Fatherhood

An invigorating, impressively researched and honest read. Anyone doing the work of dismantling and reframing the heavy role of the father will find something here – Raymond Antrobus, author of Signs, Music
An engrossing chronicle of fatherhood … studious research and literary agility makes Fatherhood a deeply fascinating and strikingly humane read. * The Observer *
A richly absorbing piece of history embedded in a wealth of wonderful storytelling. A pleasure to read – Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments and The Odd Woman and the City
Artfully examined … highly informative … Fatherhood shows that the hidden truth of fatherhood and masculinity is that they are concepts we make and can be remade. * Financial Times *
Intelligent … The author is an undeniably talented prose stylist with estimable dot-connecting abilities. – Kirkus
Absorbing, rigorous, and profoundly moving, Fatherhood is an exquisite narrative history that offers new ways of thinking about masculinity and the modern family – Kate Bolick, author of Spinster
Fathers’ role in upholding the social order and their struggles with unruly sons are probed in this winsome and erudite study of patriarchy … Sedgwick teases out the contradictions between patriarchy as a doctrine of benevolent control and its reality as a form of constraint and domination that often breeds resistance. He plays on these ironies in elegant, evocative prose. It’s a fresh and insightful meditation on the paternal dilemma. * Publishers Weekly *
Examines not only recent shifts, but the continuous process of change that runs through the centuries … a fascinating survey and a book with a particular relevance today. * Unseen Histories *
Explains the surprising roots of our modern masculinity crisis. * GQ *

Augustine Sedgewick is the author of Coffeeland: A History, a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection and the winner of Italy’s Cherasco History Prize. He earned his doctorate at Harvard University and lives in New York City with his son. Fatherhood is his second book.

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