As they transition into adulthood, many American boys and young men spend a considerable amount of time engaging in physical sports, playing violent video games, and watching action movies, including war films. In many cases, boys spend more time exposed to media models than they do with their fathers. If, as social learning theorists say, masculinity is learned directly through a system of positive and negative reinforcement, what manly behaviors do war films clearly define and reinforce? And what un-manly behaviors do war films clearly prohibit? In Reel Men at War: Masculinity and the American War Film, authors Ralph Donald and Karen MacDonald consider the influence that war films bring to bear on the socialization of young boys in America. Analyzing nearly 150 American war films and television programs, this book considers such issues as major male stereotypes—both positive and negative—in film, the influence of sports as an alternate to mortal combat, why men admire war and value winning so highly, and how war films define manly courage. Throughout the book the authors comment on the depiction of post-traumatic stress disorder, the stages of grief, and suicide in war films, as well as applying Jungian and Freudian theories to war and soldiering. Reel Men at War will be of interest not only to professors and students of cinema and mass communications but also to scholars of history, gender studies, and sociology.

Set against the shifting social and political backdrop of a nation throwing off the shackles of one war yet faced with the instability of the new world order, Reel Men probes the concept of 1950s masculinity itself, asking what it meant to be an Australian man at this time. Offering a compelling exploration of the Australian fifties, the book challenges the common belief that the fifties was a 'dead' era for Australian filmmaking. Reel Men engages with fourteen Australian feature films made and released between 1949 and 1962, and examines the multiple masculinities in circulation at this time. Dealing with beloved Australian films like Jedda (1955), Smiley (1956), and The Shiralee (1957), and national icons of the silver screen including Chips Rafferty, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, and Peter Finch, Reel Men delves into our cultural past to dismantle powerful assumptions about film, the fifties, and masculinity in Australia.

After Eric Davis spent over 16 years in the military, including a decade in the SEAL Teams, his family was more than used to his absence on deployments and secret missions that could obscure his whereabouts for months at a time. Without a father figure in his own life since the age of fifteen, Eric was desperate to maintain the bonds he’d fought so hard to forge when his children were young—particularly with his son, Jason, because he knew how difficult it was to face the challenge of becoming a man on one’s own. Unfortunately, Eric learned the hard way that Quality Time doesn’t always show up in Quantity Time. Facebook, television, phones, video games, school, jobs, friends—they all got in the way of a real, meaningful father-son relationship. It was time to take action. As a SEAL, Eric learned to innovate and push boundaries, allowing him to function at levels beyond what was expected, comfortable, ordinary, and even imaginable, and he knew that as a father he needed to do the same with his son. Meeting extreme with extreme was the only answer. Using a unique blend of discipline, leadership, adventure, and grace, Eric and his SEAL brothers will teach you how to connect, and reconnect, with your sons and learn how to raise real men—the Navy SEAL way.

In this world you’re surrounded by sexual images that open the door to temptation. They’re everywhere–on TV, billboards, magazines, music, the internet–and so easy to access that it sometimes feels impossible to escape their clutches. Yet God expects his children to be sexually pure. So how can you survive the relentless battle against temptation? Here’s powerful ammunition. Steve Arterburn and Fred Stoeker, the authors of the hard-hitting best-seller Every Man’s Battle, now focus on the temptations young single Christian men like you face every day–and they offer workable, biblical strategies for achieving sexual purity. The authors examine the standard of Ephesians 5:3–“there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality”–in a positive and sensitive light. And they explain how an authentic, vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ is the key to victory over temptation. Every Young Man’s Battle will show you how to train your eyes and your mind, how to clean up your thought life, and how to develop a realistic battle plan for remaining pure in today’s sexually soaked culture. As a result, you’ll experience hope–real hope–for living a strong, pure life God’s way

"If you're looking for an easy charmer, this is the novel for you."—Shondaland When their foster-turned-adoptive mother suddenly dies, four brothers struggle to keep open the doors of her beloved Harlem knitting shop. Jesse Strong is known for two things: his devotion to his adoptive mom, Mama Joy, and his reputation for breaking hearts. When Mama Joy unexpectedly passes away, he and his brothers have different plans for what to do with Strong Knits, their neighborhood knitting store. Jesse wants to keep the store open. His brothers want to tie off loose ends and close shop.... Part-time shop employee Kerry Fuller has kept her crush on Jesse a secret. When she overhears his impassioned plea to his brothers to keep the knitting shop open, she volunteers to help. Unlike Jesse, Kerry knows the “knitty-gritty” of the business, and together they make plans to reinvent Strong Knits for a new generation. But the more time they spend together, the stronger the chemistry builds between them. Kerry, knowing Jesse’s history, doesn’t believe their relationship can last longer than she can knit one, purl two. But Jesse is determined to prove to her that he can be the man for her forever and always. After all, real men knit.

Updated for a new generation, a resource for overcoming sexual temptation shares the stories of men who have escaped sexual immorality and offers a practical plan for achieving sexual integrity.