A Better Man, Michael Ian Black
A Better Man, Michael Ian Black
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
Club: $7.99

A Better Man
A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son

Author: Michael Ian Black

Narrator: Michael Ian Black

Unabridged: 5 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 09/15/2020


Synopsis

Dear Elijah,
You’re entering adulthood at an incredible time for men. You have the opportunity to be part of a conversation
about the new shape of manhood. If you want it to, your generation of men can become pioneers, reinventing
masculinity the same way women continue to adapt femininity …

What does it mean to be a man?

In a world in which the word masculinity now often goes hand in hand with toxic, comedian, actor, and father
Michael Ian Black offers up a way forward for boys, men, and anyone who loves them. Part memoir, part advice book,
and written as a heartfelt letter to his college-bound son, A Better Man reveals Black’s own complicated relationship
with his father, explores the damage and rising violence caused by the expectations placed on boys to “man up,” and
searches for the best way to help young men be part of the solution, not the problem. “If we cannot allow ourselves
vulnerability,” he writes, “how are we supposed to experience wonder, fear, tenderness?”

Honest, funny, and hopeful, Black skillfully navigates the complex gender issues of our time and delivers a poignant
answer to an urgent question: How can we be, and raise, better men?

About Michael Ian Black

Michael Ian Black is a writer, comedian, and actor who has appeared on Another Period, The Jim Gaffigan Show, and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. He created and starred in many television series, has written screenplays, and regularly tours the country as a stand-up comedian. Michael is the bestselling author of the book My Custom Van, the memoir You’re Not Doing It Right, and the children’s books Chicken Cheeks, The Purple Kangaroo, A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea, I’m Bored, Naked!, Cock-a-Doodle-Doo-Bop!, and I’m Sorry. Michael lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Carrie on November 23, 2020

Lovely. Many times better than a book by Bob Larson. Listen to my interview with him on NPR's Bullseye!......more

Goodreads review by Nursebookie on September 15, 2020

A Better Man is both a memoir and a heartfelt letter to comedian Michael Ian Black’s college-bound son Elijah, who is entering adulthood. In this honest, raw and emotional tribute, I was touched as a mother to a teen age son. It was the perfect book to read for me and I cannot help but agree and nod......more

Goodreads review by Aurélien on July 30, 2021

It starts with a school shooting. The mass murderer, as always, was a boy. Michael Black has a boy too -luckily, he was in a different school although in the same city when the shooting happened. Why is it always boys engaging in such senseless violence? Such event triggered him indeed to reflect up......more

Goodreads review by Erin on September 19, 2020

There’s been a lot of talk about toxic masculinity in the past few years, but I hadn’t heard too much on the topic from the male perspective. Michael Ian Black’s book is written as a letter to his teenage son soon off to college. It’s filled with lessons Black has learned over the years (as a young......more

Goodreads review by Dawn on September 15, 2020

A Better Man touches on so many crucial topics: gun violence, toxic masculinity, privilege, racism, sexism, gender, empathy, and more. It’s so important for boys and men to know that playing sports, driving trucks, and/or having big muscles doesn't equate to strength and manhood. Strength, and manhoo......more