In this deeply learned book, poet and translator Robert Bly offers nothing less than a new vision of what it is to be a man.Bly's vision is based on his ongoing work with men and reflections on his own life. He addresses the devastating effects of remote fathers and mourns the disappearance of male initiation rites in our culture. Finding rich meaning in ancient stories and legends, Bly uses the Grimm fairy tale "Iron John," in which the narrator, or "Wild Man," guides a young man through eight stages of male growth, to remind us of archetypes long forgotten-images of vigorous masculinity, both protective and emotionally centered.Simultaneously poetic and down-to-earth, combining the grandeur of myth with the practical and often painful lessons of our own histories, Iron John is a rare work that will continue to guide and inspire men-and women-for years to come.

A critically acclaimed poet examines what it means to be a man and offers men advice on how to mourn for the remoteness of their biological fathers and embrace new role models. Reprint. 40,000 first printing.

An old man is dying. When the old man is dead they will come for him. And they will come for her, to make him hurt. John Hart has written three New York Times bestsellers and won an unprecedented two back-to-back Edgar Awards. His books have been called "masterful" (Jeffery Deaver) and "gripping" (People) with "Grisham-style intrigue and Turow-style brooding" (The New York Times). Now he delivers his fourth novel—a gut-wrenching, heart-stopping thriller no reader will soon forget. HE WOULD GO TO HELL At the Iron Mountain Home for Boys, there was nothing but time. Time to burn and time to kill, time for two young orphans to learn that life isn't won without a fight. Julian survives only because his older brother, Michael, is fearless and fiercely protective. When tensions boil over and a boy is brutally killed, there is only one sacrifice left for Michael to make: He flees the orphanage and takes the blame with him. TO KEEP HER SAFE For two decades, Michael has been an enforcer in New York's world of organized crime, a prince of the streets so widely feared he rarely has to kill anymore. But the life he's fought to build unravels when he meets Elena, a beautiful innocent who teaches him the meaning and power of love. He wants a fresh start with her, the chance to start a family like the one he and Julian never had. But someone else is holding the strings. And escape is not that easy. . . . GO TO HELL, AND COME BACK BURNING The mob boss who gave Michael his blessing to begin anew is dying, and his son is intent on making Michael pay for his betrayal. Determined to protect the ones he loves, Michael spirits Elena—who knows nothing of his past crimes, or the peril he's laid at her door— back to North Carolina, to the place he was born and the brother he lost so long ago. There, he will encounter a whole new level of danger, a thicket of deceit and violence that leads inexorably to the one place he's been running from his whole life: Iron House. Now with an excerpt of John Hart's next book The Hush, available in February 2018.

The 25th anniversary edition of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller, with a new afterword by the author--which offers a new vision of what it is to be a man In this timeless and deeply learned classic, poet and translator Robert Bly offers nothing less than a new vision of what it means to be a man. Bly's vision is based on his ongoing work with men, as well as on reflections on his own life. He addresses the devastating effects of remote fathers and mourns the disappearance of male initiation rites in our culture. Finding rich meaning in ancient stories and legends, Bly uses the Grimm fairy tale "Iron John"-in which a mentor or "Wild Man" guides a young man through eight stages of male growth-to remind us of ways of knowing long forgotten, images of deep and vigorous masculinity centered in feeling and protective of the young. At once down-to-earth and elevated, combining the grandeur of myth with the practical and often painful lessons of our own histories, Iron John is an astonishing work that will continue to guide and inspire men-and women-for years to come.

Hammering Hot Iron is a rare work that raises important questions, draws vital distinctions, and elevates discourse within the spiritual community on the Men's Movement, Jungian psychology, archetypal and mythological studies, and polytheistic religions. Drawing on the perennial philosophy, the universal expression of absolute truth, Upton offers a metaphysical and cultural critique of Robert Bly's Iron John. Upton adopts Bly's shadow in the Jungian sense. His intellectual argument is masterfully intertwined with his own personal and spiritual journey, often expressed through original poetry. "The book is excellent. Upton's insights have exposed the shallow philosophical thinking associated with the Men's Movement, the inadequacy of polytheism as a religious faith, and the bias against Christianity. Hammering Hot Iron does a splended job of critiquing Jungian writers and in showing there is more to God than the archetype of God in the psyche. Thank you for your excellent work in setting the record straight " -- John A. Sanford, Jungian analyst "Charles Upton provides a long-overdue masterful critique of the Men's Movement, its popularizing heroes, and the archetypal psychology on which it is based. In this marvelously iconoclastic book, Upton articulates the feelings and thoughts of those who have left the movement or are wondering why they are still part of it. He does so with eloquence, wit, and not least, wisdom. --Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D., author of Voices on the Threshold of Tomorrow and Structures of Consciousness Charles Upton is a poet, social activist, and writer of the spiritual path. He is author of many other books published by Sophia Perennis

With help of Iron John, the wild man of the forest who is under a curse, a young prince makes his way in the world and finds his true love.