The Male Brain: A Breakthrough Understanding of How Men and Boys Think

I retired from being a university faculty in a psychology department and this is one of the books I used in my class on the psychology of women and men...so I know the material very well. Not only does this author's information agree with the research, but she is funny and it is enjoyable to read her stories. She is a medical doctor and researcher in sex and gender...and she is married to a man and they have a girl and a boy. She is open with her personal experiences as well and doing a great job at explaining hard to read empirical research in everyday terms. Students loved and more importantly, learned, from reading this book and its companion, The Female Brain. Find yourself, and your female counterparts through all stages of life and changes.

This will help you better understand the differences between women and men and even little boys and girls. In knowing this, it will help strengthen your relationships.

This was an excellent book. I see many reviewers lamenting the fact that it generalizes and doesn’t outright state that maleness operates on a spectrum. However, I don’t know that it was necessary for her to state this, as it’s just common sense. I read this book with the hope of finding out where some of my instincts, impulses, and thought processes come from, and to find out how “normal“ my experience is. I wasn’t looking to explain away any of my faults or natural inclinations. Rather, I wanted to be aware of the underlying biological reality that is driving much of that. As any human, I have many faults, and I would like to improve upon those shortcomings and rectify those issues. Understanding the underlying biochemistry driving much of that can - while not justifying it - help alleviate some of the guilt that can only serve as a hindrance to bringing any of that to fruition. If I buy a car that has a tendency to veer to the left, I can either say, “well, that’s how my car is” and run into a lot of trees and get in a lot of accidents, winding up in a location that I didn’t intend to go , or I can compensate by actively steering a bit to the right and keeping my car and course and in the direction that I want to head. This book serves to help me realize how my brain steers me in certain directions, some directions in which I didn’t want to go, and, while it didn’t give specific advice on how to compensate for that, allows me to take independent action to counteract some of my natural proclivities that can lead to unintended and undesirable destinations.

Dr. Louann Brizendine has spent the past 26 years studying the differences between the male and female brains (and the hormones and chemicals that drive them). TL;DR: Amazing. This should be required reading for every man, woman, and child (okay, maybe not young children). Note: I'm reading "The Female Brain" by Louann Brizendine next, and I have no reason to doubt that it should be required reading also, especially for the dudes. Gender is a two-way street, people! It wouldn't be fair to only read one half of the story ;) Dr. Louann Brizendine does an amazing job telling the narrative of the male brain as it goes through various stages in life. Every page is rife with scholarly references and notes (fully half of the book is dedicated to notes and books/research that were referenced). While the bulk of the book is notes and references (nearly half of the book, but hey, that means she's got the science to back up just about every statement!), it still manages to deliver a ton of insight and explanation into the inner workings of the male brain. If you're a dude, you'll want to read this to understand your own brain and the brain of your future son if you have one. I found myself nodding and remembering my childhood, adolescence, and now throughout the book. Knowing that a woman understand you and your brain is like hearing a choir of angels getting down. If you're a lady, you'll want to read this before ripping your hair out in frustration at the seemingly inexplicable madness of your crush's/boyfriend's/husband's/son's brain. For the sake of all the men in your life, read this book. Note: The only reason I am not putting it at 5-stars was the shortness of the book. I was hoping for more stories, details, and explanations. A good half of the book is a list of references (not entirely a bad thing though).

Dr. Louann Brizendine’s book, 'The Male Brain', is the latest breakthrough in male psychology and neurology . The author is the founder of the first clinic in the US to study gender differences in brain behavior and hormones. She traces the male brain from inception to adulthood demystifying the inner workings of this brain machine, and providing knowledge and advice to parents and adults. Having had written her first book, 'The Female Brain’ , she now turns her attention to male brains and tries to highlight the differences between the two genders. From early childhood we observe different behavior patterns between little boys and girls. While boys are jumping, screaming and wrestling, we find girls sitting quietly playing house or combing their dolls' hair . What is behind this difference? The author believes the hormone testosterone is the culprit. It is found even in baby boys in small amounts but jumps rapidly to twenty times the original amount during adolescence and puberty and into adulthood. It is in fact the drive behind manhood and is undoubtedly the sign of masculinity . Females too have testosterone but to much lesser levels; they have their own estrogen to cope with. It has been said that 'the male is simple, the female is complex’. While this may be true (considering the female’s child-bearing system) yet, the male’s brain is considered to be a ‘lean, mean problem-solving machine!. Scientists believe that hormones, together with genetics, play a major role in the development of the male brain. As mentioned above, testosterone seems to be the leading hormone behind the male’s masculinity and the one responsible for man’s libido. For sure it is aided by other hormones, in particular vasopressin (enhances masculinity) and oxytocin (which relieves stress and increases bonding) . For the female brain, estrogen, progesterone and oxytocin are the major hormones. In addition to the male hormones mentioned, several other hormones e.g cortisol, dopamine, prolactin and several others, are involved as needed. It is often rumored that the male brain’s overriding goals are power, wealth and sex, and that men are actually run by their libidos. This undoubtedly is the result of the aggressive nature of testosterone, but cultural pressure also plays a role, especially as the man is expected to be the family provider and protector. Yet research shows that the brains of adult men, and of fathers in particular, are profoundly caring and nurturing. So, what does one learn from Dr. Brizendine’s book? It is certaIn that the male brain is significantly different from that of the female. It is beyond doubt that understanding and appreciating the makeup of the male brain would be beneficial to men as well as to women. Studies have shown that many of the conflicts between the two sexes are fueled by the unrealistic expectations on both sides due to misunderstanding the innate differences between the two types of brains. The proof is nowhere as evident as in the alarming rate of divorce in US society. Fuad R Qubein Oct. 2017

Having graduated with a degree in behavioral science in the mid 1970s and several advanced degrees in the early and mid 1980s I recall vividly the dogmatic nonsense that was passed off as science during that era. Doctor Brizendine lightly covers what was believed in the recent past suggesting the advancement knowledge and use of the scientific method progressed understanding to a higher state of awareness. The true of the matter was it was completely apparent at the time that the central theories of the moment were political and had no basis to science expect as a method of giving validity and rationalizations to a purely left wing political set of goals. The stated belief was that people and thereby men and women were essentially born as a piece of blank social clay where society normalizing and more specifically gender socialization resulted in the observed behavior and behavioral differences that poets and writers have for thousands of years defined as human and gender universals. There were no innate characteristics that had hereditary or genetic bases according to this dogma. Marching to this drummer society was essentially reorganized with gender neutral laws, curriculums and institutions to create a gender neutral person and the New Communist Human. If you took a different view and highlighted the obvious absurdity of such notions you where drummed out of academia, and silenced with fanatic and vicious dedication. Hollywood played its part and continues to with the nearly constant portrayal of comely macho women beating up muscular young men as a matter of course. The societal amount damage that this movement of blatantly false ideals did and continues to do is extreme to the level of apocalyptic. The acquiescence of the academic and scientific community for decades to promote politicalized nonsense shows its darker mercenary side. Doctor Brizendine books should be read by every human being and used as the core curriculum in high school and college. The destroyed generations who used the false ideas of the past to try to live there lives and raise their children needs to be brought into the light. If there are those that think this phenomena could never occur again ought to study the Global Warming faction where again the left is promoting what is essential a political movement that they masquerade as science and crush any that oppose its premises with a level of viciousness not to unlike the did during the nature / nurture debate of the 1960s-1990s.

Definitely a good insight on boys and men! This book helps explain some male mysteries I had a hard time understanding!

Engaging, fun-to-read, but less scientific and more "pop" psychology than I expected. I was hoping for a bit of a deeper interpretation of the differences in brain chemistry and more of the complicated factors that causes differences among genders and between men as well. It is presented almost like a stereotype - evidence is geared towards promoting the old notion that men are driven by sex and women by emotional connection. I think she provides an overly simplistic view of how these very complex hormones function and interact with each other, and avoids discussing the key differences between men.