Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Father Hunger By Douglas Wilson

PUBLISHER: THOMAS NELSON
RELEASE DATE: MAY 1, 2012


Father Hunger by Douglas Wilson is not at all what I expected. Given the title and the subtitle, Why God Calls Men to Love and Lead Their Families, I anticipated this book being more of a slap-on-the-wrist for dads in error followed by a pragmatic solution. Instead, the reader gets a lesson on economics, anti-feminism, gender roles, education, child discipline and more.

Wilson really breaks down the society’s ills which, according to Wilson, are a direct result of the lack of a masculine head of the family. Although the concepts Wilson discusses and defends are very intellectual and complex, he addresses them in a very readable and relatable manner. There are plenty of jokes and witty humor to almost make the book feel conversational rather than essay-ish.

There were a few points Wilson made that seemed like a bit of a stretch for me. For example, Wilson argues that a father who desires to train up his child in the ways of the Lord must provide them with a Christian education, i.e. private school or home school. Through his argument, Wilson seems as if he is asserting that sending a child to public school is an un-Christian thing to do. However, despite the fact that I disagreed with Wilson on a few points, I still found his arguments compelling and well-worth the read.

Not being real familiar with Douglas Wilson, I had no real expectations of Father Hunger outside of what was stated at the beginning of the review. I found him to be intelligent and readable and I really enjoyed his humor. I thought he stated his points well, despite the few areas that were a bit of a stretch for me. Even though this book was nothing like I anticipated, it ended-up being much better than I could have hoped. Whether you agree with everything he says or not, Wilson certainly leaves his readers with something to think about.

I received a copy of this book for free from Booksneeze.com in exchange for my review.





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