In the Country of Men: My Travels

While the harrowing journey into womanhood has been a topic of such thoughtful and hugely popular books as Reviving Ophelia, Schoolgirls, and Girlfriends, the equally harrowing journey into manhood has not received much attention. In the Country of Men, Jan Waldron's second beautiful memoir, is a paean to boyhood and an exposé of the myths of manhood.

This book grew out of a piece Waldron wrote for The New York Times Magazine about her teenage sons and their journeys into manhood. It was re...