Review of Wild At Heart by John Eldredge

Stated simply, this book is about men being men. In his revised an expanded edition, John Eldredge sets out to explain Biblical masculinity, arguing that men need a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue. These characteristics make up the man who is Wild at Heart. Eldredge looks into the depths of men's souls to analyze what keeps them from being wild at heart. Throughout the whole book, he relies heavily on the Bible to make his case.  At the heart of this is the message that masculinity is bestowed by God. He emphasizes his point in chapter seven writing that, "True masculinity is Spiritual."

I approached this book wondering if another book about manhood was needed, but Eldredge hit a home run. I think that he had it right, however, that men need permission to be men. There many obstacles keep a man from fighting his battles, having adventures, and pursuing the woman in his life. In the beginning, I was skeptical that this would be all about being a tough guy and doing "manly" things, but Eldredge changed my mind when he said that Biblical masculinity is about being the man that God created me to be. God has endowed men with certain characteristics and responsibilities and in Christ we have the freedom to do those things. We all want to be like William Wallace and Elderdge says that we can. This is a fantastic book; I would recommend it to any guy looking to be inspired.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”