Book Review - The Art of Manliness - Manvotionals: Timeless Wisdom and Advice on Living the 7 Manly Virtues

About the Book
Mark Twain said that “clothes make the man,” but according to authors Brett and Kate McKay, a snappy dresser does not a man make. Rather than teach readers how to cultivate their wardrobes, the McKays aim to sculpt the minds and spirits of modern men to expose what it truly means to be a man at his very core with their latest book THE ART OF MANLINESS MANVOTIONALS: Timeless Wisdom and Advice on Living the 7 Manly Virtues (How Books, November 2011).

For centuries, being a man meant living a life of virtue and excellence. But then, through time, the art of manliness was lost. The McKays are the husband-and-wife team behind popular men’s lifestyle website ArtOfManliness.com, where they help to guide men who are looking for more after decades of excess and aimless drift. For those seeking a primer that can give their life real direction and purpose, MANVOTIONALS holds the answers.

Each chapter covers each of the “7 Manly Virtues” – Manliness, Courage, Industry, Resolution, Self-Reliance, Discipline, Honor – and is packed with the best classic advice ever written by our manly forefathers. From the philosophy of Aristotle to the speeches and essays of Theodore Roosevelt, these pages contain the manly wisdom of the ages – poems, quotes, and essays that will inspire men to realize their complete potential.

The voices of the great men of the past rise from the dust, hearkening you to join them in this legacy of manliness. Will you answer the call?

My Take on the Book
I have been following the blog Art of Manliness for quite some time and have followed them as their following and the blog has expanded. This book is a great compilation of so many of the wonderful tidbits that have been shared in the Art of Manliness community and in the blog posts themselves. What I really liked about this book was the fact that each Manvotional is unique and separate from each other. You can literally turn to any of the sections of the book and simply read it and be fine. You can also start from page one and go to the end as well. I have to say that each Manvotional that I have read has been both inspiring and intriguing and it makes me wonder what will be next. I also love that they have used iconic figures to bring forth their message. This whole book is a treasure and one that I highly recommend!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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Book Review - The Book of Man

About the Book
New York Times best-selling author William J. Bennett uses stories, essays, historical vignettes, and contemporary profiles to explore and explain what it means to be a man. Fashioning men has never been easy, but today it seems particularly tough. Boys need heroes to embody the everlasting qualities of manhood: honor, duty, valor, and integrity. Without such role models, boys will naturally choose perpetual childhood over the rigors of becoming a man—as many women, teachers, coaches, employers, and adults in authority can quickly attest. Have we forgotten how to raise men, how to lead our boys into manhood? In The Book of Man, Bennett charts a clearer course, offering a positive, encouraging, uplifting, realizable idea of manhood, redolent of history and human nature, and practical for contemporary life. Like his classic, The Book of Virtues, Bennett uses profiles, stories, letters, poems, and myths to bring his subject to life, defining what a man should be, how he should live, and to what he should aspire in several key areas of life.

My Take on the Book
In reading this book I was impressed and amazed at the vision of manhood that as a reader you receive in this book. Whether it was from the prayers, profiles, letters or the reflections on great men of history, this book will open the eyes of any man or boy as they are trying to figure out for themselves what it means to be a man.

In growing up myself there were few role models on manliness that I could turn to, yes I had my father, but outside of this it was few and far between. A book like this would have been a great read through the times when I was unsure myself of what it meant to be a man, and even now, there are times when you have to question this and this book helps you to figure it out for yourself.


The author examines manhood in so many different context. What was great about the book was that he does this with no pretense and instead provides straight forward ideas towards manliness and whether the stories are inspiring or not, they provide the reader with a fresh glimpse into themselves which is a great fresh approach and opens the eyes of any reader!


All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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