What a Son Needs From His Dad book review

My rating = 3 stars

I have a soft spot in my heart for books like this. It's probably because I have a deep respect for men who live up to their potential as sons of Heavenly Father, and who teach their own sons to walk in their footsteps. I haven't read too many of these kinds of books, but when I see one, I always wish I could buy it and read it then and there, then pass it on to my own wonderful husband. 

Here is part of the blurb from this book's cover:

As a man, you know a lot of what your son will face, and no one is in a better position to prepare him for life. Michael O'Donnell's insights offer simple but powerful techniques to help you start your son on the road to maturity. You can build the father-son bond you want and lead him into a healthy, well-balanced manhood. What a Son Needs From His Dad will give you proven day-to-day strategies to:

• instill character and strong spiritual values
• develop responsible habits toward work and money
• dialogue about sexuality and prepare him for marriage
• encourage godly friendships with other boys and men

I ended up a bit disappointed in this book. It didn't seem to have the "oomph" I was looking for. Books like these always seem to have a special recipe, magic bullet, or one secret to life we're all missing. The secret recipe this book teaches is very simple - be a good role model for your son. It's such a simple premise that I think it was difficult for O'Donnell to stretch the book out any longer than its slim 137 pages.

To the book's credit, I will say it's organization and structure is superb. After the opening chapters, which set up the whole point of "be a good role model", the book specifically looks at what a good role model looks like in terms of work ethic, citizenship, marriage relationships and intimacy, to name a few. Each chapter also ends with a few discussion questions, which are good for personal or group study.