BOOK REVIEW: “Notes on Being a Man” and “The World According to Garp”
Published 6:54 am Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Notes on Being a Man: Scott Galloway
Scott Galloway has gained a secure amount of wealth and a modicum of fame. His book biography describes him as “a professor of marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business and a serial entrepreneur.” He has founded several companies, including Prophet, RedEnvelope, L2, etc. He is a bestselling author and a successful podcaster.
His latest book, “Notes on Being a Man,” addresses the growing realization that young men have been isolated and arguably abandoned by Western society.
More young men are opting to live in their parents’ homes, spending the majority of their time communicating via keyboard and screens, finding “relationships” via porn, etc. They live in fear but deliver arrogance.
That is a problem for any society. Galloway sees boys and men as being in crisis. They are failing. In the book, he notes boys are less likely than girls to graduate high school or college; one in seven men say they are friendless; three out of four self-inflicted deaths are by men.
With few positive outlets, boys and men are finding “understanding” in misogynistic voices, by demonizing people, in socially unhealthy behaviors.
Galloway notes that women and children cannot thrive if men aren’t doing well. He’s not saying women’s rights should be abandoned but rather there’s room to address the growing crisis for men and boys, too.
The book blurb gets to the gist of what he advocates for boys and men:
– Get out of the house. Action absorbs anxiety.
– Take risks and be willing to feel like an imposter. Don’t let rejection stop you.
– Be kind. That’s the secret to success in relationships.
– Find what you’re good at; follow your talent.
– Acknowledge your blessings – and create opportunities for others. Be of surplus value.
– Being a good dad means being good to the mother of your children.
– Life isn’t about what happens to you – it’s about how you respond to it.
The biggest takeaway from the book may be recognizing that a growing number of boys and men live vicariously through their phones and computer screens rather than taking a chance on life outside, actually meeting people and living. Galloway urges boys to get back into the world, respect themselves and respect others, take chances, etc.
Much of “Notes on Being a Man” is Galloway’s memoir, sharing how he was raised mostly by his mother, while his father was often a remote figure during his childhood, how he dealt with his teen years and school, jobs, success, failures, etc.
He uses the story of his life, and now being the father to two young sons, to address the concerns he sees for boys and men in the Western world. “Notes on Being a Man” is a worthwhile read for boys, men and women of all ages.
The World According to Garp: John Irving
“The World According to Garp” is not only still relevant five decades after its publication, it feels prescient.
In the 1970s when novelist John Irving’s darkly comic tragedy – or is it a doomed comedy – hit bestseller lists what seemed then like fringe elements of American society are now a regular part of everyday life; though still as controversial in the 21st century as in the late 20th century.
Extremists; political violence; tell-all memoirs; influencers; sexual identity, violence, freedom, etc. Irving never flinches but a dual circulation of compassion and contempt runs beneath the skin of pain, horror and tragedy in “Garp” and in most of Irving’s subsequent novels of the past half century.
In “The World According to Garp,” Jenny Fields, a fiercely independent nurse, gives birth to a son whom she names T.S. Garp. As a single mother, Jenny raises Garp to be as idiosyncratic as she is. As a teen, Garp decides to become a writer of truths via fiction. Jenny retires as a nurse and devotes her energies to writing a memoir about living a life as a woman without the constraints of being with a man.
Jenny Fields’ memoir becomes a feminist phenomenon and Garp must seek an identity in the shadow of her fame and success. Garp falls in love with the daughter of his school wrestling coach. They marry and have children. He writes, loves, lives, succeeds, fails, etc.
“The World According to Garp” was a phenomenon of its own in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The book made John Irving. It became the basis for one of Robin Williams’ earliest movie roles.
I first read the book at around the time of the Williams’ movie. Returning to it more than 40 years later, “Garp” is less revelatory to a reader in his 60s than it was to a reader in his late teens, but the story is no less relevant. It is still funny, sad and horrifying. “Garp” rings as true now as it did then. It remains a readable book that can speak as clearly to 21st century generations as it did to 20th century readers.
