One of the mixed blessings of being a science writer is the strange smorgasbord of press releases offered up in one’s inbox each week. Now and then one arrives and makes you think, Lordy, I should publish this sucker As Is, see what happens. A friend got one such today and shared it with me: “A man’s guide to manning up.”  So … well … here it is — if you’re man enough to read it.

My favorite part, possibly worth the price of the book, certainly worth the PR: “… a few scientific facts.”*

We are not making this up.

A man’s guide to manning up

A fresh philosophy of manliness for the modern man

SAN DIEGO —With a constant overload of messages from the media, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to define the concept of manhood. Is a real man sensitive or indifferent? Is he humble or cocky? While one guy might view manhood through one lens, another may have a completely opposite perspective.

In his new book The Testosterone Principles 2: Manhood and Other Stuff, TC Luoma presents the ultimate Bible for manhood. Filled with hilarious anecdotes, pop culture references and a few scientific facts, Luoma’s quirky guide addresses everything from sex, sports, strip clubs, pickup lines, steroids, and yes, even fart jokes.

According to Luoma, the majority of men today lack the basic characteristics of manliness, such as heroism, passion, drive, intensity and chivalry— and society is to blame.

“Most men don’t even understand why they think the things they do,” says Luoma. “They’re saddled with these iconic images of manhood from Gary Cooper and John Wayne, yet they’re also expected to be nurturing and kind and sympathetic. It just doesn’t gel for them.”

As a result, most men end up at one of two extremes: as rowdy, beer guzzling slobs or as a guy who seems to have more estrogen pumping through him than testosterone.

“Men today are in serious need of a new definition of manhood,” says Luoma. “The one I have in mind is a type of manhood that combines the do-goodness of the Boy Scouts with some heaping doses of self-determination and pragmatism, sprinkled with a dollop of testosterone, and seasoned with a few fistful-size pinches of Howard Stern.”

All right men, are you ready to man up?

The Testosterone Principles 2: Manhood and Other Stuff

By TC Luoma

ISBN: 978-1-45254-372-7

Retail price: $22.99

Available at www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com

About the Author:

Luoma is the editor-in-chief of Testosterone Nation (T-Nation.com), an Internet magazine devoted to weight training, sports supplementation, and changing body physique. He also publishes a weekly column devoted to his philosophy of manhood called The Atomic Dog. After growing in popularity, Luoma published his first book, Atomic Dog: The Testosterone Principles, featuring highlights from his early columns. The Testosterone Principles 2 is the sequel.

Luoma currently lives in La Jolla, California with his heroically tolerant wife, Laurie, and his Staffordshire bull terriers, Tommey and Riley.

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*Runner-up for for redundant-repetitive crowd: “increasingly more difficult”. Other runner-up: Upper-casing “Bible”. Plus, well, everything.

Photo by Ketrin1407 : Perseus, with Medusa’s head, by Antonio Canova , Metropolitan Museum of Art. Some rights reserved.