Norah Vincent - Self-Made Man: One Womans Journey into Manhood and Back Again

A thoughtful, entertaining piece of first-person investigative journalism. Though theres plenty of humor in Self-Made Man , Vincentlike her spiritual forbear John Howard Griffintreats her self-imposed assignment seriously, not as a stunt. Self-Made Man transcends its premise altogether, offering not an undercover womans take on male experience, but simply a fascinating, fly-on-the wall look at various unglamorous male milieus that are well off the radar of most journalists and book authors. So rich and so audacious[I was] hooked from page 1.

David Kamp, The New York Times Book Review

[Norah Vincent is] the new Steinem.

William Safire, The New York Times

Vincents account of how she became a man is undeniably fascinating.

Los Angeles Times Book World

Moving and often illuminating Self-Made Man is an exhilarating book.

Joyce Carol Oates, The Times Literary Supplement

Eye-openingWhile the side effects of Vincents experiment are fascinating, it is her field reporting from Planet Guy that holds the most novelty. Self-Made Man will make many women think twice about coveting male privilege and make any man feel grateful that his gender burden is better understood.

The Washington Post

Empathetic, explosive insights.

New York Post

This isnt a we-are-the-world book in which Vincent rejoices in our common humanity. Its too subtle for that, too smart and too honest.

Time

If theres a more interesting book on the market today, we dont know what it is.

Austin American-Statesman

Vincent can be a candid and brave writer, always eager to avoid political cant and hackneyed thinking, and this male reader kept turning the pages eagerly. Vincent has glimpsed some things about manhood that hardly any women get to see. Vincents moments of sharpest perceptioninto the intricacies of male camaraderie, or the dreary, mutually hostile gamesman-ship of heterosexual datingfeel unfakable, and if she were making it all up the material would probably be both more explosive and less ambiguousHer bowling chapter (Friendship) is a mini-masterpiece of sympathetic reporting, and theres no question that it took enormous courage for this New York lesbian intellectual to walk into a highly competitive bowling league somewhere in the American heartland, one of the most male of all male sanctums.

Salon

The details of her transformation are fascinatingCompulsively readable.

The Dallas Morning News

This thoroughly accessible and well-wrought tale of her year and a half as Ned Vincent is fascinating in its conception, stylish in its execution, and a rollicking good read. It is impossible not to like Vincent, to empathize with her struggles, and root for her success. She pulls it off with passion, gusto, honesty, and a healthy sprinkling of colorful words to flesh out her characters. Vincents fascinating experiment makes for a positively delicious read. Brava, Miss Vincent. Atta boy, Ned.

The American Enterprise

CaptivatingWill forever change the way you see menand perhaps yourself.

Marie Claire

Sane and compassionateIt is this confidence and compassion, even more than her derring-do, that make Ms. Vincent such a good secret agent in the gender wars.

The New York Sun

It says a lot that it took a woman to provide such a sharp and entertaining analysis of what its like to be a man in the post-feminist world.

Mother Jones

Self-Made Man was a book begging to be written.

The Portland Mercury

RemarkableVincents experiment could help us fight fewer battles in the war between the sexes.

SF Weekly

Lucid, engaging, and remarkably insightfulIts a must-read for anyone curious about the masks thrust upon us by gender roles, sexual identity and the surprisingly false conceptions we all have about what makes a manwell, a man.

Willamette Week

Entertaining.

Charleston Post and Courier

A fascinating, truly weird account of a female journalist who dresses in drag for eighteen months in order to feel mens painOne of the curiouser books of latesure to attract attention.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

A spellbinding, eye-opening personal narrativeWith intelligence and sensitivity, Vincent relates her experiences and surprising discoveries about the secrets and rites of male society and the daily fears and desires of individual men.

Library Journal

Awfully fun to readFor fans of Nickel and Dimed -style immersion reporting, this book is a sure bet.

Publishers Weekly

Funny, compelling, and human.

The Times (London)

Not many women could get away with successfully impersonating a man over a long period, but then, not many men have the balls Norah Vincent has. This is an addictive, enthralling read: each chapter is progressively more fascinating as Ned becomes more ensconced in his new life.

The Guardian (London)

Masterful. Its one of the few books about men that has actually made me feel sorry for them.

Lionel Shriver, The Guardian (London)

This eloquently constructed book makes for fascinating reading, as much for the chronicle of her own journey as for her insights into the male condition.

Metro (UK)

Fascinating.

Sunday Express (UK)

An extraordinary human document, rich in empathy and insight. Readers expecting a light read about a diverting stunt will find themselves taking a riveting and richly illuminating journey into some of their own deepest truths. You start out peeping into a window and end up staring into a mirror.

Bruce Bawer, author of While Europe Slept

A fascinating, original and often hilarious long days journey into the world of men. Posing as a man and infiltrating the female-free places males congregate, Norah Vincent finds the male precincts to be a lot betterand a lot worsethan most women ever imagine.

Christina Hoff Sommers, author of Who Stole Feminism? and The War Against Boys

This gripping book got me through a delayed transatlantic flight beside a shrieking baby. Could I say more? It was high-risk stuff, Norah Vincents undercover research into what men are like when theyre in the places where men are men. The readers heart beats fast at the chances she took. In adventure writing like this it is the quality of the adventurer that matters. Norah Vincents perceptiveness, and above all her large sympathies, make her the perfect guide.

Nuala OFaolain, author of Are You Somebody? and The Story of Chicago May

Praise for Norah Vincent

Norah Vincent is a true freethinker and independent journalist in the European manner, challenging prevailing assumptions in academe, politics, and media. Her work has always had a bold skepticism and energy. She is a model of pragmatic, enlightened feminism.

Camille Paglia