Escaping the necktie noose: thoughtful gifts for Dad

REVIEWS BY HOWARD SHIRLEY

I do not like neckties. I highly suspect that I am not alone in my revulsion for these nooses, but books I love. So, in service to other fathers equally eager to escape a silk snare (and to those who wish to see delight rather than dull acceptance in a father's eye), I offer the following helpful recommendations on books that will make great gifts for Dad.

Being Mr. Mom

Dads of all ages will laugh in agreement at the predicaments in How Tough Could It Be? The Trials and Errors of a Sportswriter Turned Stay-at-Home Dad. With humor in his pen and one hand on a mop, Sports Illustrated writer Austin Murphy shares his experiences as he swaps roles with his wife for six months. How does a man go from interviewing superstar athletes to planning the elementary school talent show? Or more specifically, how does he survive it? There is both insight and laughter in Murphy's answer, making this book entertaining for both fathers and mothers alike.


Fish stories

Mark Kingwell combines philosophy and fishing with aplomb in Catch and Release: Trout Fishing and the Meaning of Life. I confess that I am not a fisherman, so I come to this book with an outsider's eye, as one enticed but not converted. What I see is enticing in itself, for this is not a book about fishing (as the author proclaims in his first chapter), but about life, with fishing as its lure. The book runs about from here to there, rather like a trout racing with the line in his mouth, back and forth willy-nilly across the river, occasionally leaping high into the air in moments of startling beauty, occasionally diving deep beneath the surface into pools of insight. Throughout, Catch and Release plays mostly midway beneath the air and the deep, flashing through the reader's mind as if at play, delighting just in the moment of being there. A bit, the author would suggest, like fishing.


Fatherhood illustrated

Be Prepared: A Practical Handbook for New Dads by Gary Greenberg is a convenient little volume that seeks to answer the question well known to all new fathers: "What do I do with this?" Combining humor and helpful advice with rich illustrations by Jeannie Hayden, Be Prepared offers welcome relief for the anxious dad. The information is solid and thorough, vetted by pediatricians and parenting experts, as well as experienced fathers. The tone is light and fun, divided like baby food into easily digestible bits, while the topics cover every concern from teething to understanding the difficulties (both physical and emotional) that the new mother is facing. (If only this book had been available nine years ago when this young father needed to be prepared!)


Scouts' honor

One can't say "Be prepared" without acknowledging the originator of the phrase: Lord Robert Baden-Powell. This year sees the reprinting of Baden-Powell's 1908 book that started it all, Scouting for Boys, with a new introduction by Elleke Boemer. This new edition is a delight for fathers who once were or now have Boy Scouts, and a remarkable look into the mind of an unusual man and the culture that influenced him. Some of the ideas are archaic, but there is an underlying faith in the commonality of men—and more specifically boys—that wells up throughout the book. Baden-Powell's call for both boys (and girls) to be their best and "do a good turn daily" remains compelling, and the stories, games and skills he writes about are as stirring to the boyish soul as they were nearly a century ago.


Wisdom for the ages

Guidance for a boyish soul can also be found in Hugh Downs' Letter to a Great Grandson: A Message of Love, Advice, and Hopes for the Future. Shortly after the birth of his great-grandson, Downs began writing a collection of ruminations and advice, spread across 17 "ages" his young descendant could hope to reach. The book is a wonderful mix of biographical tidbits, life experiences and wisdom on everything from family relationships to love. This is not a tale for children, but a man's philosophy on what it means to live, grow and learn, at every stage of life.


Howard Shirley is a writer and father in Nashville.

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