Real Men
Sex and Style In An Uncertain Age
"If 'Real Men' is an accurate survey of the current state of masculinity in America, then it's doing just fine, thank you, without John Wayne. But even if 'Real Men' isn't a representative sampling (and it doesn't pretend to be), it's valuable as a series of vivid, meticulous portraits—sharply written, insightfully photographed, enthralling as no myth can ever be but reality always is."
— The Village Voice"What Rose has drawn out are the candid — sometimes even intemperate — self-revelations of seven men living in what he calls 'an uncertain age.' All seven . . . admit to being confused about themselves, unsure of what comes next. Their willingness to share these doubts . . . is what makes these men more real than their predecessors."
— The Washington Post"'Real men' are making a comeback. You know the kind I mean: The strutting, curly-haired guys whose pectorals move more frequently than their mouths. . . . Isn’t anyone going to call these guys' bluffs? A new book does."
— Los Angeles Herald-Examiner"As long as a man is something you become . . . then it is something external, a mask and an illusion. . . . 'Real Men' brings us close enough to see the mask slip."
— The Real Paper (Boston)"A thoroughly fascinating book. Accompanied by George Bennett's stunning photographs, each profile is explicit, candid and deeply personal."
— Publishers Weekly"The story of Dee Dee Ramone [in 'Real Men'] is perhaps the best look yet at what makes a young musician tick. As with all of Rose's writing, the tone is very matter-of-fact, which only adds punch to his shrewd observations of today's male youth."
— Record WorldTHIS IS A BOOK ABOUT BEING MALE. About power and discipline, sex and violence, and the roles they play in the lives of American men. Think of it as a personal and idiosyncratic survey designed to produce not statistical data but individual answers to the question of what it means to be a man.
➢ RICK WETHERILL, military cadet:
“I realize I’m not going to like hurting people. But no matter what I say, humans will be humans and they’re going to fight. Fighting is so basic—so very, very basic.”
➣ DEE DEE RAMONE, punk rocker:
“I was very delinquent. I think I was tormented somehow. But I never wanted to go into crime to make money. I just always hoped I’d be a rock star, I guess.”
➢ NORM RATHWEG, designer:
“I couldn’t imagine having a family—having babies and doctor bills and training them and raising them. No, I get down on my knees every morning and thank God I was born gay.”
➣ PAT HICKEY, hockey star:
“‘Athletes don’t drink, athletes don’t smoke, athletes don’t stay up after 11 o’clock.’ They praise us for our barbarianism, and then they give us hell because won don’t have a three-piece suit on.”
➢ CARROLL MEGGINSON, steelworker:
“At times, I have lost my nerve. I have. You’ve got to remember—you’ve got 180 tons of molten steel in there, and when it breaks loose, baby, it breaks loose.”
➣ BILLY BOB HARRIS, stockbroker:
“I don’t know why I like ’em. It’s not because it’s a challenge. It’s exciting—like the Olympics and Elvis. There just isn’t anything more exciting than a real nice pretty girl.”
➢ ANDREW RUBIN, actor:
“More men are willing to express themselves now, not be somebody else’s idea of what a man should be. I mean, why put out an image when you can be the real thing?”
How Stories Work in a Data-Driven World
"A brilliant and deceptively simple guide to narrative thinking, and why narrative thinking is changing the way we shop, the way we vote, the way we feel, and the way we perceive the world around us . . . It is such a fascinating and in many ways a new way to look at reality."
— John Fugelsang, SiriusXMBUILDING ON INSIGHTS from cognitive psychology and neuroscience, ‘The Sea We Swim In’ shows us how to see the world in narrative terms, not as a thesis to be argued or a pitch to be made but as a story to be told. This is the essence of narrative thinking. More about this book...
How the Digital Generation Is Changing Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the Way We Tell Stories
"We can spy the future in Frank Rose’s brilliant tour of the pyrotechnic collision between movies and games. This insightful book convinced me that immersive experiences are rapidly becoming the main event in media. . . . Future-spotting doesn't get much better than this."
— Kevin Kelly, author of "What Technology Wants"NOT LONG AGO WE WERE passive consumers of mass media. Now we approach television, movies, even advertising as invitations to participate. We are witnessing the emergence of a new form of narrative that is native to the Internet. More about this book...