false 128166 9 She may be smart, incisive, witty, and keenly observant but with the release of <i>Are Men Necessary?</i>--a series of pithy (some might say piqued) ruminations on the sexes--Maureen Dowd will never, ever be championed by guys. Not that she cares. Even those who seek to avoid her columns in the august pages of <i>The New York Times</i> are certain to stumble over her invective in syndication. Dowd, it often seems, is everywhere. So those seeking even more via this book should be warned: <i>Are Men Necessary?</i> not only asks the eponymous question; it seeks to answer it with myriad examples (some convincing, some not) drawn from the <i>Toronto Star</i> to Kenneth Starr, from <I>Cosmopolitan</i> to Condoleezza Rice. You can bet a lot of folks aren't going to relish the answer. <p> With hands on hips and eyes wide open, Dowd surveys gender relations in contemporary settings such as the workplace, the White House, the mall, and the media, comparing and contrasting as she goes. And while her secondary sources are endless--and, let's face it, the subject of gender inequality is not exactly new--Dowd manages to produce a fair share of bons mots. To wit, this pearl on the subject of plastic surgery and men: "I have yet to see a man come out of cosmetic surgery without looking transformed into some permanently astonished lesbian version of himself," Dowd quotes a source as saying. "It's terrifying. My friend's father had just his eyes done by the best, most highly sought-after cosmetic surgeon in New York City. And he doesn't look refreshed or well rested. He looks like he's being stabbed to death by invisible people." Dowd's generously dispersed anecdotes, though seldom as funny, are equally readable. In the end, though, one wishes <I>Are Men Necessary?</I> went beyond simply grocery listing examples of sexual disparity to offer concrete suggestions for change. Then again, maybe that's too great a task even for a woman like Dowd. <i>--Kim Hughes</i> 1339991 2005 Are Men Necessary?: When Sexes Collide total:716|5:66|4:184|3:281|2:135|1:50| 716 2229 1030 162 2 5 false false Thu Dec 13 13:19:29 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 13 14:03:33 -0800 2007
...more...]]> 2 3 false false Thu May 10 07:10:03 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 05 16:13:56 -0700 2007 The Female Thing which actually provides a social, economic, political, and psychological analysis of the subject matter. Kipnis is not only a lot smarter than Do...more...]]> 1 1 false false Sun Jul 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 12 12:40:35 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 16 09:02:30 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue May 08 09:24:44 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 03 23:11:40 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Nov 24 08:21:23 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 08:46:03 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 2 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Wed Aug 20 11:40:20 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 11:46:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Fri Jan 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 07:29:34 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 11:25:25 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false true Tue Feb 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 24 21:14:34 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 24 21:18:53 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 1 false false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Fri Oct 26 10:32:58 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 26 10:42:08 -0700 2007 3 1 false false Fri Dec 12 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 09 08:52:54 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 09:09:45 -0800 2008 2 1 false false Mon Nov 05 10:57:35 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 19 17:56:06 -0800 2007 3 0 false false Sun Nov 16 08:31:17 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 16 08:32:13 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 13 15:53:52 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 16 13:42:19 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 22 08:09:49 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 02 12:14:01 -0700 2008 But the book is not (at least so far) a man-hating book or anything like that. Catchy title aside, it's asking...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 17 19:01:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 17 19:01:05 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 08 23:27:50 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 15 11:17:48 -0800 2008 on the road and miss and important character developm...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Aug 04 19:14:25 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 09 19:55:26 -0700 2007
I picked up this book because it addresses my favorite topic: "Men And Women Are Not The Same." Some other great books on this subject are Th...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Wed Jun 27 08:59:51 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 27 09:00:20 -0700 2007 HILLARY! For President

I'm a fan of Maureen Dowd, primarily because she's a good writer and she's not afraid to speak her mind. In fact, that's her job . . . as a columnist for The New York Times . . . And that's what this book was to me: One long--338 page--column. That said, it's still...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Jun 22 04:54:22 -0700 2007 Fri Jun 22 04:54:32 -0700 2007 Are Men Necessary? does not answer, or attempt to answer to any serious degree, the question it asks. This question is used mainly as a teaser that would get your attention to the book. Even though it does not address the main subject comprehensively, I did find this book enjoyable to read...more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue May 29 17:21:03 -0700 2007 Tue May 29 17:21:03 -0700 2007 Amazon.com review:

Nothing earth-shattering here...

I was drawn to this book because of its interesting title (and I wanted to see if she had a concrete answer for it), but it ended up teaching me nothing, other than the fact that Dowd is a well-connect...more...]]>