African American Author Pen's "A New Conversation With Men"

When men aren't happy, everything around them suffers, according to African American author Michael Taylor's new book "A New Conversation With Men". Taylor's book sets out to inspire men to engage in a new conversation that results in transformation and a genuinely happy life. It's the Texas authors brave attempt to help men remove the hurt and restore the joy and happiness in their life.

First, they have to recognize what he calls, the the five illusions of manhood. Taylor credits these with being some of the root causes for the problems men have creating great relationships and having healthy self-esteem.

The Five Illusions Of Manhood

A man must:

be non-emotional and disconnected;
have status, position and power; have money and material possessions;
use sexual conquest as a gauge for manhood;
and must win at all costs and compete against other men.

These illusions, contribute significantly to issues like; divorce, poverty, domestic violence, drug addiction, and fatherlessness. As a result men end up having a pseudo-personality, that's hard, distant and unfriendly, instead of the loving men God has created us to be and become.

A New Paradigm For Men

The book can help men who are trapped in unhappy lives to wake-up and recognized that there is an important role for them in society. This new paradigm of masculinity for men, challenges male readers to embrace a new identity and become part of a new revolution happening from the inside out.

This treatise is clearly a good book for African American men, Hispanic men or any man who feels trapped by the illusions of manhood. Men from every walk of life are challenged to become part of a revolution of discussions, from a real man's perspective, without the ties that bind them to unrealistic societal roles.

Instead, through this book for men, they can be empowered to converse about the things that really matter in life. The African American author points out that most men are game to talk about weightier subjects, and "A New Conversation With Men" can provide the tools and forum for the dialogue to begin.

Good Books for African American Men: Great Father's Day Gifts

If you need to buy good books for African American men as Father's Day gifts, you should check out the Father's Day book list below. Because lots of the literature that is written for Black men is usually Afrocentric non-fiction or reference books, and few bestsellers fit that bill. I did more than just muse over the bestsellers list. I engaged in some covert research, so the titles I recommend for brothas could appeal to young and older Black males who love to read.

How To Find The Right Book For Father's Day

I conducted a casual or simple observational survey, of Black men I encountered reading, during a week of commuting on the bus. I spied over shoulders and peered under clutched arms to see what kinds of recreational reading brothers were doing. This type of informal survey is usually done prior to beginning a structured observation survey.

You may want to use a similar technique for the bibliophile on your Father's Day gift list. Don't bother skimming through the titles in his library. Find where he stashes the good reads. Maybe on the night stand, his brief case. My stash is on my desk. I keep books there, that I read for inspiration and few I consult for wisdom or fact finding. Make a note of any author whose name appears on more than one book and what subjects constitutes the bulk of the reading material you find. This technique will help you to uncover important clues to the must-read book for any man.

Good Books For Men Who Prefer Magazine

Coffee table books were commonplace in the 60's and 70's, until magazines with slick glossy photos and timely weekly editions replaced them. The photo-supported, larger than life stories in People, Jet, and Time magazines provide the only source of written information for some men.

If the only literature you find during your discovery period are magazines, note their topics and look for anthologies by the same publishers. It takes a little snooping, when your on a quest to find good books for African American men, for Father's Day gifts, but that's one of the things that makes gift giving rewarding, special and fun.

Father's Day Book List: Good Books for Black Men



The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Vintage)


Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know


Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment

Books For Young Men

Two books by young men are have gotten this weeks recommendation as books for young men. Jesse Balls, The Way Through Doors (Vintage Contemporaries)
is an inventive love story that is described as an experiment in narratives, by Allen Cheuse in a review for National Public Radio (NPR) on the young author's book.



John Wray's "Lowboy: A Novel
", tracks the journey of a boy trying to escape capture by his mother and the police by riding on a subway.

Sure you need more than the one sentence quotes I supplied to get a feel for the works, but I was trying to avoid giving away the entire book review by Cheuse. Go ahead and listen to his review of these books that I would mark to "buy for young men."