Angry White Men, 2nd Edition: American Masculinity at the End of an Era - Softcover

Kimmel, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1568589611 ISBN 13: 9781568589619

Publisher: Bold Type Books, 2017

Synopsis

We hear them on talk radio airwaves bellowing about minorities. We watch them organize anti-immigration demonstrations on the border. We read their opinions regarding the demise of white male privilege. And sometimes, tragically, we witness their aggression through vigilante violence, as in the cases of Wade Michael Page, James Eagan Holmes, Elliot Rodger, George Zimmerman, and many more. They are America's angry white men, including "men's rights" activists who think white men are the victims of discrimination, as well as members of the "white wing" of the rightward fringes of the American political spectrum. Why are they so angry?

Sociologist Michael Kimmel, one of the leading writers on men and masculinity in the world today, has spent hundreds of hours in the company of America's angry white men in pursuit of an answer. Raised to expect unparalleled social and economic privilege, white men are suffering today from what Kimmel calls "aggrieved entitlement": a sense that those benefits that white men believed were their due have been snatched away from them. In Angry White Men, Kimmel presents a comprehensive diagnosis of their fears, anxieties, and rage.

About this title

Review

"Kimmel, a sociologist at Stony Brook University in New York, is unusually adventurous for an academic... Kimmel maintains a delicate balance when handling his sources... In one fascinating chapter Kimmel explores the changing nature of school violence... Kimmel's balance of critical distance and empathy works best in his chapter on the fathers' rights movement, a subset of the men's rights movement."
New York Times Book Review

"[Kimmel's] book exposes an urgent need for a strong, appealing, sensible Left movement that addresses the dispossession of America' s angry men and replaces it with a movement that respects our needs emotionally, politically and economically." Truthout

"An interesting and ranging discussion of the dark side of modern manhood with America's best expert on the topic. That quality is what makes the book so special, interesting, and easy to read. Kimmel blends personal stories with careful, journalistic study; he shifts between accessible academic and wide-ranged social commentarian; he explains complex sociology with the accessibility of a fun high school teacher in a small seminar class.... Whether you care about men, boys, masculinity, gender, feminism, violence, prejudice, post-industrial economics, or the frustrating, never-ending catastrophes that seem to make up modern American political life, Angry White Men is worth a read."
The Good Men Project

"[Angry White Men] delivers... a lively, frequently scary look at a group of people who are trying, ever more desperately, to hang onto a world that no longer exists."
Booklist

"Kimmel's writing is open and engaging, reminiscent of a conversation with friends in a bar... Another worthwhile examination of important issues affecting men and, by extension, everyone else, from an author known for his insight into the subject."
Kirkus Reviews

Being white and male has brought unfair power for so long that some think it’s natural, both among those claiming it and those suffering from it. Michael Kimmel has done us the life-saving favor of naming this delusion that may endanger us more than any other. From executives for whom no amount of money is enough to white supremacists for whom no amount of power is enough, from U.S. wars in which men die to U.S. domestic violence in which even more women die, this illness is lethal for us all. Angry White Men is a brave, sane, compassionate, and rescuing book.”
Gloria Steinem, feminist activist and author

White men still have most of the power and most of the money, so why do so many of them feel so victimized? In this fascinating guided tour of the world of angry white men Glenn Beck fans, white supremacists, school shooters, men’s rights activists pioneer sociologist of masculinity Michael Kimmel shows how aggrieved entitlement’ leads them to blame people of color, immigrants, liberals, intellectuals, the government, and above all, women, for a society that is changing fast and, they fear, leaving them behind. No dry academic study, Angry White Men is full of shrewd political analysis, empathy, and humor.”
Katha Pollitt, columnist for The Nation

Michael Kimmel has written a comprehensive study of working and middle-class white men and described their collective grievances with insight and compassion. In regard to those among them who ally with the Far Right, he is equally insightful but justifiably more critical; his analysis of their misdirected rage at minorities and women is entirely persuasive. I enthusiastically recommend Angry White Men to the wide readership it has amply earned.”
Martin Duberman, professor of history emeritus at the Graduate School of the City University of New York

Men and women should read Angry White Men. Women will gain insights into the sources of male anger and men will learn that increasing gender equality does not pose a threat to their masculinity. Rather, in this rapidly changing society, Kimmel believes that women and men will be able to lead more satisfying lives.”
Madeleine Kunin, former governor of Vermont, author of The New Feminist Agenda: Defining the Next Revolution for Women, Work, and Family and Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead

In this timely book, Kimmel shows us that in these times, even those who have historically been powerful and dominant are becoming victims as they find themselves slipping between the cracks and falling behind. Kimmel has his finger on the pulse of their anger and by revealing their fears and growing desperation, he reminds us that their problems are ours as well.”
Pedro Noguera, Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education at New York University

Book Description

America's leading expert on men and masculinity explains why, with the demographics of the nation rapidly changing and the levers of political power ostensibly slipping from their hands, white men are angrier than ever before in our recent history.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bold Type Books
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1568589611
• ISBN 13: 9781568589619
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 352