Top 5 texts that made you the man you are.
Ok lads, I’m interested in stuff that’s had the biggest influence on you becoming a man!
What are the Top 5 books/films/plays etc that have had the biggest impact on you? Ones that have made you the man you are? And who was the hero/role model in the story?
Toby C’s texts that changed him:
- The Ages of Gaia by James Lovelock.
- Energy, ecology and economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Science by Howard Odum.
- Manufacting consent, by Noam Chomsky
- Any of the Biggles books by W.E. Johns
- Uh-oh…
Step’s texts that changed him:
- Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
- Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
- Magician by Raymond E. Feist
- The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
Toby B’s texts that changed him:
- Jacksons Track by Daryl Tonkin – Daryl himself (My Australian hero)
- Lord of the Rings by Tolkien – Tom Bombadil (I want his life/wife)
- Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley – King Arthur (respect the feminine… or else!)
- Return of the Jedi by George Lucas – Luke and Darth (Ultimate Father/Son tale)
- Manhood by Steve Biddulph (credit where it’s due!)
Jamie’s texts that changed him:
- Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
- Lord of the Rings by Tolkien – Gandalf
- Gandhi by Richard Attenborough - Mahatma Gandhi
- Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
- Star Wars by George Lucas – Yoda
Rob F’s five influential texts:
A Wizard of Earthsea – A boy undergoes a transformation from a weak orphan to one of the most powerful wizards who has ever lived, but in doing so he must face his inner demons.
Quote: “Manhood is patience; mastery is nine times patience.”
The Pushcart War – A small and motley group of pushcart sellers in a big city fight their own obsolescence and the bullying behaviour of truck-drivers. They embark on a campaign of blowing darts surreptitiously into truck tyres – now this is the sort of guerrilla anti-imperialism tactics that I like!
The Leopard – A Sicilian aristocrat realises his own class is becoming obsolescent, replaced by the rapacious, tasteless merchant class of the nouveau riche. The Leopard is a man of many contrasts – for example, he repeatedly sleeps with a girl who is not his wife but is disgusted with himself each time after doing so – but essentially to me deeply admirable, and through all the upheaval he manages to maintain his own sense of integrity. The novel ends with the Prince’s own death, which is, solipsistically, like the death of the whole world. He can feel his own life force cascading out of him “with a spiritual roar like that of the Rhine Falls”. Now that’s poetic writing!
The Slap – Recent and much-talked-of but still powerful text about our current society. Theoretically the author takes a neutral stance; but in reality it is quite clear to me with which characters Tsiolkas’s sympathies lie: the book is ultimately an argument against the sort of mollycoddling, child-centred, politically correct society we have become, which has resulted in the almost complete emasculation of many male members (of society, that is!).
American Beauty – The film. An emasculated man living in the sort of society mentioned above, where the cleanliness of your couches and the neatness of the roses in your front yard are all that matter, breaks out, transforms himself and becomes a man again. In this case, his red-blooded manliness is manifested through a crush he has on an impossibly perfect and nubile teenager.
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Ed – For a great list of manly books, have a look here at 100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man’s Library
on 01 Dec 2009 at 8:52 am 1.Toby C. said …
The Ages of Gaia by James Lovelock.
Energy, ecology and economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Science by Howard Odum.
Manufacting consent, by Noam Chomsky
Any of the Biggles books by W.E. Johns
Oh-oh…
on 07 Mar 2010 at 7:16 pm 2.Rob F said …
Rob F’s five influential texts:
A Wizard of Earthsea – A boy undergoes a transformation from a weak orphan to one of the most powerful wizards who has ever lived, but in doing so he must face his inner demons.
Quote: “Manhood is patience; mastery is nine times patience.”
The Pushcart War – A small and motley group of pushcart sellers in a big city fight their own obsolescence and the bullying behaviour of truck-drivers. They embark on a campaign of blowing darts surreptitiously into truck tyres – now this is the sort of guerrilla anti-imperialism tactics that I like!
The Leopard – A Sicilian aristocrat realises his own class is becoming obsolescent, replaced by the rapacious, tasteless merchant class of the nouveau riche. The Leopard is a man of many contrasts – for example, he repeatedly sleeps with a girl who is not his wife but is disgusted with himself each time after doing so – but essentially to me deeply admirable, and through all the upheaval he manages to maintain his own sense of integrity. The novel ends with the Prince’s own death, which is, solipsistically, like the death of the whole world. He can feel his own life force cascading out of him “with a spiritual roar like that of the Rhine Falls”. Now that’s poetic writing!
The Slap – Recent and much-talked-of but still powerful text about our current society. Theoretically the author takes a neutral stance; but in reality it is quite clear to me with which characters Tsiolkas’s sympathies lie: the book is ultimately an argument against the sort of mollycoddling, child-centred, politically correct society we have become, which has resulted in the almost complete emasculation of many male members (of society, that is!).
American Beauty – The film. An emasculated man living in the sort of society mentioned above, where the cleanliness of your couches and the neatness of the roses in your front yard are all that matter, breaks out, transforms himself and becomes a man again. In this case, his red-blooded manliness is manifested through a crush he has on an impossibly perfect and nubile teenager.