Who Stole My Spear?

If ever there was an urgent need for a frank understanding of what's going on with men, it is now. Male rage and frustration have driven resurgent populism, mass shootings, and epidemics of addiction and violence. Powerful men who have abused their positions for decades are being #MeToo–outed and dismissed almost overnight. The patriarchy, that solid bedrock of male power for thousands of years, seems to be crumbling.

In Who Stole My Spear?, an award-winning broadcaster and the creator and longtime host of the BBC radio show Men's Hour assesses the state of contemporary manhood, its conflicts, confusions, and challenges. Trapped in bodies barely changed since cavemen days, men are now contending with corporate culture, lifelong commitment, rampant depression, and crazy expectations to be successful at work and at home. But how can you hunt and gather in an open-plan office? Why do men make up to 95 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs yet 93 percent of the prison population? Why do men commit suicide at more than three times the rate of women?

Drawing on his own experience and reporting, Samuels addresses, with self-deprecating humor, such topics as porn, fatherhood, violence, aging, dating, mental health, and the trouble with monogamy as well as issues related to toxic masculinity, the man box, gender roles, and role models. The American edition is updated and includes new preface.