No, this is not a post about Eric. 

Actually, I had decided I was not going to do any more posts reviewing books.  I love getting the free books.  But I don’t so much love the subtle pressure I felt to be “nice” in my reviews even if I didn’t love the book.  So I was going to be done. 

And then, the day after I’d made this decision, I got another email about a book that really intrigued me.

The Male Factor (see above).  So even though I’m a SAHM these days and this book is actually about men in the work world, I decided to read it.  And it’s been very interesting, to say the least. 

Shaunti Feldhahn has written previously about the differences between men and women in For Women Only and For Men Only (written with her husband) and now she is addressing how those differences, and resulting (mis)perceptions, sometimes cause women to struggle in their outside-the-home interactions with men.  Her idea is that if women realize how the male brain works and what rules they “play” by, they will be better able to interact successfully and decide whether to challenge those rules (when necessary).  It is not a book about “how women need to be different at work” so much as “what women need to understand about men so they don’t shoot themselves in the foot” at work. 

Now, for the sake of full disclosure, I am not finished with the book yet.  I’m about halfway through.  But as I am not currently working outside the home, it hasn’t been a pressing read.  But the insights have been really intriguing, and I can easily see their application even on committees or at church or in any situation where men and women have to work together to accomplish a task.

So, I really have no qualms about recommending this book.  It’s worth a read if you work with men on a regular basis.  And it might just explain some things about those strange male creatures, whom we all know and love, that have been confusing us for a long time. 

Anyway, if you want more information about the book, check out the Multnomah website. 

And of course (per the FTC regulations), this book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Okay, that wasn’t so bad, was it?  Maybe I’ll keep getting free books for review after all…