Why am I passionate about this?

My work over the past four decades has been to promote women’s rights, end violence against women, promote social justice, and positively transform the lives of men. I’ve worked extensively with the United Nations; presidents, prime ministers, and governments; companies and unions; NGOs and educators in fifty countries. I continue to be inspired by the many incredible people I get to meet. In addition to my talks to communities, companies, and universities, my activism, and my books on this subject, I also write fiction, most recently my mystery The Last Exit.  


I wrote

The Time Has Come: Why Men Must Join the Gender Equality Revolution

By Michael Kaufman,

Book cover of The Time Has Come: Why Men Must Join the Gender Equality Revolution

What is my book about?

It’s true that men gain enormous benefits in male-dominated societies. But surprisingly, the ways we define men’s power and raise…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era

Michael Kaufman Why did I love this book?

The rise of far-right movements and the attempts to roll back the rights of all women and the basic civil rights of Black people have been fueled by angry white men. Michael Kimmel’s brilliant book is a powerful critique of the hateful beliefs and actions of these men, but manages to speak about them with empathy. Because he also interviews men who have left neo-Nazi organizations, he leaves us with a very hopeful message.

By Michael Kimmel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Angry White Men as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We hear them on talk radio airwaves bellowing about minorities. We watch them organize anti-immigration demonstrations on the border. We read their opinions regarding the demise of white male privilege. And sometimes, tragically, we witness their aggression through vigilante violence, as in the cases of Wade Michael Page, James Eagan Holmes, Elliot Rodger, George Zimmerman, and many more. They are America's angry white men, including "men's rights" activists who think white men are the victims of discrimination, as well as members of the "white wing" of the rightward fringes of the American political spectrum. Why are they so angry?

Sociologist…


Book cover of The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love

Michael Kaufman Why did I love this book?

The world of individual men is shaped by our continuing social, economic, and political power. But “men” aren’t one uniform group. We experience the world through our socio-economic class, ‘race’, sexual and gender orientations, ethnicity, physical differences, and more. When bell hooks died in 2021, we lost one of the US’s great feminists who long explored the intersectional nature of women’s oppression. She also wrote with great compassion about men, as you can also see in her book, We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity.

By bell hooks,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Will to Change as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Everyone needs to love and be loved-even men. But to know love, men must be able to look at the ways that patriarchal culture keeps them from knowing themselves, from being in touch with their feelings, from loving.

In The Will to Change, bell hooks gets to the heart of the matter and shows men how to express the emotions that are a fundamental part of who they are-whatever their age, marital status, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. But toxic masculinity punishes those fundamental emotions, and it's so deeply ingrained in our society that it's hard for men to not comply-but…


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Book cover of Edge of the Known World

Edge of the Known World By Sheri T. Joseph,

Edge of the Known World is a near-future love and adventure story about a brilliant young refugee caught in era when genetic screening tests like 23AndMe make it impossible to hide a secret identity. The novel is distributed by Simon & Schuster. It is a USA Today Bestseller and 2024…

Book cover of How to Raise a Boy: The Power of Connection to Build Good Men

Michael Kaufman Why did I love this book?

We all need more than buzz phrases and simplistic solutions. Parents, teachers, and coaches need a clear analysis of the harms we currently do boys. Michael Reichert draws both on his experience as a therapist and a teacher to give us tools to raise more self-aware, caring, and compassionate men.

By Michael C. Reichert,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to Raise a Boy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

At a time when many boys are in crisis, a much-needed roadmap for helping boys grow into strong and compassionate men

Over the past two decades there has been an explosion of new studies that have expanded our knowledge of how boys think and feel. In How to Raise a Boy, psychologist Michael Reichert draws on his decades of research to challenge age-old conventions about how boys become men.

Reichert explains how the paradigms about boys needing to be stoic and "man like" can actually cause them to shut down, leading to anger, isolation, and disrespectful or even destructive behaviors.…


Book cover of For the Love of Men: From Toxic to a More Mindful Masculinity

Michael Kaufman Why did I love this book?

I always get pissed off when I hear some guy ranting that feminists are anti-male. In fact, I think feminists are the most pro-male humans on the planet: in spite of 8,000 years to prove the contrary, they believe that men can be peaceful and loving, and can be equal and equitable partners with women. Liz Plank is one such woman. Her book shows exactly that.

By Liz Plank,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked For the Love of Men as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A nonfiction investigation into masculinity, For The Love of Men provides actionable steps for how to be a man in the modern world, while also exploring how being a man in the world has evolved.

In 2019, traditional masculinity is both rewarded and sanctioned. Men grow up being told that boys don’t cry and dolls are for girls (a newer phenomenon than you might realize―gendered toys came back in vogue as recently as the 80s). They learn they must hide their feelings and anxieties, that their masculinity must constantly be proven. They must be the breadwinners, they must be the…


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Book cover of Songbird

Songbird By Laci Barry Post,

It's 1943, and World War II has gripped the nation, including the Stilwell family in Jacksonville, Alabama. Rationing, bomb drills, patriotism, and a changing South barrage their way of life. Neighboring Fort McClellan has brought the world to their doorstep in the form of young soldiers from all over the…

Book cover of The Museum of Lost Love

Michael Kaufman Why did I love this book?

Turning to a novel, here’s a story of a man who visits this fictional museum and sees the mementos and reads the letters of lost love. Far too many are to or by men who have caused others harm. This is not a grim story. It’s about the space that opens up for men to find a truer path to their hearts.

By Gary Barker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Museum of Lost Love as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Tyler is in therapy. Katia and Goran are in love. On a summer trip to Zagreb, the couple discover an unusual museum that displays mementos of broken relationships. Inside, Goran stumbles upon an exhibit that seems to be addressed to him, from a girl he met in a Sarajevo refugee camp at age fourteen. What follows is a whirlwind summer of reconnecting with lost pasts: Goran confronts the youth he lost during the Yugoslav Wars, Katia heads to Brazil to find her roots, and Afghanistan veteran Tyler pours out his soul. Set against alternating backdrops of violent circumstances, this novel…


Explore my book 😀

The Time Has Come: Why Men Must Join the Gender Equality Revolution

By Michael Kaufman,

Book cover of The Time Has Come: Why Men Must Join the Gender Equality Revolution

What is my book about?

It’s true that men gain enormous benefits in male-dominated societies. But surprisingly, the ways we define men’s power and raise boys to be men come with enormous costs to men ourselves. My book combines story-telling and hard-hitting analysis to talk with compassion about why men must take a stand for gender equality. 

It's a positive story that focuses on the changing workplace, ending violence against women, raising boys to be men, and the wonderful redefinition of fatherhood. The gender equality revolution is men’s chance to join women to make history and remake the world in ways that will end injustices and ultimately benefit us all.

Book cover of Angry White Men: American Masculinity at the End of an Era
Book cover of The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
Book cover of How to Raise a Boy: The Power of Connection to Build Good Men

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