This book isn't what you probably think it is. It's not another chest-bumping, wilderness-challenge manfest. It's simply a corrective reminder that men have been told a lie: a lie about the world, a lie about themselves, and a lie about God.

Growing up as a guy in 21st century America is no picnic. Even a cursory examination of statistics regarding crime, fatherless, and abused women illutrates that something is very wrong with men. Men look for their identity and purpose in all sorts of places, and most are wrong, leading men down paths of darkness, destruction, and death. From money to sex to power to popularity to gadgets to booze, men have bought the lie that culture dictates true masculenity. Mike's book unfolds the truth - that God has designed men in His image, and as image bearers, we must look to Him for our identity and purpose.

The best thing about reading Mike is that his style flows from his passion, heart, and own life experiences. Mike takes us through a journey of what manhood really is, and as much as it's our story, it's his story too. And that's what sets Mike's book apart - he knows what he's talking about because he's lived it. He's not talking at men, he's on the path of discovery with men. At the end of the journey, there's just God, and Mike presciently reminds us that He's all that men really need.

I also have the pleasure to hear Mike speak at Rock Harbor, as my family has been attending there for about four years now. This book is great and I highly recommend it for every guy out there! There are so many false images of manhood that bombard us from every facet of society...it's crucial to remind ourselves of the true role we are to play as men, and Mike does a wonderful job of this in his book.

I had the great opportunity to sit under his teaching for about two years, and what I love about this guy is that he is never hesitant to be transparent and vulnerable, whether it be through his writing or his sermon's.

He does a great job in underscoring the characteristics of a true man, which could all be summarized in the word, "courage." And in doing this, he illustrates the mundane battles that we face, i.e. wife no longer looks like Pamela Anderson, work is no longer fun, kids no longer respect you, college seems pointless, etc. and therein true manhood is demonstrated and built. He points out that all too often, we live vicariously through an imaginative heroic context whereby we save some person from dying, or something along those lines, but that is just an indicator of how we build and demonstrate manhood in an illusory world, as opposed to in a real context. Invariably, this imaginitive world robs us of the true joy we can find in building and demonstrating our manhood in a real context.

In summary, this book was great. It'll kick your [...] by drawing out of you a desire to be a real man, not an imiganitive one.