Boyishness in American Culture: The Charms and Dangers of Social Immaturity

This study examines social immaturity in American culture, describing both its charms and the dangers implicit in the inadequacy of manliness. It argues the paradox of American culture by drawing from the disciplines of literature, history and psychology, and from classical sources. The book identifies feminism as the movement with the potential to stimulate change, and, arguing that "our dreamy, drifting culture throws off dangerous, drifting dreamers", it shows that American culture produces the kind of men who shoot presidents, but also men who sometimes become president.