“A string of thoughts occurred to him, not for the first time: I’ve been driven from my home. I’ve
been driven from my family, my tribe, my roots. I surrendered and fled. I’m lonely. My life is ultimately
pointless.”
– A Generation of Men
Modern “man.”
A Generation of Men, by Jonathan Frost, is one of the best books on contemporary masculinity that I have ever read. Make no mistake, A Generation of Men may be a work of fiction, but it draws heavily from philosophy and sociology. This book is the 21st century equivalent of a Roman à clef.
The story follows a bro king, a “nice guy,” and a video game nerd; as they progress through a year at college. Rather than going the predictable route, Frost makes the characters and their actions fairly complex. By the end of the book, I was very surprised at how the narrative had played out and what fates each of the characters had succumbed to.
As much as I enjoyed this book, there are some aspects that will probably turn off a lot of readers. A Generation of Men really does feel like a Roman à clef, complete with ham-handed monologues and deus ex machina. But, considering how well written Frost’s other works have been, I think this was done intentionally; while the monologues are clunky, they do help to capture the ideological aspects of this book.
Overall, I recommend A Generation of Men. I doubt this book will be everyone’s cup of tea, but I enjoyed reading it and thought it to be very insightful. As a bonus, Frost has made the book free, until March 7th, for anyone who uses the coupon code: PG37C
“The following is, regrettably, a true story. Some of the names and identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the innocent. Thought few of the people involved were innocent by any definition whatsoever.”
– English Teacher X, To Travel Hopelessly
With the exception of a few titles, I usually hate travel memoirs. Most travel stories I’ve read have managed to be both overly dramatic and incredibly boring. To Travel Hopelessly, by English Teacher X, does neither of these things. There’s a reason that X writes under a pseudonym, and it’s not because his writings are going to earn him a job promotion.
I started reading To Travel Hopelessly with very little idea as to what this book would be like. Since the book tells the story of a man who goes around the world teaching English as a foreign language, I feared that I was in for a boring read. I could almost taste the pretentious “these foreigners are so stupid, it’s a good thing I’m here” attitude common with tales of Westernizing the Third World.
Fortunately I was dead wrong.
To Travel Hopelessly is an incredibly fun read, packed with debauchery. X isn’t some stuffy fifty year old man who’s trying to trying to convert school children to his way of thinking, he’s a twenty-something-year-old dude. As a result, his adventure are less this:
And a whole lot of this:
X started teaching English abroad, when teaching requirements and standards were incredibly low. As he puts it:
“Any white person that could stand upright could get a job there. And many did that couldn’t stand upright for very long.”
Because of the low entry standards, X works along side a colorful cast of characters: thieves, drug addicts, pedophiles, and everything in-between.
Aside from the anecdotes about teaching (my favorites being the one where X accidentally breaks a students arm, and the one where he comes to work while on acid), there are plenty of tales set outside the classroom. These stories often focus more on life within the particular country, and often showcase the harsh circumstances that inhabitants had to endure. I’m not going to lie, some of the environments sound incredibly awful. “Vokaburg,” an industrial city in post Soviet Russia, sounds horrible.
If you enjoy books like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Tropic of Cancer, you’ll want to check out To Travel Hopelessly.
“Become excellent. Become the best possible
version of yourself you can be, and then share your story
with others who want to do the same. In a culture that has
purged itself of confidence, let’s create a counterculture
organized along the exact opposite ideals: Pride. Courage.
Self-respect. Strength. Become a member of the New
Aristocracy.”
– Jonathan Frost, The Freedom Twenty-Five Lifestyle Guide
As much as I enjoy self-improvement books, I find that most of them are too focused on accumulating material wealth. Maybe I’ve watched Fight Club one too many times, but I think it not right to improve yourself solely for monetary gains. If you’re unhealthy, socially awkward, and unintelligent; buying a Ferrari isn’t going to solve anything.
“The majority of men in our generation will spend their lives working boring, meaningless jobs while hunched over a desk. Millions of ambitious, intelligent people will spend the vast majority of their waking hours doing busywork in cubicles. They will wake up ten years from now as burntout 35-year-old lawyers and investment bankers with nothing to show for the best years of their life but dark circles under their eyes, a fancy title, a fast car, and a well-furnished condo.”
Instead of chasing money, Frost advocates good health, financial freedom, relationships, wisdom, and purpose; and he does so in a straightforward manner that feels like getting advice from your cool uncle. Because it’s written for young men and doesn’t bother with being politically correct, The Freedom Twenty-Five Lifestyle Guide is packed with practical advice that an author like Tony Robbins would never publish; least it generate controversy.
One thing that I really liked about this book is the fact that Frost is very vocal about his viewpoints (voting does nothing, Facebook is a waste of time, don’t get married just because it’s expected of you, etc..), but never transcends into the “holier than thou” mentality that most opinionated authors quickly settle into. If Frost doesn’t know something he’ll admit it, right in the book description Frost admits that:
“There’s only so much advice I can offer on [life purpose], since I still have a lot to figure out for myself. But I can tell you this: Once you’re in control of your health, your money, your relationships, and your time, everything else starts to become a lot clearer.”
While not for everyone, The Freedom Twenty-Five Lifestyle Guide is a great book for young men. I enjoyed it, and everyone who I’ve lent my copy to has enjoyed it as well. If you’re a man between the ages of 16 and 30, I highly recommend getting a copy of this book.
My first college experience was one of the most disappointing events of my entire life. I was 16 and went to spend Halloween weekend at a major university. Having grown up on Tucker Max stories, I was expecting something akin to Van Wilder. Instead, I spent the weekend sitting around my friend’s dorm room and listening to people complain about their classes.
Animal House lied to me.
Since then I’ve never liked academia. While I don’t doubt the importance of a good degree, I am skeptical as to how many people really need to go to college and how much is actually “learned” at school. I’ve always felt that most subjects could be self-taught, and done so inexpensively.
I consider my formal education secondary to my actual learning. Don’t get me wrong, I take school very seriously and get all A’s; but I also believe that independent learning teaches more than any professor or lecture hall ever could. Because of my viewpoints, I was incredibly excited to discover 40 Alternatives To College, by James Altucher.
40 Alternatives To College is a great book for anyone who wants to learn more than what a standard education has to offer. Altucher makes a great argument as to why college isn’t for everyone, and re-enforces the importance of hands-on learning:
“Computer programming is best learned on the job. English literature is best learned by reading books you are passionate about. Writing is best learned by having real experiences, writing everyday, and reading the great writers that inspire you.”
Altucher’s philosophy struck especially close to home with me. As I’ve learned more from independently reading and trying new things, than I have from my past two years of school.
Aside from just building a case against the necessity of higher education, Altucher also offers actual alternatives to attending college. Even if you’re in school, most of the options are still doable; and many of them would make good side businesses.
Unlike most “forge your own path” type books, this one is pretty blunt about the fact that not everyone will succeed at being independent:
“Failure is a part of life. Better to learn it at 18 than at 23 or older when you’ve been coddled by the ivory tower blankets and hypnotized into thinking success was yours for the taking. Get baptized in the river of failure as a youth so you can blossom in entrepreneurial blessings as an adult.”
While I enjoyed this book, I did notice that it was poorly edited. Spelling errors were pretty frequent and there were a few broken hyperlinks. Other than these issues, 40 Alternatives To College was a great read.
, by Jonathan Frost, is a book that understands that money won’t solve anything; as Frost explains:
, by 