The Menstuff® library lists pertinent books concerning
fathers, gay fathers or
gay children and stepfathers. Books on
fathers & daughters,
fathers & sons and fathers-single
are listed separately. See also Books on children,
circumcision, communication,
divorce-general, families,
marriage, parenting-general,
parenting-single, relationship,
ritual-initiation, sexism,
sex roles, sexuality-general
and Issues on circumcision,
fathers &
daughters, fathers
& sons. fathers
stories, sexuality-general,
tv violence.
Photos above are from left to right by Amanda Currey, George
Silk, Matsuzaki, Dorien Grunbaum, Bruce Davidson, J. H. Lartigue,
Charles Biasiny Rivera, Georg Oddner, Guy Gillette, Howard Sochurek,
David Strickler, Jill Freedman, Bob Willoughby, James H. Baker, Burk
Uzzle, Bruce Davidson, and Donald McCullin from The
Family of Children.
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Fathers (See also gay fathers or gay children or stepfathers)
Fatherhood: Insight and wisdom from
Great American Fathers. American Heritage magazine
introduces a collection of inspiring and thoughtful quotations
that celebrates fathers throughout American history. The quotes
included in this compilation feature famous men offering advice to
their sons and daughters remembering their own fathers, and
refleciting on parenthood, marriage, and family life - universal
words of wisdom that have been passed down through generations of
fathers to their children. Exploring such topics as growing up,
choosing a career, and starting a family, the men in these pages
share words of guidance, encouragement, and advice. Whether witty,
wise, or nostalgic, the reflections in this book will be cherished
by fathers and children alike. Triumph, 1999
ISBN 1-57243-326-4 Buy
this book!
I Love You Daddy! and 
I Love You...Grandpa! Giant Coloring and Activity Books.
Get both books and spend some time with Daddy and with Grandpa and
show them how much you love them. There are lots of pages for you
to color and complete with them. Modern Pubishing, www.modernpublishing.com,
2006, ISBN 0-7666-2226-6 
and ISBN 0-7666-2227-4 
Barron, James Douglas, She's Had a Baby -
and I'm Having a Meltdown: What every new father needs
to know about marriage, sex and diapers. She's had a baby,
you're a daddy - now what? Finally, here's a funny,
down-to-earth book that will help a man: juggle his
work and home lives, alter his lifestyle without losing his male
identity, keep the zip in his marriage and sex life, have a more
adventurous life with his baby. In humorous, bite-size entries,
the author helps a new father establish a strong tie with his
child and share the joys of watching his baby grow into a toddler.
William Morrow, www.williammorrow.com
1999 ISBN 0-688-16823-X Buy
this book!
Baylies, Peter with Jessica Toonkel, The
Stay-at-Home Dad Handbook. Man-friendly, pracatical, and
perfect for experienced stay-at-home dads as well as new parents
weighing their childcare options, this handbook tackles head-on
the issues fathers face when they become primary caregivers.
Living comfortably on one income, leaving the job identity behind,
cleaning the house efficiently, and networking in a
female-oriented community can be challenging for a new father, and
these creative anecdotes offer supportive and effective advice to
help stay-at-home dads successfully deal with the psychological
issues and everyday occurrences that make their parenting
situation unique. This advice-oriented guide also includes an
extensive resource section listing books, newsletters, online chat
groups, playgroups around the country, stay-at-home dad
organizations, and other networking opportunities. Chicago Review
Press, www.ipgbook.com, 2004,
ISBN 1-55652-534-6
(See Peter's
Column.)
Berube, Michael, Life As We Know It: A
father, a family and an exceptional child. We Americans argue
about representations all the time: the representation of poor
people in Congress, of Arabs in Disney movies, of
African-Americans in the wake of the O.J. trial, of
African-Americans who aren't represented by the best lawyers money
can buy. Representations matter. Our world is that which our eyes
and ears half create and half perceive; and it is because of this
that we need to deliberate the question of how we will represent
the range of human variations to ourselves. How we understand
people with Down Syndrome will become part of what it means to
have Down syndrome. In these pages the author has tried to
represent his son James to the best of his ability. Nothing he
writes will redraw a political district nor change the chemical
composition of Jamie's cells. His job, for now, is to represent
his son, to set his place at our collective table. But he knows he
is merely trying his best to prepare for the day Jamie sets his
own place. For he has no sweeter dream than to imagine that Jamie
will someday be his own advocate, his own author, his own best
representative. Pantheon Books, 1996 www.randomhouse.com
Blankenhorn,
David, Fatherless in America: Confronting our most
urgent social problem. The United States is becoming an
increasingly fatherless society. A generation ago, an American
child could reasonably expect to grow up with his or her father.
Today, an American child can reasonably expect not to.
Fatherlessness is now approaching a rough parity with fatherhood
as a defining feature of American childhood. The astonishing fact
is reflected in many statistics, but here are the two most
important. Tonight, about 40 percent of American children will go
to sleep in homes in which their fathers do not live. Before they
reach the age of eighteen, more than half of our nation's children
are likely to spend at least a significant portion of their
childhood's living apart from their fathers. Never before have so
many children grown up without knowing what it means to have a
father. If this book could be distilled into one sentence, it
would be this: A good society celebrates the ideal of
the man who puts his family first. Because our society is now
lurching in the opposite direction, the good family man is the
principal casualty of today's weakening fatherhood script.
HarperPerennial, 1996, www.harpercollins.com
Brandenburg, Mark, 25 Secrets of
Emotionally Intelligent Fathers. Fathers today are faced with
far greater pressures than they have ever had before. Both work
and home life for fathers are being experienced as more stressful.
The ability of fathers to maintain close and connected
relationships with their children in this environment is often
compromised. This booklet contains information and action steps
that will allow you to become a more effective father with your
kids. It will show you many of the ways that we can help to
develop happy, healthy, and productive kids. It will also show you
that the journey of a father is really about developing yourself.
The skills you learn to be an effective father are the same skills
that make you a more effective person in your everyday life.
Self-published, 2003, Mark Brandenburg, www.markbrandenburg.com
or mark@markbrandenburg.com
Bronson, PO & Ashley Merryman,
Nurture Shock: New thinking about children. The
authors have written what is destined to become one of the most
provocative and influential books about children of our time. The
force and wisdom of these award-winning journalists' work have
been apparent since the publication of their cover story "The
Inverse Power of Praise" in New York magazine. Literally
overnight, parents changed how they talked to children. Schools
assigned the article as homework for teachers, while business
leaders discussed how it would change the way they rewarded
employees. Over 1,000 bloggers typed away, while legislators and
religious leaders considered how the article could transform the
larger society. But the authors' insight on praise is just part of
the first chapter of this book. There are nine more equally
groundbreaking chapters after that. A MUST READ for every
parent, teacher and administrator. Plus, even if you don't fit
into any of these categories, it's exploration can benefit us all.
Hachette Audio version, www.hachetteaudio.com,
2009 Audio format ISBN 978-1-60024-840-5
Also in book form.
Brott, Armin and Jennifer Ash, The Expectant
Father: Facts, tips, and advice for dads-to-be,
Abbeville Press www.abbeville.com
1995
Brott, Armin, The New
Father: A dad's guide to the first year. An
indispensable, month-by-month handbook on all aspects of
fatherhood during the first year. Incorporating the author's and
other fathers' personal experiences, as well as the advice of top
researchers in the parenting field, this book offers invaluable
information and practical tips on such issues as: Charting the
baby's physical, intellectual, verbal and social development.
Understanding your own emotional and psychological development.
Analyzing the baby's temperament. Choosing the right life
insurance policy. Dealing with change in your relationship with
your partner. Becoming an involved father when you see your baby
for only a short time after work every day. Juggling your work and
family roles. Introducing the baby to music, reading and yes, even
computers. Abbeville Press www.abbeville.com
1997. 2nd Edition, 2004, ISBN 0-7892-0815-6 
Brott, Armin, A Dad's Guide to the
Toddler Years, The New Father. An essential handbook on all
aspects of fatherhood during the second and third years by the
author of several other best-selling books on fathering.
Incorporating the author's and other fathers' personal
experiences, as well as the advice of top researchers in
theparenting field, this book offers invaluable information and
practical tips n such issues as: Charting your toddler's
physical, intellectual , verbal, and social development.
Understanding your own emotional and psychological development.
Playing games, reading, and yes, cooking with your toddler.
Choosing the right preschool. Improving communication with your
partner. Famly planning. Teaching your toddler about money. Tuning
up your finances. Illustrated with cartoons that will make eve the
most harried father chuckle, this is an indispensable sourcebook
for every day. Moms are sure to find it a valuable reference as
well. Abbeville Press www.abbeville.com
1998 ISBN 0-7892-0396-0 Buy
This Book!
Brown, H Jackson, Jr, Life's Little Treasure Book on
Fathers. We all have need of a loving and devoted father. A
father is a role model, an example, a teacher, an advisor, "a
banker provided by nature," a safety net to allow us to fly freely
and unafraid. We might even be tempted to idealize our father as
did a seven-year-old who described his father as "stronger than
Superman and funnier than Big Bird." In this tribute to fathers,
the author warms your heart with reflections on fatherhood, a
condition that makes a man "one with all men in a way that fills
him with warmth and harmony." Rutledge Hill Press 1998 Buy
This Book!
Brown, Mason, Breathe: A guy's
guide to pregnancy. Finally, a book for guys that solves the
riddles of pregnancy. Do you think that newborn babies can eat
Doritos? That they can't cream very loudly since they just
have tiny little baby lungs? That you will still be able to
golf on weekends after your baby is born? If so, you
need this book! It takes guys misstep-by-misstep
through the satages of pregnancy and the early days of childhood.
Considered by many to be the unofficial pregnancy handbook for the
NBA, it is filled with useful tips like: Never use a
gynecologist whose Medical School Diploma has palm trees on the
side. Pre-natal music: Mozart yes, Wagner, No! Child experts
from all over the world agree - if you're a first time father,
drop your baby and pick up this book! The author of "Who Cut the
Cheese?" www.passthecigars.com
Simon & Schuster, www.simonsays.com
2002. ISBN 0-7432-1970-8 Buy
this book!
Brown, Ron, My Father has Left Me and I'm
About to Go Off! A guide to raising a young
son. Black males are under assault from many sources.. Not
that this news is new. Whether listening to the evening news or
remembering the lost sons of family and friends, the impact of the
loss of so many of our young men to jail or the grave is
devastating to the African American community. With the
emasculating effect on men and the disproportionate burden placed
on women in the Black community, it is easy to see the problem,
but where are the solutions? This book addresses the loss of black
fathers in our communities. It speaks of anger, despair and
isolation that is part of the lives of many black youths who live
in female run households. And it tells the story of how one young
boy transcended those feelings to find hope, redemption and new
directions, finding his own soul and letting it soar.
Four-G Publishers 1999 ISBN 1885066597 Buy
This Book!
Bryan, Mark, The Prodigal Father: Reuniting fathers
with their children with a special section for mothers. Father
absence is at the core of problems in American society today, with
untold consequences for children, including violence, diminished
school performance and depression. It also places an unfair burden
on mothers. It is meant to help and heal the whole family. Written
from the perspective of a man who both lost and regained his
position in his son's life, this book maps the process of
estrangement and the route to reunion. Grounded in a decade of
work in adult education, and his work as a counselor with troubled
teens as well as his history as a teen father, an estranged father
and finally a reunited father allow him to know the problems of
father absence inside out. Three Rivers Press www.randomhouse.com
1998 ISBN 0-517-70617-2 Buy
This Book!
Canfield, Jack, Chicken Soup for the
Father's Soul. Over 60,000,000 copies of the various editions
of Chicken Soul for the Soul series have been sold in the
last eight years. Finally, on May 17, 2001, Health Communications
introduced the first of the series for men called Chicken Soup
for the Father's Soul. The mere word, fatherhood, is a
word that often invokes images of protector, provider and purveyor
of wisdom and seldom evokes warm images of comforter, nurturer,
healer and giver of unconditional love as motherhood does.
But a father's love is just as strong and reliable, yet oftentimes
it is misundersootd. This book is meant to help capture that
elusive essence of the man that can be a teacher of life's
greatest lessons. Each story is about someone who was touched and
transformed by fatherhood. And the stories will reveal that a
father's love is indeed unconditional - it's just a different
flavor than a mother's. This edition tackles all aspects of being
a dad - the humorous, funny things we do to impress our dads, like
"My First Fish Story" from Jay Leno; the advice on sharing
responsibilities with your wife like in Bill Cosby's "Play It as
it Lays;" or when fathering requires restraint in
"Warning: An American Teenager is Loose in Europe," by
Dave Barry. This book is sure to delight all family members in the
same spirit as the rest of the series. Health Communications,
www.hci-online.com or
www.chickensoup.com 2001.
ISBN: 1-55874-894-6 Buy
This Book!
Carnoy, Martin & David, Fathers of a Certain Age: The joys
& problems of middle-aged fatherhood. As patterns of
family and work have changed over the last few decades, the
decision to have children has often been delayed. Recent Census
data show that more and more men in their forties and fifties are
having children - either for the first time or in second families.
In this book and father and son interview dozens of these fathers,
exploring how they feel about parenting small children in late
middle age. As they talk with fathers from all over the
country,and with their wives and children as well, the authors ask
question s at the heart of the issues. Do older fathers, secure in
their careers and ready to make time for family, make better
fathers? Or is parenting, with the energy and stamina it
requires, best left to the young? Is the threat of an
older father dying earlier in a child's life more or less valid
than the treat that a younger father will be divorced from the
child's mother and leave the family? Is an older father, more
stable financially, better able to provide for a child? Or
does he risk trying to finance his retirement and a college
education at he same time? The answers to these
questions - searching, honest, and sometimes surprising - are
combined here with an examination of the social and economic
pressures facing older fathers, and the personal adjustments that
they and their families must make. The result is an evenhanded
assessment of the challenges and rewards of older fathering that
will reassure anyone contemplating or coping with having children
in late middle age. Faber & Faber, 1995
ISBN 0-571-19859-7 Buy
This Book!
Colman, Arthur & Libby, Earth Father, Sky
Father: The changing concept of fathering,
Prentice-Hall, 1981
Colman, Arthur & Libby, The
Father: Mythology and Changing Roles, Chiron,
1988
Davis, Ian, My Boys Can Swim! The
official guy's guide to pregnancy. Finally, a pregnancy book
that won't put men to sleep. This tells real men everything they
really want to know about pregnancy, such as: How much is it
going to cost? Why does your wife primp before seeing her
doctor when she hasn't put a stitch of make-up on for you in
months? And, most important, what's it going to do to your
sex life? This rollicking, laugh-out-loud book is for
expectant dads in search of bottom-line pregnancy information,
without all that boring touchy-feely stuff you find in those books
written for women. Inside you'll discover helpful - and hilarious
- information and insights on such topics as: The
Maternity Wardrobe: A key part of the maternity wardrobe is
maternity underwear - parachute-like big enough to fit an NFL
defensive lineman. The Birth: No one told me it's normal that
babies' heads can be misshapen at birth. I was convinced my wife
gave birth to Veldar, the conehead. And much more. Prima
Publishing, www.primalifestyles.com
1999 ISBN 0-7615-2167-4 Buy
this book!
Doll, Pancho, Day Trips with a
Splash: The swimming holes of California. Secluded
waterfalls, remote two-person tubs, hidden pools, all of them at
least six feet deep. All are in creeks and rivers less than three
hours from the trailhead. None have any man-made structures
visible from them. Privacy is listed for each entry along with
icons indicating the best season to visit, the difficulty of
approach, and the overall rating, whether fair, good, excellent or
classic. Dog owners can tell at a glance if four-legged hikers are
appropriate. Families with small children can easily determine if
the journey is a good one for the little dippers. Topographic maps
for each hole are annotated with coordinates so GPS users will
finally have some routes they can program into their navigation
units. Severe techno-dweebs can even download the waypoints from
our website. Navigation nerds aside, anyone with a home computer
can copy a map and direction for printout at home - way more
convenient than lugging the whole book into the hills when you're
only using two pages. Hiking for its own sake is fine. It's great.
But wouldn't you rather have a hike with an objective? This
book tells you the best places to go...and where not to go. The
back of each chapter has a "Why Bother" section listing
places that aren't worth your time. Afterall there are only 55
hours until Monday. Might as well make the weekend count. Running
Water Press www.running-water.com
1997 ISBN 0-9657686-4-3 Buy
this book!
Downey, Peter, So You're Going to be a
Dad. This book is a great way to laugh your way to fatherhood.
This practical paperback holds no punches but also squarely
delivers the goods, which are, after all, parenting of the Male
variety. A wonderful description of the reasons the author wrote
the book emblazons the back cover: "He wrote this book because he
believes somebody should warn dads-to-be about the enormous
changes fatherhood will bring to their lives. He also wrote this
book because he believes that our society needs more good dads."
It achieves its goals through humour, solid information, and
practical details. Its tone is unflinching. From morning sickness
(after sex and its side effects) to Labor to surviving at home,
there is something of interest for every man who will become a
father. The book ends with anecdotes from friends who became
fathers sharing their experiences. Best advice? Don't forget your
wife. Get all the help you can. Keep trying, it's worth it. This
is a great baby shower gift for the father to be. Fisher Books,
www.fisherbooks.com 2000
ISBN: 1-55561-241-5 Buy
this book!
Downey, Peter, Dads, Toddlers and the
Chicken Dance. Fatherhood was never so funny! In
his hilarious no-nonsense style, the author guides the common man
through his baby's transformation into a creature known as
toddlerus destructivus. Get the low-down on all the thrills and
chills of raising a toddler, including: baby-sitting, nutrition,
money, common sicknesses, lawnmowers, television, speech
development, toddler-proofing your home, spanking, tantrums,
bedtime, toilet-training, choosing a preschool, parental sanity,
birthday parties, contraception, bathtime, the chicken dance,
vasectomies, and, of course, lots of stuff about sex. But wait,
there's more. Complete with a glossary loaded with vital
information, plus a collection of witty, side-splitting cartoons
and a free set of steak knives. Fisher Books, www.fisherbooks.com
2000 ISBN 1-55561-242-3 Buy
this book!
Du Pre, Jon, The Prodigal
Father: A true story of tragedy, survival and reconciliation
in an American family. This is a story of how one American
family turned its bright expectations into crushing disappointment
and then, ultimately, victory of spirit. The family's story is
told by the middle of three children. As he comes of age he lives
out his boyhood dreams. He marries a beauty queen. He and his wife
have two health children. He becomes a successful television
newscaster in a major city and builds his young family's dream
house. Unbeknownst to anyone but him, something is wrong. Fear and
rage from his childhood have lingered, and threatened to destroy
the seemingly perfect life he has created. He makes a terrifying
pivotal decision - to seek out the cause of his confusion and
bitterness. He must descent into the foreboding other world of
homelessness to find the man who abandoned him and his brothers 21
years earlier. Through determination and ingenuity, he finds his
father and brings him to account. The discovery that arises from
their confrontation enables him to forgive his father, to be freed
from the shackles of his past and to return to his family ready at
last to be the husband and father he aspired to be. Hay House,
2000. ISBN 1-56170-674-4 Buy
this book!
Elium, Jeanne & Don, Raising a
Family: Living on planet parenthood, Celestial
Arts, 1997
Erickson, Beth, Longing for Dad: Father loss and its
impact, Health Communications, www.hci-online.com
1998
Evans, John, Marathon
Dad: Setting a pace that works for working fathers.
Every man who struggles to balance the responsibilities of being a
good husband, father and professional knows the feeling. You're on
the run from meetings in the boardroom to meetings in the
classroom; from the pediatrician's office to the boss's office;
you have to juggle toys and files, children and clients. And the
consequences of choosing one aspect over another can pile guilt
upon panic upon exhaustion. But now there's help. Here is the
first book written especially for the Marathon Dad. The author
shows how to establish realistic priorities, manage time
effectively, and communicate clearly - the keys to enjoying your
roles as a worker and as a husband and parent. It helps you answer
questions that plaque all working parents: How can I be
in two places at once? How can I do my best at two
conflicting tasks? How can I love two things equally?
Marathon Dads can have the best of all worlds. At last, here's a
book that's full of down-to-earth advice to show you exactly how
it's done. Avon Books www.AvonBooks.com
1998 ISBN 0-380-97520-3 Buy
this book!
Exley, Helen, Dads... A beautful little
book about fathers, quotes from Francis Darwin to Nancy Sinatra,
honoring the flesh and bones. Exley Publications, 1997
ISBN 1-85015-791-X Buy
This Book!
Fagan, Jay, & Alan J. Hawkins, Clinical and Educational
Interventions with Fathers. No man wants to be a bad father.
Nevertheless, many men in our culture do not know how to care for
the children they beget. Trapped by stereotypes of false
masculinity and lacking positive role models, they find themselves
trying to do the challenging work of fatherhood without the
necessary resources, information or support. This book offers
positive approaches to helping men become responsible fathers,
including: Helping fathers manager anger. Training staff to
recognize and respond to fathers' unique needs. Developing
therapeutic support groups for African-American men. Designing
special techniques and programs to help fathers in prison and in
other challenging circumstances. Offering Web-based support for
fathers. Finding legal tools to support noncustodial fathers'
desires to stay connected to their children. By offering positive,
tested ways to help men become responsible fathers, this book will
help you improve their lives and the lives of their sons and
daughters. Haworth Clinical Practice Press, www.haworthpressinc.com,
2001 ISBN 0-7890-1238-3 Buy
This Book!
Farrell, Warren, Father and Child
Reunion: How to bring the dads we need to the children we
love. This book demolishes conventional wisdom about the
nature of fatherhood and shows how the courts, media and
government create a vast array of subtle, immensely powerful
undercurrents that separate men from their children. Anyone who
cares about fatherhood and parenting, anyone interested in the
legal and emotional issues that divide fathers from children,
anyone viewing fatherhood from the perspective of a journalist,
social worker or lawmaker, and especially any single, married or
divorced parent needs to read this thoughtful and challenging
book. For all of its explosive conclusions, it ultimately calls
for a rejoining of families and of children with parents who can
care for them. The author has written what may be the most
significant book on perhaps the most important issue facing men,
parents and families today. www.warrenfarrell.com.
Jeremy P Tarcher, www.penguinputnam.com,
2001 ISBN 1-58542-075-1 
Feller, Robyn M., The Essence of
Fathers.Celebrate the love and essence of fathers with this
collection of personal stories, folktales, and fatherly wisdom.
Andrews McMeel Publishing, www.andrewsmcmeel.com,
2000, ISBN 0-7407-0538-5 Buy
This Book!
Friel, John & Linda, The 7 Worst Things
Parents Do. The authors offer you an enormously readable and
infinitely practical book that examines the seven most ineffective
and self-defeating behaviors that parents display again and again,
with suggestions on how you, the parent, can change those
behaviors immediately. Working from the idea that even small
changes can have big results, the authors give practical,
easy-to-implement steps that you can take to end self-defeating
behaviors and markedly improve the quality of your parenting.
Whether you are contemplating starting a family, have children who
have not yet entered school, are raising elementary-school
students, are struggling with rebellious teenagers, or are an
empty-nester wondering how you can be a better parent to your
grown children, you cannot afford not to read this book. Health
Communications, 1999 ISBN 1-55874-668-4 Buy
This Book
Gerard, Andre,
Fathers: A literary Anthology. This is a 432 page
collection of 49 essays and poems focusing on fathers. With
personal essays and poems by 5 Nobel laureates, 7 Pulitzer
winners, and writers such as Angela Carter, Thomas Hardy, Franz
Kafka. Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje and Virginia Woolf, the
anthology is full of wit, wisdom and insight. To read authors such
as James Baldwin, Annie Dillard, Doris Lessing, Sharon Olds, and
Philip Roth as they explore aspects of their fathers is to open
maps of possibility. Patremoi Press, patremoirpress.com,
2011, ISBN 978-0-9865554-0-4 
Glennon, Will, Best
Things Fathers Do: Ideas and advice from real world dads.
Explore the joys, challenges, and surprises of fathering with a
dad who really knows this stuff. These days dads are more involved
than ever in the care, teaching, and rearing of their children -
and it's time they had a road map. This is it - packed with short
essays based on the author's experience and wise advcice from real
dads across the country on everything from modeling to setting
boundaries to raising self-esteem and emotional intelligence. This
book gives dads the tools they need to build close, powerful
relationships with their children - and have fun doing it. Conari
Press, www.redwheelweiser.com,
2008, ISBN 978-1-57324-355-1 
Glennon, Will, The Collected Wisdom of
Fathers: Creating loving bonds that last a lifetime.
Becoming a father is one of the most difficult yet rewarding
experiences a man can have during his lifetime. This book provides
a road map for this important and life-changing journey. The
bestselling author interviewed more than 100 fathers to discover
the most important lessons they've learned, from how to really
listen to children to how to stay connected with them even when
working long hours or traveling. It is full of true stoires and
suggestions that provide fathers with the essential tools and
advice they need in order to develop strong, healthy relationships
with their kids. It's fathering from the heart. Conari Press,
www.conari.com, 2002, ISBN 1-57324-814-2 Buy
This Book!
Goldman, Marcus Jacob, The Joy of
Fatherhood: The first twelve months. This revised edition
is for today's dad, touching on timely and relevant subjects from
pre-natal care through year one of being a dad. Whether detecting
an infant's illnesses, assessing a baby's development, or learning
appropriate play with the newest member of the family, the author
takes a down-to-earth, month-by-month tour of the first year of
daddy's new life. Written for dads by a dad, the author applies
his fathering experience and medical knowledge to cover all of the
basics - from changing a diaper to feeding your baby, from packing
a diaper bag to choosing the right babysitter - and enlightens you
on hundreds of subjects including important physical, emotional,
health, and developmental milestones for your baby, identifying
the feelings often experienced by new dads, and how to cope with
them, maintaining a healthy relationship with your partner through
your new experiences, and much more. Written to fit in the busy
lives of new fathers, this book is a concise, practical guide
loaded with essential tips, in-depth analyses, and important
checklists. Full of valuable information, refreshing humor, and
priceless wisdom, it is sure to enhance the joys of fatherhood.
Prima Publishing, www.primalifestyles.com
2000 ISBN 0-7615-2424-X Buy
this book!
Gordon, Barry, Your Father, Your Self: How sons and
daughters can understand and heal their relationships with their
fathers, Birch Lane Press, 1996
Granger, Stacey, The Portable
Father: Advice, encouragement & friendly
reminders from dad. More than 300 bits of wisdom, advice and
instruction make this a book that will bring back many warm,
funny, memories of childhood. For most of us, Dad always seemed to
be the biggest and most wonderful person we knew, looming almost
larger than life. As the man who protected and loved us, he was
also the source of wisdom we just knew must be important. Now that
we're grown and gone and Dad can't be with us all the time, this
book allows us to take him with us wherever we go. Cumberland
House, 1997
Green, Maureen, Fathering: A new look at the
creative art of being a father, McGraw Hill, 1976
Gurian, Michael, Nurture the Nature: Understanding and
supporting your child's unique core personality. This book
argues that children are born with unique needs, strengths,
vulnerabilities, and learning styles. Drawing on twenty-five years
of academic research and clinical field study, the author provides
readers with stage-by-stage developmental tools for understanding
their child's one-of-a-kind genetic predisposition. Wiley,
www.josseybass.com, 2009
ISBN 978-0-470-32252-9 
Gurian, Michael, The Wonder of Boys: What parents,
mentors and educators can do to shape boys into exceptional
men. Parenting boys has always held special challenges. Today,
the decline of traditional families, shifting values, the lure of
gangs, the loss of positive male role models, and the widespread
depiction of irresponsible sexuality can all lure boys away from
the direction in which we hope they will grow. In this insightful
and practical book, the author describes what boys need to become
strong, responsible, sensitive men. It offers a concrete plan that
begins at home, but extends deep into the community. The author
has the courage to advocate for moral and spiritual values, for
teaching boys about sex and love, and finally for a new male model
of "husbandry," not just of family, but also of the comity and the
earth. Tarcher/Putnam, www.putnam.com
1996 ISBN 0-87477-8341-X Buy
this book!
Hamilton, Arthur, Father Behind
Bars: A story of responsibility that affects
everyone in America. Born into Detroit's recession-gripped
ghettos and into a family torn apart by abuse and alcoholism, the
author seemed almost destined to lead a life of crime and
incarceration. Currently serving combined sentences of 37 to 65
years for armed robbery and manslaughter, he has had plenty of
time to think about his life and his future. And unlike so many of
his fellow convicts, he decided to change. He earned his GED, then
went on to complete a college degree and become a respected
writer, newspaper editor and active member of the NAACP. But his
newfound sense of responsibility and determination did not just
apply to himself. While still in prison, he wrestled custody of
his children away from their drug-addicted mother after many years
of legal battles. He remarried, formed a new family and struggled
to be the father he had never been. He went on to found Fathers
Behind Bars Inc, a non-profit organization designed to help
convict fathers become better parents and to help keep their
children from following in their footsteps - right into the same
prisons their fathers occupy. He is living proof that the human
spirit is stronger than the steel and concrete of the prison walls
that try to contain it. WRC, 1993 ISBN 1-56796-034-0
Buy
this book!
Hamilton, Bruce
Taylor, Brief Messages to Father: Honoring the relationship
between fathers and children of all ages. This collection of
short and remarkable essays illuminates the relationships we have
with our fathers. These messages are to fathers of all makes -
young and old, tender and stern, sportsmen and bookworms -
providing a glimpse into a love that is often difficult to put
into words. These carefully judged letters are contest-winning
entries inspired by the message from a 16th-century samurai that
is now inscribed on a stone at the base of a castle in Maruokacho,
Japan. This book contains humorous, loving and sometimes heart
rending reflections of the love held for fathers. This book opens
the heart and touches the son or daughter in everyone. Gibbs-Smith,
1998 ISBN 0-87905-844-7 Buy
This Book!
Hanson, Bill, A Shoulder to Lean
On: Photographs and essays celebrating fathers and
their children. This book celebrates the unique relationship
between father and child, child and father. The author explores in
photography and essays, the special and enduring bond that ties
father to their children. In these pages, you'll find dads who
have overcome tragedy and injury and distraction in the quest to
be present and vital in the lives of their daughters and sons.
You'll see salaried men and businessmen, professional dads and
artists, whose only common connection is their commitment to
provide, always and everywhere, a strong shoulder for their
children to lean on. The author broadens his inquiry into the
relationship between dads and their children with this book,
bringing a fresh and welcomed focus to men who have bettered
themselves along with their families in a life of fathering.
You'll hear from the fathers and their children, written in their
own words, what it means to forge that special bond between father
and child. This book is a heartfelt tribute to the bonds we build,
the respect we share, and a love that never dies. Get ready to
meet families where, among other things, strong shoulders are
evident. (Ed A profound look at fatherhood - a thing that the
American Psychological Association, through their publication the
American Psychologist, says "aren't essential to the
well-being of children." That's from their June, 1999
issue. Thanks, Hanson, for giving another perspective.) Bright
Books, 1998 ISBN 1-880092-42-5 Buy
this book!
Hanson, Shirley and Frederick Bozett, Dimensions of
Fatherhood, Sage, 1985
Harris, Bud, The Father Quest:
Rediscovering an Elemental Psychic Force. In this book, the
author has carried forward the pioneering work of C. G. Jung in
understanding the role of Father in our society and the world.
Following Eric Neumann's example of clarifying Jung's work for a
broader audience, Harris has brought candor and sensitivity to his
theory of "the Father". He reminds us in the face of present-day
writers who condemn the father principle, citing the misuse and
excesses of the patriarchal powers, that the spirit of fatherhood
first calls us to become competent participants in the world of
the living, to dream, grow and create and to find the unforeseen
potential that lurks within all of us, and bring it forth with
strength and purpose, in a manner than substantiates ourselves and
contributes to culture. Alexander Books, 1996
Hart, John, Becoming a
Father: The real work of a man's soul. The role of
men in the lives of children is in a state of reevaluation. Some
say that the stereotypical breadwinner who leaves home before the
children are awake and returns home after they are in bed in order
to support his family is an anachronism that has damaged millions
of children. Some question whether there is a place in the
development of children for a sex that is biologically programmed
for aggression and competition. What has been lacking is a clear
definition of the role men should play in the lives of children.
Finally, the author has stepped forward to define fatherhood and
to help you understand your importance in the life of your
children. Health Communications, www.bci-online.com
1998. ISBN 1-55874-619-6 Buy
this book!
Hirschfeld, Tom,
Business Dad: How good businessmen can make great
fathers (and vice versa). Businessmen with kids often feel
trapped between rising expectations at work and at home. Although
business demands seem to increase every day, fathers are now
expected - and want - to be involved parents. But there are never
enough hours in the day. What's a business dad to
do? This book addresses the dilemma with surprising
insights and sensible solutions. The author shows how many of the
skills and abilities required to succeed in today's economy - such
as motivation, team building, empathy, negotiation and planning -
can be applied just as successfully to parenting. Businessmen who
leave their corporate skills at the office each evening may
actually be handicapping themselves in the struggle to be more
effective fathers. Work and parenting don't have to be separate,
competing efforts, but instead can help and enrich each other.
Fathering is the most important job a businessman can undertake
and this book is the perfect job manual - filled with lessons from
business history, tips from successful executives and practical
wisdom that could come only from real-life experience. Little,
Brown & Co. www.littlebrown.com
1999 ISBN 0-316-21950-9 Buy
this book!
Hoffman, Edward, The Book of Fathers'
Wisdom: Paternal advice from Moses to Bob Dylan.
Fatherhood is one of life's most joyful and challenging tasks. In
rapidly changing America today, we all want happiness for our
daughters and sons, nieces and nephews. But how can we help them
attain it? What's the best advice we can give
them? This lively and fascinating book recounts the
specific guidance - selected mainly from private letters - of more
than a hundred of history's most famous fathers. Their heartfelt
sentiments on character, education, truth, perseverance, teamwork,
faith, love, happiness are timeless and remain relevant for us
today. This book offers a unique window into fatherhood through
the ages. From biblical patriarchs and Roman statesmen to modern
inventors, philosophers, writers, presidents, and even rock stars,
their recommendation for successful living will surprise - and
delight - all readers. Birch Lane, 1997
Horn, Wade & Jeffrey
Rosenberg, Better Homes & Gardens New Father
Book: What every new father needs to know to be a good
dad, Wade Horn & Jeffrey Rosenberg. Written by
leaders of the National Fatherhood Initiative, this book provides
invaluable information for new fathers and supports the importance
of fatherhood in raising healthy children. Men often feel
sidelined as their wives go through pregnancy, childbirth and
nursing. This book offers a men's guide to pregnancy and
childbirth. It gives practical advice for men about how to care
for an infant. It gives moral support to help men become the best
fathers they can be. And, if provides real-world tips from fathers
on maintaining discipline, love and an all-around positive
influence. Better Homes & Gardens, 1998
ISBN 0-696-20617-X Buy
This Book!
Houser, Patrick, Fathers-To-Be
Handbook: A road map for the transition to
fatherhood. Men becoming fathers today face new challenges as
they increase their involvement in the family and participation in
the birth of their children. Using real stories and solid research
the author provides information, ideas and tools to assist
expectant and new dads in navigating this territory. Men are also
presented with innovative ways to support their partner and child
as the family enters this new phase of life together. www.fatherstobe.org,
Creative Life Systems, 2007, ISBN 978-1-903789-109 
Hutchinson, Earl Ofari, Black Fatherhood: The guide
to male parenting. This is a rare and positive book. It
considers what African-Americans are doing right for a change. It
provides advice and support for Black fathers. This very readable
volume encourages active involvement of fathers with their
children. The author emphasizes the many ways we can support our
children's healthy development without spending a lot of money. It
disputes the many excuses men have offered for noninvolvement and
offers a common sense approach to discipline and education. He
rightly argues that men belong in the home, taking an equal role
with women in homemaking and child care. Impact, 1992
ISBN 1-881032-08-6 Buy
This Book!
Ivey, Mark & Ralph Bond, The
PC Dads Guide to Becoming a Computer-Smart Parent. Do
most 6-year-olds know more about computers than you
do? Forget about your bad experience with high school
algebra...if you can drive a car or use a microwave, you can
operate a PC! Your kids are experts on the computer.
Sophisticated. Inquisitive. Adventurous. That's terrific. But it
can be unnerving if you're being left behind. Now you can move
right along with your children...to supervise them, share quality
time together, and help them develop the skills they need to
thrive in the 21st century. This wonderfully down-to-earth guide,
written by two dads who are also senior managers at Intel, helps
you understand and master the world your kids have been exploring
for years. They have worked with thousands of parents. They don't
care if you don't know a byte from a bit. They've heard all the
questions, anxieties, and doubts that keep you from sitting down
at a keyboard or surfing the Internet. And they know how to help.
So don't wait. Check out the Seven Must-Know PC Terms, the
Five Ways to Make Your PC "Kid-Friendly", get Expert Advice
on Buying the Best Software for Your Family, learn The Secrets of
Shoulder-to-Shoulder Learning, and get Savvy Strategies for
keeping your kids safe on the Internet. Dell Publishing, www.randomhouse.com
1999 ISBN 0-440-50843-6 Buy
this book!
Jarmea, William, Fathering the Next Generation: Men
mentoring men, Crossroads, 1995
Kamm, Bob, Real Fatherhood: The path of
lyrical parenting. Here is a father who. healed his yong son
from stuttering, gained custody without a legal battle, set aside
his major career ambition to place fatherhood first, against the
advice of friends, found ways to sustain a relationship with his
ex-wife in spite of her substance abuse...so his son would know
his mothers, solved a reading "problem: the teachers couldn't,
refused to have a TV in his house till his son was five, sat
quietly while his kid screamed, "I hate you!" with volcanic
fury, wrote him an entire volume of love songs, actually raised a
child capable of resisting candy counters and fast food joints,
walked away from romance for the calmer life of a very single
father, became highly successful in a field he never remotely
considered as a youth, was and is convinced we should and can
spend 20 hours a week working and the rest of our time with our
families. You may adore him. You may be outraged. But you will not
finish this book without learning someting about real fatherhood.
www.kammtown.com or
kammtown@cs.com. 1st Books,
www.1stbooks.com, 2002,
sleonf@aol.com, Book:
ISBN 1-403-30073-9 Buy
This Book! CD:
ISBN: 09300 00672
Kivel, Paul, Boys Will Be Boys: Raising
our sons for courage, caring and community. Young people today
face a world of ever-increasing complexity, alienation and
violence. But our schools and other institutions seem largely
unable to provide them with the skills and understanding they need
to survive, to thrive, and to make a difference. The cycle of
violence and injustice that entraps them will not stop until boys
are raised to become powerful and loving participants in the
struggle to end it. Drawing on his decades of experience as a
social activist and his anti-violence work with men and teens, the
author helps parents and educators grapple with the complex forces
in our sons' lives, including racism, homophobia, pornography,
drugs, class, consumerism, sex and violence. He then provides
practical tools to empower boys to take the courageous step out of
the "act like a man" box to become allies to themselves, each
other, and all those who are vulnerable to violence and injustice
in our society. The end result gives the reader a powerful (if not
scewed-ed) vision of raising our sons to be the critically
thinking, socially-invested men we need for a multicultural and
democratic society. This is essential reading for all parents and
educators determined to provide a positive future for boys
everywhere. New Society Publishers, 1999 ISBN 0-86571-395-2
Buy
this book!
Kiyosaki, Robert, Sharon Lechter, Rich
Dad's Prophecy: Why the biggest stock market crash in history
is still coming...and how you can prepare yourself and profit from
it!. Today millions of people depend on their 401 (k) plans
for their retirement income. Thanks to the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA) employees have been planning
their own retirement finances - and benefiting from the stock
market's historic steady climb. Yet when 401 (k)s first became
popular more than two decades ago, the author predicted grave
financial consequences for the unprepared. Rich dad said, "Pension
reform started by ERISA has flaws, flaws that will not be
realized for years to come." Now the storm clouds have gathered.
Some twenty years after ERISA was signed into law, rich dad's
prophecy has begun to come true. On April 3, 2000, the U.S.
NASDAQ exchange recorded its biggest ever one-day fall. Then
Enron and WorldCom filed two of the largest corporate bankruptcies
in U.S. history, wiping out thousands of jobs and their employees'
hopes. With companies in disarray and an ever volatile stock
market, the author says that the worst is still to come. Be
prepared, and stay ahead of the curve. This book will do more than
convince you of the coming stock market crash. It will show you
how to build your own personal financial ark that will make sure
you not only weather the storm but profit from it. And profit
well. www.richdad.com, Warner
Business Books, www.twbookmark.com,
2002, ISBN 0-446-53086-7 Buy
this book!
Kiyosaki, Robert T., Rich Dad, Poor
Dad. This book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high
income to become rich. Challenges the belief that your house is an
asset. Shows parents why they can't rely on the school system to
teach their kids about money. Defines once and for all an asset
and a liability. And, teaches you what to teach your kids about
money for their future financial success. www.richdad.com.
Time Warner Company, www.twbookmark.com,
2001 ISBN 0-446-61109-3 Buy
this book!
Klatte, William, Live-Away
Dads: Staying a part of your children's lives when they
aren't a part of your home. Parenting can be a challenge, and
when you're a dad who doesn't live with his children, it's
especially difficult. The author is a social worker and
psychotherapist who was a live-away dad to his two daughters.
Using his own story and the skills acquired over twenty-six years
as a family court social worker and men's counselor, the author
shows divorced and separated fathers - and dads who have never
lived with their children - how you can cope with the courts,
handle your own strong emotions, deal with your child's mother,
build a close relationship with your kids and stay meaningfully
involved with them for life. Penguin Book, www.penguinputnam.com
1999 ISBN 0-14-027280-1 Buy
This Book!
LaRossa, Ralph, The Modernization of
Fatherhood: A social and political history. This is an
enlightening documentation of shifts in the social construction of
fatherhood, both as a cultural institution and as an individual
reality. The author's incisive historical analysis of yesterday's
fathers underscores the unevenness of social change, providing a
much-needed platform for understanding the continuing diversity of
both fathers and families. He illuminates the social construction
of our modern ideas about fatherhood with a rare combination of
precision and charm. A masterful account, elegantly written and
thoroughly absorbing, this book deserves to be read by anybody
interested in the American family. University of Chicago Press
1997 Buy
This Book!
Levine, James, Getting Men
Involved: Strategies for early childhood programs,
Scholastics Inc, 1993 (See Family & Work Institute -
212.465.2044 for this and similar publications. www.familiesandwork.org)
7/02
Levine, James, Working Fathers: New
Strategies for Balancing Work & Family. As we near the end
of the 1990's, it becomes increasingly clear that women are not
the only ones faced with the challenges of balancing work and
family. This is a hands-on guide with a proven and effective game
plan to help fathers as well as mothers, employees as well as
managers, succeed in managing the competing demands of home and
work. This shows how work and family are not separate spheres for
men, how getting it right at home actually contributes to
productivity on the job , how father friendliness benefits working
mothers and how forward-looking companies are making their
workplace father friendly for competitive advantage.
Addison-Wesley www.aw.com/gb or
levineja@aol.com or
tpittinsky@aol.com
Hardback version. 1997 Buy
This Book!
Levine, James, Working Fathers: New
strategies for balancing work & family. As we near the end
of the 1990's, it becomes increasingly clear that women are not
the only ones faced with the challenges of balancing work and
family. This is a hands-on guide with a proven and effective game
plan to help fathers as well as mothers, employees as well as
managers, succeed in managing the competing demands of home and
work. This shows how work and family are not separate spheres for
men, how getting it right at home actually contributes to
productivity on the job , how father friendliness benefits working
mothers and how forward-looking companies are making their
workplace father friendly for competitive advantage.
A Harvest Book/Harcourt Brace & Co. Author's
levineja@aol.com or
tpittinsky@aol.com
Paperback version., 1998 ISBN 0-15-600603-0 Buy
This Book!
Levine, Suzanne Braun, Father
Courage: What happens when men put family first. A new
group of today's fathers is aiming for the "triple crown " - a mix
of success at work, intimacy with family, and time for friends.
They are learning - as women have learned - that you can't "have
it all." Their efforts to find new ways to balance work
and love are beginning to change both the family and the
workplace. Other books have described the malaise, but until now,
no one has described the dimensions of the revolution or pointed
to the light at the end of the tunnel. The author, a journalist
and feminist, and founding editor of Ms. magazine,
interviewed scores of men and learned about the pitfalls and
payoffs of twenty-first century fatherhood. Men don't tend to use
each other as sounding boards the way women do, so the author does
it for them. She identifies some of the surprising factors that
make it so hard for men to put family first. At home, the
parenting learning curve is steep; and moms don't always want to
give up the role of "the General." The workplace is much less
family-friendly to fathers than to mothers, and the 24/7 life of
corporate American is taking its toll. The author uncovers the
reasons causing the stress felt by fathers and mothers, and she
offers solutions that range from the commonsense to the
revolutionary. This is a brilliant and bracing new look at what is
right - and wrong - in American family life. Harcourt, 2000
ISBN 0-15-100382-3 Buy
This Book!
Lewis, Steven, Zen
and the Art of Fatherhood: Lessons from a master
dad. There is nothing to being a dad - and it takes everything
you have to stay afloat in the murky yet enlightening stream every
father must navigate. If this sounds like a contradiction or a
brain-bashing Zen koan, welcome to the club of the fellow
confused, and listen to the confessions of a father who's seen it
all. In this humorous and insightful account the author (a happily
entrenched father of seven) mingles hilarious personal
recollections from nearly thirty years of parenting with quiet
reflection and quotes from admired Zen sages to capture the
universal paradoxes, dilemmas and rewards of fatherhood. He'll
show you, too, how to apply the sublime teachings of Zen to such
essential paternal tasks as: Taming toddlers, balancing
sex talks, lies, and video games, sneaking intimate moments alone
with your mate, keeping your cool on your daughter's first date,
surviving family vacations, selecting the right college that is
distant enough to keep your kids away on weekends, and more. This
is an essential guide for any man who already is a father or is
about to embark on what is the most challenging and gratifying
journey of his life. Dutton, 1996
Linton, Bruce, Finding Time for
Fatherhood: Men's concerns as parents. A crisp, poignant,
self-revealing and powerfully instructive book that will provide a
great deal of previously unavailable support, guidance and
inspiratoin to all men who want to be good fathers but have never
known just how to think and talk about the role. He has put his
finger on the vital issues of how to be a man and a father today.
The author's essays are filled with wisdom, warmth, and
inspiration. They empower men to become more empathic fathers,
husbands and friends. A great resource for an individual dad or
for fathers' groups. (See his weekly
column here on menstuff.) Also, see www.fathersforum.com
Berkeley Hills, www.berkeleyhills.com
2000. ISBN 1-893163-18-0 Buy
This Book!
Long, Diane, He's Just My Dad: Portraits of
celebrity athletes and their children. This is an engaging
collection of more than 200 captivating photographs featuring
celebrity athletes and their children. These stunning at-home and
behind-the-scenes images were captured by an eminent team of
photographers led by internationally renowed photographer Sam
Abell. The author's interviews of the athletes and their families
provide revealing, humorous, and sometimes surprising insights
into the parenting styles of these sports legends. This book will
entertain, delight, and show that heroes still exist. Their kids
know who they are. From the carpool lines, the backyards, the
homework tables, and the local parks, you can hear the children
lovingly say, He's Just My Dad! Harper Entertainment,
www.harpercollins.com
2000. ISBN 0-06-105148-9 Buy
This Book!
Lott, Brett, Fathers, Sons
& Brothers: The men in my family. Exploring
three generations of the men in his family, his father and his two
uncles, his own two brothers, and his two sons - the author spins
a sweeping true saga of the ties that bind. With quiet grace and
his trademark talent for finding powerful revelations in he most
unlikely places, master novelist delivers a bracingly personal and
honest memoir that confronts the often inexpressible complexities
of contemporary maleness. This book describes not only the ways
men and boys relate to one another but also how their lives evolve
over decades, endlessly imitative yet varied., In the end, these
essays constitute a celebration of humanity, regardless of gender
- of joy and sorrow, of intimacy and distance, of lingering
secrets and universal truths. Washington Square Press, 1999
ISBN 0-671-04176-2 Buy
This Book!
MacGregor, Cynthia,
Night-Night: Settle-down activities for easy bedtimes.
Five more minutes, pleeeeeeeeease? How many times have you
been asked that questoin? Bedtime for many youngsters is a
time to avoid ("I don't want to go to bed!") or to fear ("There
are monsters under my bed!") The call for bedtime can become
a prompt for tremendous resistance. But it does not have to be
that way. This book presents a fun assortment of creative
solutions for getting kids to settle down at night. Storytime
activities, quiet games, and playful songs and rhymes will soothe
your child into sleepiness - and make Night-Night you best
friend at bedtime! Conari Press, 2001 ISBN 1-57324-754-5
Buy
this book!
Milligan, Michael, Grandpa
Rules: Notes on grandfatherhood, the World's Best Job.
Fourteen years ago the author learned he would become a
grandfather for the first time. Perusing the parenting aisle for
some sort of handbook, he was surprised to find that there was
little or no information available on what it means to be a
grandfather, how to make the most of the experience, or how to be
the best grandfather possible. Sure, there were shelves of books
dedicated to grandmothers, 0 all with cuddly covers depicting
spring bouquets and gentle little lambs. But there was not a
single book that spoke to him, a forty-seven-year-old
grandfather-to-be. Over the years, he has discovered some
universal truths that apply to grandfathers everywhere - hence
this book. Skyhorse Publications, www.skyhorsepublishing.com,
2008, ISBN 1-60239-276-5 
Monkhouse, Cosmo, Letters from a
Deadbeat Dad and other stories: Confessions to a teenage
daughter and other subtitles. It's a long and often painful
tale. Don't read it if you are leading a normal, happy life in a
functional family, unless you want to know about places where you
would never choose to go - places where you wouldn't want anybody
to go. Apart from its most obvious intention, as a message from a
father to his estranged teenage daughter, this book is direct
toward millions of men (and their families, friends and relatives)
who have journeyed through the terrain the story attempts to
depict. It is a landscape of America at the beginning of the 21st
Century, the heart of the greatest empire the world has ever
known, which is inhabited by a population living in a culture of
hypocrisy and denial, in a society littered with fatherless
children and the corpses of broken families. The book attempts to
reach out to all men who have ever been defamed as Deadbeat Dads,
as the lowliest of social scum in the popular culture, and to all
people who have found their strange childhood origins transformed
into troubled adult relationships, and who then have sojourned
through various levels of hell, in the world of difficult
marriages, divorces, child custody battles, and paternity suits.
The message of the book to all such people is that you are not
alone, and that there are ways to resist being destroyed.
www.AuthorHouse.com, 1st
Books Library, www.1stbooks.com,
2002, ISBN 1-4033-0205-7 
Mungeam, Frank, A Guy's Guide to
Pregnancy: Preparing for parenthood together. Every day,
four thousand American men become first-time dads. There are
literally hundreds of pregnancy guidebooks aimed at women, but
guys rarely rate more than a footnote. This is the first book to
explain in "guy terms" the changes that happen to a guy's partner
and their relationship during pregnancy, using a humorous yet
insightful approach. Future fathers will find out what to expect
when they enter the "Pregnancy Zone." They'll discover the
right and wrong answers to Trick Questions like "Do I look fat?"
They'll also learn baby-shower etiquette ("It's sooo cute!"), the
truth about sex during pregnancy (yes, you can tough her) and
Boys' Night Out (negotiate it), plus delivery room dos (stay
upright) and don'ts (complain about missing the big game). This
book is designed to be guy-friendly - approachable in appearance
as well as content and length. It is divided into forty brisk
chapters, one for each week of the pregnancy. Beyond Words
Publishing, 800.284.9673 www.beyondword.com
1998 ISBN 1-885223-75-7 Buy
This Book!
Myers, Tim, Glad to Be Dad: A Call to
Fatherhood. After staying home with his two sons for a
year and his daughter since her infancy, the author knows all
about being a stay-at-home parent. He knows the most effective
cleaning products, which snacks to buy, and has developed a
“housemaid’s knee.” He has experienced first-hand
the profound influence fathers have on their children, along with
the challenges of being a committed parent. By recounting personal
experiences, offering honest, sincere opinions, and including
quizzes for fatherly-preparedness, Tim Myers emphasizes the
importance of fatherly contribution and influence in the home. He
shows fathers that they are not only vital to home life, but that
fatherhood also brings great joy into men’s lives, not to
mention a surprising amount of plain old fun. In addition, he
details the essential role of fathers, and the very real (and
sometimes frustrating) transition into taking an active role in
home life. Poignant, funny, and inspiring, This book is perfect
for both aspiring fathers and seasoned veterans. Familius, 2013,
www.familius.com,
ISBN 978-1-938301-01-8 2013 
Olivier, Richard, Melting the Stone: A Journey Around My
Father, Spring Publishing, 1996
Ornstein, Yevrah,
Forgiving the New Fathers: Why Contemporary Fatherhood Must
Change. Families are changing, parenting is changing and
unnoticed, unheard and unsung, fathers are changing. This book
explores these changes and takes you into an inner sanctum of
experiences that are never spoken or heard - men trying to become
magnificent, exceptional dads in spite of a society that often
treats them as second class citizens. Who speaks for the New
Fathers? Here, in this book, is passion and provocative candor
from the hearts of men. Here is powerful love unlike any other.
Here is a new vision of fatherhood. Harmonia Press yevrah@well.com
1996
Paisley, Jeff, Fifth-five Fathers.
This book busts the biggest myth about men - men do talk. And they
have a lot to say. The author missed his own father so much that
he collected the stories of these fifty-five men of various
backgrounds and ages to discover what stands out in men's memories
about growing up with dad and what makes a father a good one. This
book is your chance to listen in on the stories of men recounting
the good, the bad, and the inspirational times of their own
growing years, and sharing how those memories and learned
behaviors influence their own lives and those of their families
and children. Wheatmark, www.fiftyfivefathers.com,
2007 ISBN 978-1-58736-957-5 
Parke, Ross & Armin Brott,
Throwaway Dads: The myths and barriers that keep men
from being the fathers they want to be. Are fathers really
important? Of course they are. Yet we as a society have
wittingly and unwittingly built nearly insurmountable barriers
that restrict men's involvement with their children and families.
Here the myths of neglectful, uninterested, abusive, deadbeat and
lazy dads are challenged with real life studies and statistics.
They explain why the largely negative portrayal of fathers in
books, in movies, and on television is both inaccurate and
harmful, training young boys and girls to see men as having little
or no role in the family. They also examine, in balanced fashion,
the dubious achievements of both the men's and women's movements
in reevaluating the roles of both sexes. Complete with proposals
for steps that men, women, employers, the medical community, the
media and the government can take to promote men's involvement in
their children's lives, the authors offer a comprehensive book at
how our entire society can experience the benefcfits and joys of
active fatherhood. Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 0-395-86041-5 1999
Buy
This Book!
Paschal, Angelia M, Voices of
African-American Teen Fathers. This book is an insightful look
at adolescent pregnancy and parenthood through the eyes of fathers
aged 14 to 19. This unique book features candid interviews with
thirty teens who talk about "doing what I got to do" - handling
their responsibilities as best they can given their perceptions,
limitations, and life experiences. Teens talk about how and why
they became fathers, how they handle being a parent, their
perceptions of fatherhood, the relationships they have with their
parents and the mothers of their children, and how they deal with
the everyday struggles, demands, and concerns they face. Haworth
Press, www.haworthpress.com,
2006, ISBN 0-7890-2738-0 
Patchin, Scott, So You're Gonna Be a Dad -
Now what? Building hope and endurance for the new father. A
quick and impactful way for a husband, son, son-in-law, brother or
friend to prepare for his new role - Dad! With humor and
compassion, the author helps new fathers gain perspective on their
roles and encourage the key people in their lives to come along
side them. Through his stories, dads will be challenged to think,
to ask questions of their friends, and even to write down some of
their own stories. Credo, 2007, ISBN 978-0-0787620-6-3
Perchinske, Malene, Commitment: Fatherhood in Black
America. This is a beautiful book that flys in face of popular
thought that black fathers aren't committed. Despite however this
perception of the absent father is upheld, many black fathers
provide the support, both economically and emotionally, needed to
sustain their families. This book captures images of this less
often recognized parent in fifty photographs and poignant
quotations from the fathers and children it celebrates.
Photographer Carole Patterson has spent several years crossing the
continent to interview and photograph responsible black fathers.
Anthony Barboza has also contributed imagery. These portraits -
young fathers, older fathers, a great-grandfather, fathers of
different levels of the economic ladder - provide valuable insight
into American culture. And, because of their humanitarian scope,
they deliver an important message to everyone, especially young
people, about parenthood and the obligations and responsibilities
attached to it. University of Missouri Press 1998 Buy
This Book!
Peters, Elizabeth, Gary Peterson, Suzanne
Steinmetz, Randal Day, ed, Fatherhood: Research,
interventions and policies. How much power does a father have
to influence his children's development? A lively and
often heated public debate on the role and value of the father in
a family has been underway in the US for the past decade.
Nevertheless, we are far from understanding the complex ways in
which fathers make contributions to their families and children.
This book addresses the central questions of the role of
fathers: What is the impact of father involvement on
child outcomes? What factors predict increased
involvement of fathers? It addresses both practical and
theoretical concerns including the redefinition of fatherhood,
changes over time in research on fatherhood, the predictive power
of fathers' activities on their children's adult outcomes, the
correlation between fathers' income and their involvement with
their nonmarital children, the influence of fathers on their sons'
probability of growing up to become responsbile fathers, the
effects of divorce on father-son and father-daughter relationshps,
and interventions that help to keep divorced fathers in touch with
their children. This comprehensive, powerful book combines
pioneering empirical research with thoughful considerations of the
social and psychological implications of fatherhood. It is
essential reading for researchers, policymakers, psychologists,
and students of family studies, human development, gender studies,
social policy, sociology and human ecology. Haworth Press,
www.haworthpressinc.com,
2000 ISBN 0-7890-1016-X Buy
This Book!
Pirani, Alix, The Absent Father: Crisis
& creativity, Arkana, 1988
Price, Susan Crites
& Tom Price, The Working Parents Help
Book: Practical advice for dealing with the day-to-day
challenges of kids and careers. This is an expanded and
updated guide with interviews and expert advice from Marguerite
Kelly on family matters, Janet Bodnar on money matters, Joel Hyatt
on family legal matters, Sarah Edwards on home-based jobs, Judsen
Culbreth on workplace matters, and Dana Friedman on coping in the
workplace. Plus, there's a free disk of customizable checklists,
charts, write-in calendars, and more to help busy families manager
their fun and work time! Peterson's, www.petersons.com
1996
Pruett, Kyle, The Nurturing Father: What happens in
families where fathers assume the traditional "mothers" role?,
Warner Books, 1987
Reiser, Paul, Babyhood. This is not the
kind of book that can help you. It's not a "how-to", or "when-to",
or a "what-to-expect" kind of book. It's not even endorsed by
anyone remotely connected to the medical profession. (Although the
author's cousin who sells carpeting to doctors' offices not only
found it "insightful" and "informative" but felt that, "if
properly vacuumed, it should last a lifetime.") But, if you only
have one book to buy, do you think you should go for the helpful
one? Let's compare: Those "know-it-all" books tell you how to have
a happy, healthy pregnancy. This book mentions a squirrel. Those
books tell you how to care for a new-born child. This book
describes how tired the author was. Those books give you essential
information you can use in a life-threatening emergency. This book
has some very amusing anecdotes about poop. So really, it's up to
you. If you want to be prepared and well-informed, that's
understandable. But if you enjoy seeing the words "pterodactyl"
and "uterus" in the same book, you've come to the right place. Rob
Weisbach Books, 1997 ISBN 0-688-14979-0 Buy
This Book!
Reszel, Barry, At-Home
Dad Handbook: By the at-home dad community. In this
handbook, many at-home dads (and a few moms) share their thoughts,
stories, philosophies, tips, insights and research on at-home
fatherhood. Some of the topics include: Who they are
and what they do, research on at-home dads, the financial case for
at-home parenthood, understanding maternal feelings of working
moms, dealing with stereotypes - beyond Mr. Mom, and how dads in
action benefits children and schools. Self-published. AHDH/Curtis
Cooper, 13925 Duluth Ct, Apple Valley, MN 55124 1998
Buy direct.
Richardson, Bradley, Daddy
Smarts: A guide for rookie fathers. The straight dope for
new dads. So you're going to be a father? Well, get ready
for the ride of your life. This book gives you the lowdown on
these and other questions guys care about most: Will I
ever have sex again? How are we going to pay for all
this stuff? When do I get my wife back? How
will I juggle my career with my family? Will I be like
my father - and is that good or bad? I'm not ready to
have kids but she is. What do I do? How do I baby-proof the
house? This book charts the whole course for you: from
the treacherous negotiations about whether to have kids and the
ardent attempts at conception to planning for the event,
navigating the hospital experience, and bringing your baby home.
With insider information and tales from the front, it shares
secrets from the best experts of all: veteran dads. Taylor Trade
Publishing www.taylorpub.com
2000 ISBN 0-87833-164-6 Buy
This Book!
Richardson, Justin & Mark A.
Schuster, Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About
Sex (but were afriad they'd ask) The secrets to surviving your
child's sexual development from birth to the teens. If you've ever
tried to tell your six-year-old how babies are made or your
fourteen-year-old how condoms work, you know that grappling with
telling your kids about sex can be a sweat-drenched exercise. But
it doesn't have to be. This book is a one-of-a-kind survival guide
that will help you stay sane through every stage of your child's
sexual development. After interviewing scores of parents and
analyzing decades of scientific research, two nationally
respected, Harvard-trained physicians share their expertise in
this brilliantly insightful, practical and hilarious book that has
fast become the leading resource for parents of toddlers to teens.
Three Rivers Press, www.crownpulishging.com,
2003, ISBN 1-4000-5128-2 
Robinson, Bryan, Teenage Fathers. Someone once told the
author that teen fathers are biological necessities, but social
accidents. He decided that was an unfair thing to say, so he wrote
this book, which discusses teen pregnancy from the guy's point of
view. His research shows that the majority of boys really do want
to help with the baby. They want to be part of the process in any
way they can. The desire is there. They don't know how. And, yes,
many teen fathers still leave because they know they will be
looked at as the bad guy. But more and more teens fathers are
getting involved in the process. There are about 1.1 million
teenage pregnancies each year and about 500,000 have teenage
fathers (the other half are fathered by men in their twenties). We
need to educate our teenagers. Give them information about chldren
and being a parent - the demands children make emotionally -
explain management in a family, what family life is and what a
nurturing environment is. This book helps to do that. Lexington
Books, 1990 ISBN 0-669-14587-4 Buy
This Book!
Rofe, Dror, For My Children: Dear
childen I love you deeply, Dad. Sometimes, those with the best
intentions are hurt by those with the worst. The author wanted to
live the American dream with a woman he loved and children he
adored. In this book, he describes how this dream was shattered by
a ruthless woman who drove him to move back to his native Israel
and abandon his children. After seven years, he was finally able
to have contact with his two daughters with the help of a private
investigator but has been unable to contact his son. He hopes this
book will allow his children to see his love for them, as well as
highlight the injustices that husbands and fathers sometimes
endure in the American judicial system. His story is one of
perserverance, heartache and redemption. 1st Books Library, 2004,
ISBN 1-4140-1364-7 
Ryan, Joan Aho, ed., Lessons from Dad: A
Tribute to Fatherhood. A father's lessons are gifts that last
a lifetime. The love and support of a father play a central role
in a child's life; fathers themselves are forever changed by the
experience of fatherhood. In this outstanding collection of
stories, poems and letters, famous individuals and ordinary people
from all walks of life share fond memories of their fathers and
relate the lessons fatherhood has taught them. Heartwarming,
humorous and inspirational, this book celebrates the all-important
father-child relationship and pays tribute to our greatest
teachers, guides and heroes - our dads. Health Communications
www.hci-online.com 1997
Buy
This Book!
Salt, J.S., Always Accept Me for Who I
Am: Instructions from teenagers to raising the perfect
parent. These truly wise parenting tips from the experts
themselves, teenagers ages 13-18, are reminders that kids - no
matter how grown up they seem - really just want guidance and
support from their parents. These meaningful suggestions are sure
to touch your heart, tickle your funny bone, and remind you that
you can give your kids the most important gift of all, your love.
Three Rivers Press, www.randomhouse.com
1999 ISBN 0-609-80395-6 Buy
This Book!
Samuels, Andrew, The Father: Contemporary Jungian
perspectives, New York University, 1985
Sanders, Herman A.,
Daddy, We Need You NOW! A primer on
African-American male socialization. There is a saying that
goes something like, "Any man can be a father, but it takes a
real man to be a daddy." The increasing problem facing the
black community is that there are a lot of "fathers" that are not
fulfilling their role as "daddy". Positive black male role models,
in the black community, are becoming as scarce as the black male
himself. Too many black children are being forced to grow up
without the benefit of a strong black male in their lives. Of
course this hurts all children, but it is especially harmful to
black boys growing up without the proper "road map" that will lead
them into manhood. We agree that parents are the first teachers in
their children's life. So the question comes to mind that if daddy
is missing, what are his children learning from him? Among other
things, this book provides empirical evidence that the presence of
a supportive and employed father in the home during the formative
years contributes greatly to the emotional stability, positive
self-concept and academic success of the children. University
Press of America, 1996 ISBN Cloth 0-7618-0379-3 Buy
This Book!; Paper 0-7618-0380-7 Buy
This Book!
Sanders, Scott Russell, Hunting for
Hope: A father's journey.This book begins with a
hiking trip in the Rockies meant to get at the root of the strife
between the author and his teenage son. On their first day in the
mountains, his son lashes out: "You look at any car,
and all you think is pollution, traffic, roadside crap. You say
fast food's poisoning our bodies and TV's poisoning our
minds...You make me feel the planet's dying, and people are to
blame, and nothing can be done about it. There's no room for hope.
Maybe you can get along without hope, but I can't." This
confrontation, and the realization that his despair has darkened
his son's world, is what sets him on the deeply felt father's
journey that is at the heart of this book. As a parent or
wanna-be-parent, suppose your dauther is engaged to be married and
she asks whether she ought to have children, given the sorry state
of the world. Or suppose you are a teacher, and one student after
another comes to ask you how to deal with despair. What would you
tell them? Well, the author sets out to accumulate, in a narrative
threaded with the moving remainder of the father-son trip, his own
reasons for facing the future with hope. He discovers a way to
participate, through the body, directly in the energies of
creation. He remembers the capacity to mend, to consider the value
of commitment to people, places, and work we love. This book is a
reminder of the healing powers in nature, in culture, in community
and within each of us - a powerful spiritual hankbook on the
essential practice of hope and of raising hopeful children. Beacon
Press www.beacon.org 1998
Buy
This Book!
Schaefer, Charles, How to Talk to Your Kids about Really
Important Things: Specific questions & answers
& useful things to say. (Children 4-12) A child's
difficult questions about everyday life can often take parents by
surprise. This book helps parents find the words they need to talk
to their kids and answer their guestions. Drawing on clinical
practice, scholarly research, and parental experience, the
author's give down-to-earth advice that parnts will treasure. They
offer practical guidance on a wide range of life's experiences,
from family changes like moving to a new home, divorce and
remarriage to controversial subjects such as child abuse and AIDS.
Jossey-Bass, 1994 ISBN 1-55542-611-5 Buy
This Book!
Scribner, Christopher & Chris Frey,
Fathertime: Stories on the heart and soul of
fathering: Provides the tools and inspiration to help you
become the father you seek to be. Eight stories about the ways in
which fatherhood challenges the father to examine himself and his
priorities, thereby offering opportunities for him to grow along
with his child. Nine stories about the "instructive" aspect of the
fathering role, in which the father teaches the child abut life,
values, the world, and how to regard one's own emotions and
beliefs. Six stories about development, change, and the challenges
these present for the father committed to keeping pace with his
child's growth. Nine stories about the ways in which every father
is a product of his past, and the ways in which he is more than
merely that. Nine stories about the widely ranging emotions that
fathering evokes, and about how the father's openness to those
emotions can contribute to excellence in fathering. Six stories
about how a father's role makes an impact on the broader context
of his family and on the larger community in which he lives. And,
in conclusion, six stories in which fathers deal with issues of
morality, spirituality, and shaping the future. Inside Output,
2001, ISBN 0-9702610-0-4 Buy
This Book!
Scull, Charles, Fathers, Sons
& Daughters: Exploring fatherhood, renewing
the bond, Tarcher, 1992
Seton, Julia, Trail & Camp-Fire Stories. The art
of story telling combines the principles of short-story writing
and of successful acting. It is, in truth, more difficult that
either. The gift for it must be innate, but there is much that can
be done to improve and cultivate it. Few of the stories in this
volume are original in source with the author, but he has made
them so much a part of himself that they surely must be attributed
to him and to his art as the best examples of succesful
story-telling extant. Seton Village Press, 1968
Shapiro, Jerrold, Michael Diamond, Martin Greenberg, Becoming a
Father. In this volume, the editors and contributors explore
both the dramatic increase in the involvement of fathers in
pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting, as well as the
implications of fatherhood from a sociocultural, psychodynamic and
personal perspective. This is the most comprehensive anthology
available on the psychology of early fatherhood. Social
psychologists, family therapists and mental health professionals
interested in men's issues will find this volume of particular
interest. Springer Publishing, 1995 ISBN 0-8261-8401-4
Buy
This Book!
Singletary, Mike, Daddy's Home at
Last: What it takes for dads to put families first.
Dads looking homeward, not outward. Dads exercising leadership,
fostering teamwork, and establishing rules and boundaries. Dads
daring to be open, vulnerable and communicative, taking time to
listen to their children and pray with them. Dads striving to
create within their families a legacy of love. The author, the
former Chicago Bears All-Pro middle linebacker, invites you to
join the ranks of America's emerging new fatherhood. Discover the
dramatic impact you can make on your family when you embrace
fatherhood based on service, not selfishness. Fatherhood that
defines success not in material terms but in spiritual terms. This
book brings you rich wisdom, encouraging insights, challenging
observations, and helpful advice. Strong, touching and full of
faith, it's for every father and husband who wants to build a
secure, closely knit family. Zondervan, 1998
ISBN 0-310-21569-2 Buy
This Book!
Smith, John, The Bloke's Guide to
Pregnancy. "Darling, I'm pregnant!" These three little words
are guaranteed to strike fear into you - even if you're the most
mature father-to-be ever. But the one thing you can be certain of
is...you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into! Sure,
there are hundreds of books out there for the expectant mother.
But they're often full of tedious, textbook-like medical facts
related to diets and pelvic floor exercises, not to mention the
kind of gynaecological details that could make your eyes water.
Sorry, but we men really don't want to go there. No, we want the
lowdown on what's happening and how it's going to affect
us: straightforward, unabridged, and raw. Based on more than
100 interviews with guys who lived to tell the pregnancy tale -
some who even admitted to enjoying the experience - this book has
real-life stories as well as quite a bit of worthwhile advice.
This is a book you'll want to share with all the guys in your
life! Hay House, www.hayhouse.com,
2005, ISBN 1-4019-0336-3 
Spicer, Chris, No Perfect Fathers Here.
Although it might only take a moment to become a father, it takes
a lifetime of commitment to be a father. Our children are perfect
gifts that make us want to never mess up or miss out on the one
chance that life gives us to be a father. So when our poor choices
produce a negative result in our kids, a lot of dads begin to
battle frustration, fatigue, fear and failure. Make no mistake
about it, mistakes will be made. Yet, we can acquire knowledge and
skills in the finer art of fatherhood and learn to handle our
mistakes in a redemptive, rather than adversarial way - which is
the point of this book. Written for imperfect dads with real
struggles and failures as well as successes, this book is a
roadmap on how to capably handle the role of a father in a
positive manner. Celebrating ten characteristics of highly
effective fathering, the author shares some personal insight into
improving ourselves as dads that come from his nearly forty years
of fatherhood. Perfect fathers don't exist, but you can break out
of the cycle of unsuccessful, even disastrous, pareting and have a
favorable effect on your kids that will last them a lifetime!
A Christian perspective. www.chrisspicer.net,
2010, 2010, ISBN 978-1451553307 
Staniforth, Vincent,
Questions for My Father: Finding the man behind your
dad. What do you wish you'd asked your dad? "What
did you feel the first time you cradled me in your
arms?" "What has been your proudest day as a dad?" This
is a little book that asks big questions: some serious,
some playful, some risky. Each question is an opportunity to open,
rejuvenate, or bring closure to the powerful but often overlooked
relationship between fathers and children. Fathers have long been
regarded as objects of mystery and fascination. This book provides
a blueprint for uncovering the full dimensions of the man behind
the mystery. It offers a way to let fathers tell their personal
stories and to let children explore their own knowledge and
understanding of one of the largest figures in their lives. In
rediscovering Dad, readers will discover themselves. Beyond Words
1998 ISBN 1-885223-74-9 Buy
This Book!
Stanton, E. Theodore, Kathys
Clown: The story of one man's fight to keep his children from
becoming fatherless. The author, an American father whose
American-born chlidren were kidnapped to Norway from the
USA in 1984 and who presently resides in Chile, describes in
this book how Norwegian officials, violating parental
child-stealing laws in both countries, planned, financed and
physically assisted in the abduction of his two children. Although
the case and the case of another father living in Chicago (whose
son was adbucted to Norway in 1982) were aired on "60 Minutes" in
January, 1987 by Diane Sawyer, this is the first time the full
story of Norway's government-sponsored kidnappings has been told.
Download the book free on the internet at www.kathysclownbook.com
forestmanor@terra.cl
Tricycle Press/Warner Brothers, 2000 ISBN 956-288-644-1
Buy
This Book!
Stein, Harry, How I Accidentally Joined
the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy and found inner peace. Best
selling author and renowned ethics columnist didn't start out
conservative. But somewhere along the way, real life - and
fatherhood - gave him pause. In this passionate and provocative
memoir, he recounts his personal journey from '70s liberal to '90s
conservative - a journey that began with a few troubling questions
he couldn't even share with his friends. Now the truth is out - in
this daring, brilliantly argued, often savagely funny work that is
bound to resonate with many who have witnessed the social
revolution of the past thirty years and questioned even some of
its outcome. Even secretly. The author's left-liberal credentials
were spotless. As a journalist in an industry populated by
liberals, he carried the left-wing banner in his life and work.
The transformation began when he became a father. And nothing in
his wildest dreams could have prepared him for what was to
come...First of all, the Right was beginning to sound right. Even
worse, the Left was beginning to sound - and look - wrong. In a
memoir both personal and political, he cuts through the
distortions on both sides and shows how liberating it is to no
longer have to pass as a correct thinker. Speaking to his peers
and to his times, he fearlessly tackles such provocative topics as
feminism, affirmative action, PC education, media, gay
rights, and sexual McCarthyism. He tells what he really thinks
of...sex, lies, and Bill Clinton...how his columns on Murphy
Brown and day care were his personal "coming out"...the daily
corruption of network news and big-time front pages...what has
happened to a once-great newspaper, The New York Times.
Here are portraits in political courage - and cowardice.
Unforgettable anecdotes about newsmakers he has known. It's all
here and more in the witty, trenchant observations - and candid
confessions - of a former liberal bound to incite, entertain and
maybe even change a few minds along the way. Delacorte Press,
2000, ISBN 0-385-33396-X Buy
This Book!
Steptoe, Javaka illustrator, In Daddy's
Arms I Am Tall: African Amercians Celebrating
Fathers. This is a tribute to the influence that Black fathers
have on their sons, daughters, and grandchildren. In this
intergenerational collection of poetry by new and established
African American writers - who range in age from their 20's to
their 50's - fatherhood is celebrated with honor, humor and grace.
Bringing each poem to life is the spirited artwork of Javaka
Steptoe, in his picture book debut. The son of the late acclaimed
children's book artist, John Steptoe, Javaka employs an inventive
range of media to explore the special bond between father and
child. This book delivers a profound message to people everywhere
that family is a precious gift, and that fathers are among our
most affecting heroes. Lee & Low, www.leeandlow.com
1997
Stock, Gregory, The Kids Book of
Questions. Discover how you feel, let people know what you
think, or raise an issue you've always wanted to discuss - this
book asks questions that are fun to think about and play with,
questions that ignite discussions and enliven family dinner
conversations. And there's only one requirement: give an honest
answer. You'll be amazed to find how far one little question can
lead you. Workman Publishing, www.workman.com,
ISBN 978-0-7611-3595-1 
Stocker, Todd, Infinite Playlist: How
to have conversations (not conflict) with your kids about
music. Your daughter listens to the radio on the Internet.
Your son has iPod buds permanently attached to his ears. You've
heard your youngest innocently sing lyrics that make you gasp.
Times are changing. With iTunes and MP3s readily available online,
our teens are encountering new musical influences every day. How
can we help our kids make God-honoring decisions when it comes to
their playlists? Don't get swept up in a playlist war. Let
the author teach you how to have conversations, not conflict, with
your kids about music. Realizing that one-size-doesn't-fit-all, he
offers guidelines to help you and your teens decide what music is
acceptable and healthy. Born out of a deal he made with his son,
his practical tips foster open conversations and valuable
discussion with your teen. An accessible and quick read, this book
features notes from the author's son, who provides a young music
lover's perspective and demonstrates how conversation is not only
possible, but also fun. Kregel Publications, 2010,
ISBN 978-0-8254-3656-7 
Tabori, Lena & Hiro Clark
Wakabayashi, The Little Big Book for Dads. Here is a book
chock full of stories, tongue twisters, jokes, poetry, activities,
recipes, nursery rhymes, and songs for dad to call his own. Dad's
kids can learn to juggle with marshmallows, do magic, tell jokes,
make one-eyed sailors for breakfast, and identify insects, birds,
leaves, and stars. This charming volume contains text by writers
as diverse as Bill Cosby, Shel Silverstein, Gordon Lightfoot,
Kenny Loggins, and Lewis Carroll, and is illustrated throughout
with early twentieth-century art from artists like Jessie Willcox
Smith, Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greeaway. Welcome Enterprises,
info@wepub.com 2001,
ISBN 0-941807-43-6 Buy
This Book!
Taylor-Jones, Christi, Midlife
Parenting: A guide to havng & raising kids in your
30s, 40s & beyond. The author faces midlife parenting
wholistically with perspectives based on sound research, personal
testimonies and insightful analysis. This book is must reading for
those contemplating midlife parenting. Veracity, 1993
ISBN 0-9636864-0-2 Buy
This Book!
Thicke, Alan, How Men Have
Babies: The pregnant father's survival guide. First
comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...yikes! Of
course pregnancy is trilling. It also poses enough challenges to
test a saint. In addition to the excitement, there is pressure as
you tally up the costs and cope with morning sickness, birth
classes, in-laws, sexual deprivation, and a host of other
surprises. Couples need to break the mood with a good laugh every
one in a while. This book provides that comic relief. The author
has collected his thoughts on the entire nine months in a diary of
his recent pregnancy...oh, yes, his wife was there too. His
anecdotes, along with those gathered from birth classmates and
celebrity friends, provide a guideline for pregnanthood from a
man's perspective. You'll find yourself in the same boat as Ray
Romano, Bill Maher, Wayne Gretzky, and others as they cope with
cravings, celibacy, estrogen, and more. In addition to the comic
spin on the periols of pregnancy, the author's book is chock-full
of salient advice and expert opinion on some of the serious
decisions ahead. It's a must-read for every
dad-to-be! Contemporary Books, 1999 ISBN 0-8092-2806-8
Buy
This Book!
Thorndike, John, Another Way
Home: A single father's story. Families are changing
with a slight increase in ones headed by men raising their
children alone. This book is the author's story, a rare view of
the world of a single father, vividly evoked by a writer of great
gifts. He was a twenty-four-year-old Peace Corps volunteer in El
Salvador in 1967 when he met Clarisa, a vibrant and lovely
Salvadoran girl, just ninetenn. They fell in love, married, and n
1970 their son, Janier, was born. For the first year, Clarisa was
devoted to her baby and rarely left his side. But slowly she began
a terrifying drift into schizophrenia, behaving in ways that
endangered her son's life. Fearing for his safety, the author made
the wrenching decision to bring Janir back to the US and raise him
alone. This book is the poignant account of their life together:
their tender moments, their pitched battles, their heartbreaking
reunions with Clarisa. Early on, he discovered how all-consuming
it is to raise a child. Yet the rewards were enormous, and seldom
has a child been so alive on the page. Whining, giggling, wildly
exhilarated or inconsolably sad, this is a real kid in an eloquent
and unforgettable book. Crown Publishers, 1996
ISBN 0-517-70542-7 Buy
This Book!
Trillin, Calvin, Family Man. The
author begins his ruminations on family by stating the sum total
of his child-rearing advice: "Try to get one that
doesn't spit up. Otherwise, you're on your
own." Suspicious of any child-rearing theories beyond
"Your children are either the center of your life or they're
not," the author deals with the subject of family in a way
that is loving, honest, and wildly funny. Farrar, Straus
& Giroux 1999 ISBN 0-374-52583-8 Buy
This Book!
Uhrik, Marlena E., In Grandpa's
Hands: A child's celebration of family. Time shared
between grandparents and their grandchildren are moments to
cherish. To honor not only her father (a much loved father,
grandfather and great-grandfather) but to honor all Grandpas, the
author created this book. She writes "[Grandpas] are the
keeper of the family, the strength, the history, and wisdom of
generations...Grandpas teach us the things we need to know for
everyday life and help carry us into our future." Featuring 12
simple-yet-poignant full-page pencil drawins accompanied by a
simple statement on the facing page, the book immediately calls to
mind special moments with one's own grandparents.White Stag Press,
www.publishersdesign.com,
2008, ISBN: 978-09792583-50 
Wade-Gayles, Gloria, Father
Songs: Testimonies by African-American sons and
daughters,. Loving, enraged, wounded, heroic. These are our
fathers, our black fathers. In startlingly beautiful prose, poetry
and fiction some of our most gifted writers, including John Edgar
Wideman, Malcolm X, Audre Lorde, Toi Derricotte, Ntozake Shange,
Charles Braxton, Manning Marable, Mary Helen Washington and
Dolores Kendricks, pay tribute to the complex relationship between
sons, daughters and the first and most important man in their
lives. Some search for their fathers in painful memories that
haunt them from childhood through adolescence into their own
parenthood; others celebrate their fathers' lives and the gifts
their fathers gave them and their own children. Despite the
enormous range of experiences, each writer affirms the central
role this relationship has played in their lives. This book offers
forgiveness for past mistakes and an invitation to new beginnings.
A much-needed book, it promises to bring black men and women
together as fathers,
Waldron, Jan, In the Country of Men, My Travels. Part
memoir, part social commentary, this is a thoughtful and
provocative exploration of the meaning of gender, male-male
relationships and manhood. The author's powerful but warm voice
both provokes and seduces as she exposes the folly of gender
shtick while carefully unraveling the intricate stitching of her
life vis-à-vis the men who have contributed to her
definition of manhood: her father, her brother, her lovers, her
sons. She begins with memories of her father, a boy who never
really grew up, and her brother, a boy who had to grow up too
fast. We experience the high drama of her first kiss, and the deep
disappointment of her relationship with the father of her sons,
who left the family when their two boys were four and five. She is
frustrated with men and the trappings of manhood but has finally
found a happy, lasting relationship with a man; and in raising her
sons, she has found hope. Her boys, now sitting on the cusp of
manhood, are the stars of this book.Written with tenderness, humor
and great empathy for males, this is not a manifesto of absolutes
or a male-bashing gripe; it is not aligned with a movement, nor is
it about men as compared with women. She is just as claustrophobic
at a feminist rally as she is at a rowdy men's sports bar, and
teenage boy humor cracks her up. This is a book of impressions,
insights, and stories that speak to everyone, told so beautifully
that everyone will want to listen. An Anchor Book 1997 Hardcover
ISBN 0-385-48564-6 Buy
This Book! See paperback below.
Waldron, Jan, In the Country of Men, My
Travels. An Anchor Book 1998 Paperback
Webster, Doug, Dear Dad: If I could tell you
anything...what kids want their fathers to know, Thomas
Nelson, 1995
Wertsch, Mary Edwards, Military Brats: Legacies of
children inside the fortress. This is a startling, ground
breaking exploration of the long-term psychological effects of
growing up in warrior society, with an emphasis on resolving the
experience successfully. Based on five years of research,
including in-depth interviews with scores of military brats as
well as physicians, teachers, psychologists, social workers and
others, this book explores the profound consequences - both
positive and negative - of being raised in a family characterized
by rigid discipline, nomadic rootlessness, dedication to the
military mission, and the threat of war and personal loss. For
daughtes of the Fortress, the key issue is their invisibility to
the warrior father, stemming from the biological fact that they
could never be combat warriors (Ed. - in this country) themselves.
But daughters nevertheless internalize the warrior model - and it
serves them well in later life. For sons, the issue is often
relentless, inescapable visibility: the fact of male gender draws
the demanding gaze of the authoritarian warrior like a lightning
rod, while approval and praise are rare. But sons who in adulthood
learn to break out of this pattern heal not only themselves; they
can become a bridge of healing for others, including their
fathers. With its clear-eyed, sometimes shocking exploration of
alcoholism and domestic violence, and its empathy for military
parents caught up in an extremely demanding way of life, this book
provides catharsis, insight and a path toward healing. It not only
defines America's most invisible minority for the very first time,
it also passionately exhorts those children to come to terms with
their negative Fortress legacies so that they might take full
advantage of the positive endowment that is also their birthright.
Civilians will find this book eye opening. Military parents will
find it at once challenging and sympathetic. And military brats
will know in their hearts that this is the book they've been
waiting for. Harmony Books, 1991 ISBN 0-517-58400-X Buy
This Book!
Winokur, Jon, Fathers: More than 200 people remember
their fathers. Whether he was good, bad, drunk, heroic, or
just plain absent, chances are your father has left his stamp upon
you. In this warmhearted, sometims droll, often poignant
collection, a host of men and women reminisce about their fathers
- from wrathful patriarchs to incorrigible eccentrics to doting
dads. Dutton, 1993
Zibners, Lara, If Your Kid Eats This Book,
Everything Will Still Be Okay: How to know if your child's
injury or illness is really an emergency. As an emergency room
pediatrician, the author has seen it all. She's cared for some of
the twenty-five million children in the United States who are
taken to the ER each year - and she knows that more than 50
percent of these visits may be unnecessary. In this book, she
shows parents when they may need to take action and when they may
be able to just go back to bed and call their doctor in the
morning. No more frantic, late-night searchers through the "what
to buy," "how to diaper," or "what to feed him" section s found in
other childcare books to find out if little Franny needs to go to
the ER. This book focuses on the essential questions, like how to
keep her from electrocuting herself in the first place. Not every
child has a pediatrician with specialized emergency room
experience living in the home. But this book just might be the
next best thing. Wellness Central, www.HachetteBookGroup.com,
2009, ISBN 978-0-446-50880-3 Gay Fathers or Gay Children (See also fathers or stepfathers)
Barret, Robert
& Bryan Robinson, Gay Fathers. There are an
estimated one-million gay fathers currently living in the
US and Canada. In increasing numbers over recent years, the
members of this largely unacknowledged segment of our population
have gained new levels of public visibility as they've valiantly
come forth to establish a rightful place in society and
demonstrate their ability to be more than just adequate parents.
Privately, though, they remain a group existing as a minority
within a minority - caught between the homosexual and heterosexual
worlds. For the growing number of gay fathers who choose to reveal
their dual identities, the unique and complicated process of
integrating their homosexuality and fatherhood is made all the
more difficult by the always powerful, sometimes devastating
impact that "coming out" has on their families. While much has
been written on homosexuality in general, little has dealt with
homosexual parenting in depth; and nothing - until now - has
addressed the problems of gay fatherhood from an intergenerational
approach, looking at the struggles that must be faced not only by
the gay father, but also by his wife, children, parents,
relatives, and the singles-oriented gay community at large.
Combining scientific findings with touching anecdotes and actual
case histories from their own extensive study of the subject,
highly regarded authors, in clear and straightforward language,
finally put the topic of gay fatherhood in its proper perspective,
debunking many deeply ingrained homophobic stereotypes and
affirming the rich potential of gay parenting. Lexington Books,
1990 ISBN 0-669-19514-6 Buy
this book! (See updated version below.)
Barret, Robert and Bryan Robinson, Gay
Fathers: Encouraging the hearts of gay dads and their
families. In the more than ten years since the first edition
of this book was published, the gay rights movement has made great
strides. The most current research reveals that most gay fathers
are good parents, raising healthy, well-adjusted kids. Gays and
lesbians have become part of mainstream America and parenting is
no longer seen as an exclusive right of heterosexuals. Today, more
and more openly gay men are choosing to become fathers. Addressing
the revolutionary changes affecting gay parenthood, this greatly
expanded edition includes a wealth of information that supports
the joys of gay fathering. With wisdom and heart, the authors
embrace the many types of gay fatherhood - gay couples, single and
adoptive gay fathers, gay fathers with intact marriages, gay
father stepfamilies, two gay fathers and a lesbian mother, and
separated or divorced gay fathres - and offer practical guidance
for gay dads and their families no matter what their situation.
Jossey-Bass, www.josseybass.com
2000, ISBN 0-7879-5075-0 Buy
this book!
Bernstein,
Robert A, Straight Parents, Gay Children: Inspiring
families to live honestly and with greater understanding,
Robert A. Bernstein. As manager of the National Coming Out
Project, one of the author's responsibilities was helping non-gay
people understand just what is this event we call "coming out".
When he spoke to gay and non-gay groups, he always began with his
own coming-out story and explained it as a process. The first part
of the process is coming out to yourself - realizing,
acknowledging and finally accepting that you are gay. This stage
can happen as a preteen, a young adult, or even a member of AARP.
For some it is a struggle and a challenge, for some a revelation
and enlightenment. The next in the process is coming out to
another person, which usually involves dealing with the prevalence
of myths and misconceptions about being gay as well as what are
some fairly typical parental reactions to a child's coming out. As
Rep Barney Frank, U.S. House of Representatives said, "If Bob
Bernstein's book were compulsory reading in America, the
population of bigots would dwindle at a rapid rate. His ability to
make the case for fairness and decency in our treatment of each
other is unsurpassed." Thunder's Mouth Press 1999
ISBN 0807738247 Buy
this book!
Green,
Jesse, The Velveteen Father: An unexpected journey to
parenthood. Being a parent was not a high priority - or even
much of a likelihood - for this acclaimed journalist and novelist.
Yet when the author, at the age of thirty-seven, fell in love with
a man who had recently adopted a baby boy, fatherhood suddenly
fell into his lap. Now, in this warm, humorous, deeply personal
book, he recounts the unexpected journey he and his partner
traveled together on the road to parenthood. In becoming the
father - or rather one of the fathers - of Erez, the author faced
challenges familiar to all parents, from the first bath to the
first tooth, along with a host of dilemmas unique to his
situation. As he discovered, even in blase New York City,
reactions to his unconventional family ranged from the funny to
the frightening, the unaccepting to the all-embracing. This book
is a moving record of the transformative effects parenthood can
have on people who least expect to become parents - and of how we
are repeatedly made anew by the love of children who need us.
Ballantine, www.randomhouse.com/BB/
2000 ISBN 0-345-43709-8 Buy
this book!Stepfathers (See also fathers or gay fathers or gay children)
Everett, Craig, The Stepfamily
Puzzle: Intergenerational influences, Haworth
Press, 1993
Ford, Judy & Anna Chase Wonderful
Ways to be a Stepparent. Stepparenting can be wonderful...even
when it seems impossible. You arrive on the scene, full of hope
and promise for creating a harmonious blended family, only to
discover that stepparenting is probably the hardest role you'll
ever have. But it doesn't have to be all stress, hard work, and
hurt feelings. In their practical and supportive book, the authors
offer a helping hand and show how to transform a seemingly
untenable arrangement into a relationship filled with love. The
labels mother, father, stepmother, stepfather matter less than the
quality of our interactions with the young ones entrusted to our
care. Stepparents have been given a precious opportunity to offer
love, trust, respect, and acceptance to the young souls who have
entered their lives. Conari Press, 1999, ISBN 1-57324-147-4
Buy
This Book!
Kelley, Patricia, Developing Healthy
Stepfamilies: Twenty families tell their stories,
Harrington Park Press, 1995 ISBN: 1560238666 Buy
This Book!
Levin, Irene & Marvin Sussman, ed., Stepfamilies: History,
research and policy. Examines language use, laws, cultural
stereotypes, media images and social policies and practices to
create an understanding of how predominant views about
stepfamilies and stepfamily members are constructed within
society. As the rats of divorce and remarriage continue to
increase, it is more important that even to overcome nuclear
family ideology and abandon the model of research that
Stepfamilies with non-stepfamilies. This book shows you how honor
and empowerment can be attained in new family structures and how
alternative kin networks can be just as healthy as the traditional
nuclear family unit. As this book examines the ability of
different societies to integrate different family forms into
mainstream notions of "family", you will realize the damaging
effects of treating stepfamilies as incomplete, undesirable
institutions. In fact, this book will challenge your notions of
family over and over again. Haworth Press www.haworth.com
1997 Buy
This Book!
Pickhardt, Carl E., Keys to Successful
Step-Fathering. Here's help for parents who must cope with the
details of raising children in the often-demanding contemporary
environment. Bringing up children today is different - and in many
ways more difficult - than it was in past generations. This book
speaks to today's parents, with answers to today's problems. In
this valuable book a psychologist offers commonsense advice to
stepfathers. Practicing tolerance and compromise is stressed as is
understanding how to establish oneself as a benefit to the family
structure. The author shows men that it is possible to be an
effective stepfather and maintain a healthy marriage at the same
time. www.carlpickhardt.com
Barron Educational Series, 1997, ISBN 0-8120-9715-7
Buy
This Book!
Rosin, Mark Bruce, Stepfathering: Stepfathers'
advice on creating a new family, Ballantine, 1988
Sussman, Marvin & Irene Levin,
Stepfamilies: History, research and policy,
Haworth Press, 1997 ISBN:Kids aren't supposed to have clean fingernails. Really Important Stuff My Kids Have Taught Me
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