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Rating: 
Summary: Gender as a historical construction and analytical tool
Review: After reading the reviews of this book I feel obligated to issue a contrasting view that many of the reviewers, oblivious to the gender system that invisibly yet inextricably contours their own behavior and sense of self, have missed; incidently, their reviews provide interesting insights not in any regards to the book as they utterly misinterpret the text, but rather themselves and the political texture of contemporary society.
Bederman illustrates how fin de seicle white men marshalled tropes of masculinity - their conceptions of manhood - to question African-American manhood. The narration of Ida B. Wells simply illustrates how she and other reformers inverted the gender discourse against the predominant, middle-class Anglo conception of manhood to crystallize their hypocrisy. Moreover, in no way does her feminism subvert or in some other way negate the value of this book, as it was, and remains a most valuable contribution for gender studies simply because the book shows how gender, and yes, men are gendered, is socially constructed.
Rating: 
Summary: Subdued Bias
Review: Bederman chronicles the lives and movements of four prominent figures in the 1880-1917 period: Theodore Roosevelt, G. Stanley Hall, Ida B. Wells, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. However this work seems more of a history of feminism than a cultural history as Bederman focuses mainly on the achievements of women, the attempts women made for suffrage and better working conditions, all the while trying to explain away the positions of the male counterparts as lacking, unfairly oppressive, or some other pejorative term. Bederman's portrayals are quite thorough and academic yet they are not without bias, even though the bias may be subdued in some places.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and Insightful
Review: Gail Bederman writes a unique and impressive study regarding the changing views of American "manliness" during the decades spanning the turn of the century. In the Victorian years, "manliness" was seen as sexual and physical restraint and moderation in all things. As the 20th century drew near, however, changes in society--which included industrialization, economic instability, and rising immigration--called for a different view of "manliness." Was mankind becoming soft? Was this softness opening the door for the advancement of less "civilized" groups? It is important to note that by "manliness" and "civilization" the subjects of this book meant the "manliness" of whites and white "civilization." This attitude was the reason Jack Johnson's (black boxer) defeat of Jim Jeffries (white boxer) in 1910 was such a socially explosive event.Bederman offers chapters on several period thinkers on the subject including Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Theodore Roosevelt. Gilman saw women as the driving force of civilization. According to this early feminist, the gender-specific roles of Victorian America and women's economic dependence upon men doomed civilized advancement. Roosevelt, on the other hand, championed a return to the more "savage" behavior of the frontiersman in his "strenuous life" speeches and writings. Overall, Manliness and Civilization is an interesting, thought-provoking study. It has me wondering how Frederick Jackson Turner's thesis on the end of the American frontier and the Gold/Silver (was one considered more "manly"?) debates of the time ties into this topic
Rating: 
Summary: Manhood is womanly
Review: I had to buy this book for a college course that I was taking. I suspect that the only people buying this book are those who must do so in order to pass a college course. This book is trite, cliche-ridden and not at all objective. Bederman is to the far left of the political spectrum and her politics are found all throughout this book. I've learned virtually nothing new from reading the cliches that Bederman merely repeats in this book. Bederman wouldn't know an original idea if one fell on her.
Rating:
Summary: Manhood is womanly
Review: Like many others, I had to read this book, for college. Before telling us who the author was, we had to read the first two chapters. It was more than easy to tell that it was a woman. After all, she spends more time male bashing than discussing the issues critical to the text. Her development on HOW manhood is a social creation could use some help. How she develops it as it changes though time is interesting, but to bland. Some of her argument is based on stereotypes instead of facts. She may be a proffesor, but not everything she says is truth. Nevertheless, she does an exellent job adding storylines into her text to keep it interesting. I gave it 2 starz b/c the author writes well, but I would not recommend it to anyone unless the title was renamed Womanhood & other male bashing tales.
Rating:
Summary: A Challenging, Subtle book
Review: This book is a shining example of how to apply literary theory (ideas such as "discourse") to historical study. Even those who might disagree with Professor Bederman's methodology will benefit from her lucid theoretical explanation in the introduction. In short, the book makes a strong, convincing historical case for the importance of gender in understanding how the concept of civilization was used during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.
As one who has had some interaction with the author and knowing many others who have worked with her, I cannot resist adding that Professor Bederman has garnered immense respect from those who know her best (including many conservative Catholics and evangelical Protestants who may vehemently disagree with her on certain points). That her work comes from a specific point of view is undeniable, but to equate it with bias is both unfair and over-simplistic.
But don't take my word for it...read this book for yourself and decide.
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