Product Description

Robert Bly writes that it is clear to men that the images of adult manhood given by popular culture are worn out, that a man can no longer depend on them. Iron John searches for a new vision of what a man is or could be, drawing on psychology, anthropology, mythology, folklore and legend. Robert Bly looks at the importance of the Wild Man (reminiscent of the Wild Woman in Women Who Run With the Wolves), who he compares to a Zen priest, a shaman or a woodman. 'This book needs to be read, I believe, not as a dry work of scholarship to be judged coolly by the mind, but as the work of a poet struggling to convey an emotional experience and lead us to what he has found within himself' Guardian. 'Eclectic and unclassifiable. Iron John is a work whose mentors are the prophetic poets and crazies, William Blake and Walt Whitman' Sydney Morning Herald. 'Important.timely.and powerful' New York Times

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #99061 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 287 pages

Review
'This book needs to be read, I believe, not as a dry work of scholarship to be judged coolly by the mind, but as the work of a poet struggling to convey an emotional experience and lead us to what he has found within himself' Guardian 'Eclectic and unclassifiable. Iron John is a work whose mentors are the prophetic poets and crazies, William Blake and Walt Whitman' Sydney Morning Herald 'Important...timely...and powerful' New York Times

About the Author
Robert Bly is a poet, storyteller, translator and worldwide lecturer. His poetry has won many awards, including the National Book Award. This is his first full-length book of prose. He lives with his wife in Madison, Minnesota.

Customer Reviews

An refreshing and insightful view for both Men and Women
A refreshing change from more commercialised books, this is thought-provoking and challenging to our framework of who we are as Men, how we each got to where we are, what we may be / are missing in our lives and where we can go from here.

Lent to me by a single Mum in her 30's, she read this for insight into how her son (2 years old) needs to be positively influenced by strong mentor males. I feel this book can help give understanding to any male-female relationships (same age, son/mother, daughter/father, etc).

Not meant as an excuse to act 'macho' (which has negative connotations these days); instead this text guides Men on how to be Men whilst still maintaining all the other communication and caring skills learned of our time!

Magnificent
With eye-popping surprises every few pages, it unravels the compelling symbolism behind fairytales from all over the world. If I had met this book during adolescence, I would have had a better emotional life but what an outstanding discovery nonetheless at 40.

Buy it for your teenager, whether girl or boy: its about where they are at now, they will be pulled in.

Insightful and poetic
I really enjoyed this book. It looks deeply into what it feels like to grow into a man and does so with humility and sensitivity. In the modern world, a lot of the experiences of the men from the older generation are not distilled and handed down to the next generation. This book makes a very good attempt to recreate that lost advice. I particularly liked the way that fables and poetry were seen as great sources of insights and wisdom.