinion pieces and television shows. This takes a lot of the oomph out of everything the author writes, which is a shame because most of it is correct and worrying. However, if you can't trust everything, can you really trust anything?
I would recommend skipping this book. Everything this book covers is covered elsewhere by more skilled authors. However, it isn't a bad book. If this is a topic that you find fascinating, then you will probably enjoy this book.
I got this book for free and I can clearly see why such a supposedly well recieved book would need to offer free copies. The author doesn't seem to have wanted to write this and so didn't do a good job.
The author spends the introduction and a portion of the first chapter apologizing for writing this book and implying that men somewhat deserve any hardships they face due to historical gender relations (or the current narrative of them). Throughout the first haf of the book, he throws in little asides and apologies to appeal to the kind of people that would require such obsequious virtue signalling from a book on a politically incorrect topic. A quick glance at some of the other reviews reveals it didn't work. They still lambast him for having the audacity to write about men's issues. It lowers the quality and impact of the book and achieves nothing.
The author spends a lot of time waffling on meandering tangents and introspective asides only to rush through his points when he reaches them. Sometimes these are of good quality and a pleasure to read through, but mostly they slow the pace down like a parachute. In the end, this book became something of a chore. I had to read other books to take a break from reading this one.
When the author relays personal anecdotes, it tends to come across as whiny or boastful (often simultaneously). When he use non-personal anecdotes, they tend to be well told and engaging. The author has skill, but doesn't use it evenly.
Worst of all, some of the facts are incorrect. The book contains a deluge of facts and a scattering of figures. I came across one I knew to be very wrong and so checked his sources. A number of them are editorials, opinion pieces and television shows. This takes a lot of the oomph out of everything the author writes, which is a shame because most of it is correct and worrying. However, if you can't trust everything, can you really trust anything?
I would recommend skipping this book. Everything this book covers is covered elsewhere by more skilled authors. However, it isn't a bad book. If this is a topic that you find fascinating, then you will probably enjoy this book.
September 28, 2024
Rating: 2* of five...generously granted
The Publisher Says: A sharply intelligent, explosively honest, and laugh-out-loud funny look at the state of masculinity and how to be a man, for fans of Jon Ronson and Matt Haig.
If ever there was an urgent need for a frank understanding of what's going on with men, it is now. Male rage and frustration have driven resurgent populism, mass shootings, and epidemics of addiction and violence.
Powerful men who have abused their positions for decades have been and are being #MeToo–outed and dismissed. The patriarchy, that solid bedrock of male power for thousands of years, seems to be crumbling.
In Future Man, with his characteristic intelligence and humor, Tim Samuels assesses the state of contemporary manhood, its conflicts, confusions, and challenges. Trapped in bodies barely changed since cavemen days, men are contending with the stresses of corporate culture, lifelong commitment, rampant depression, and crazy expectations to be successful at work and at home. But how can you hunt and gather in an open-plan office? Why do men make up to 95 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs yet 93 percent of the prison population? Why do men commit suicide at more than three times the rate of women?
Drawing on his own experience and reporting, Samuels addresses such topics as dating, aging, fatherhood, porn, violence, mental health, and the trouble with monogamy as well as issues related to toxic masculinity, the man box, gender roles, and role models. The American edition has been updated and includes a new preface.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Offensively heteronormative. Glib to the point of irrelevance. Might help some very toxic straight white men under forty see themselves but offers bland nostrums as "solutions" eg embracing fatherhood's current "Golden Age".
Curiously underdevelops mansplaining...isn't that what this book *is*? Not recommended for anyone not utterly clueless about how to be a decent human being, and even then with the caveat that they should read more and better self-help books. I abandoned the read at about 10% but stochastically bounced around through the whole book.
The Publisher Says: A sharply intelligent, explosively honest, and laugh-out-loud funny look at the state of masculinity and how to be a man, for fans of Jon Ronson and Matt Haig.
If ever there was an urgent need for a frank understanding of what's going on with men, it is now. Male rage and frustration have driven resurgent populism, mass shootings, and epidemics of addiction and violence.
Powerful men who have abused their positions for decades have been and are being #MeToo–outed and dismissed. The patriarchy, that solid bedrock of male power for thousands of years, seems to be crumbling.
In Future Man, with his characteristic intelligence and humor, Tim Samuels assesses the state of contemporary manhood, its conflicts, confusions, and challenges. Trapped in bodies barely changed since cavemen days, men are contending with the stresses of corporate culture, lifelong commitment, rampant depression, and crazy expectations to be successful at work and at home. But how can you hunt and gather in an open-plan office? Why do men make up to 95 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs yet 93 percent of the prison population? Why do men commit suicide at more than three times the rate of women?
Drawing on his own experience and reporting, Samuels addresses such topics as dating, aging, fatherhood, porn, violence, mental health, and the trouble with monogamy as well as issues related to toxic masculinity, the man box, gender roles, and role models. The American edition has been updated and includes a new preface.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Offensively heteronormative. Glib to the point of irrelevance. Might help some very toxic straight white men under forty see themselves but offers bland nostrums as "solutions" eg embracing fatherhood's current "Golden Age".
Curiously underdevelops mansplaining...isn't that what this book *is*? Not recommended for anyone not utterly clueless about how to be a decent human being, and even then with the caveat that they should read more and better self-help books. I abandoned the read at about 10% but stochastically bounced around through the whole book.
October 20, 2025
I was hoping for more on why men were drawn to Trump and less of the author’s personal stories.
June 3, 2019
This makes for an interesting read especially on the expectations men and women have on men and how circumstances and generations have affected this over time.
It's certainly the kind of book you could sit around a group and talk about and it'd still earn a couple of eye-rolls from women because well...
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC. I enjoyed reading this.
It's certainly the kind of book you could sit around a group and talk about and it'd still earn a couple of eye-rolls from women because well...
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC. I enjoyed reading this.
kindle
May 27, 2019I thought this would be an enjoyable read, as I am a psychology major and always looking to read books about current and newsworthy topics. It was an ok read, just not for me.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews