Customer Reviews
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This book is a quick read, but it very comfortably covers a lot of important topics. Contrary to one of the reviews on the site, it tries very hard not to belittle men. Of course the authors are men. It starts with the premise that men are designed by God to do certain things well, lead, protect, and problemsolve, and that men get into relational trouble when they bring the "tools" of these trades and try to apply them in a relationship. Together with "Wild at Heart" by John Elderidge, it is a good kick in the pants to become the man God intends you to be.
not all men are born ingnorant
I just wanted to point out that not all men are the way described in toolbox. Many of us don't watch television and film just to gather the facts. I read books all of the time, dear Smalleys, and there is no shortage of imagination or empathy in my blood. A book called WHY WOMEN LISTEN AND MEN DONT (or something) is written by a couple that tries to convince readers that when men listen they are expressionless and women are lighted by facial gestures in contrast. Michael Moore, in his book STUPID WHITE MEN (very cool read), comments that men are ugly and disgusting(especially their genitals) and bent only on destroying everything. He goes on to say that women are the earth's way of making up through stunning beauty and childbirth. Someone should have told Mike that women cant have children without men, alot of females walking the earth are not the models that sell products with sexuality(men have very stunning physics when they're healthy aswell), and men are not all the same! This is my main problem with toolbox and worse male writers who slander men and their supposed shared psyche of misogynistic possessiveness. If men are miscommunicative then how on earth did they build a relationship in the first place. Some women have been known to share this same "male" trait of troubled bonding with a male. My point is that such a broad generalization does not account for the countless men and women who share a different relationship than the cliched ones in toolbox and the like. It just seems that the Smalleys were trying to cash in on something that can rarely be changed in an established coupling without a depthy visit to the ole marriage counsellor.
Men don't have to be IDIOTS
Men's Relational Toolbox is a great resource for any man who is serious about his relationships. The Smalley guys have done a great job in presenting doable solutions for those who are relationship challenged. Men are NOT from Mars and women are NOT from Venus, we live right here on planet Earth and are wired different on purpose. Read this book to see why we are different, to understand that these differences mean that we ca relate to each other in such a way that can strengthen their God-ordained estate as husband and wife. -- K. K. Dunn, Kansas City
