American Men

By: Jordan Ritter Conn

Narrated by: Daniel Henning

A deeply intimate portrait of the lives of four men that examines—in profound and comprehensive ways—what it means to be a man in America.

They wield outsized power across all major institutions. They are falling behind across all measures of well-being and success. They include loving husbands and absent fathers, corporate strivers and displaced workers, the objects and instruments of incredible violence. They are half the population. And yet when mentioned as a bloc, it’s often to ask the question: What’s wrong with them?

American Men is a book that burrows deep into the lives of four men, exploring how each of them construct their relationship to masculinity, and how they navigate that relationship over time. They include Ryan, an amateur MMA fighter from the Akwesasne Mohawk territory, struggling to come to terms with both his sexuality as a closeted gay man and his draw toward bar room violence; Gideon, an itinerant, tall and handsome West Point graduate and former baseball star who unravels when he encounters challenges to his status as the white masculine ideal; Joseph, a Seattle law student whose marriage teeters on the brink as he tries on his own to contend with the effects of childhood sexual trauma; and Nate, a young Ohio man still living at home and trying to establish security for himself in a rural pocket of a red state, where he’s under threat as someone who is Black, trans, and poor. Written with searing intimacy after five years of reporting, the book interweaves their stories into a mosaic that explores identity, heritage, and the pressures and performance of modern American masculinity.

Critic reviews

"Jordan Ritter Conn’s American Men is a masterclass in empathetic storytelling. With profound sensitivity and unwavering curiosity, he brings us into the lives of men grappling with the silent pressures of masculinity. This is journalism that listens deeply and writes with a rare generosity of spirit."—Gilbert King, Pulitzer prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove

"A deeply immersive, intimate look into the lives of four men from vastly different backgrounds and experiences. Beautifully woven together, their stories reveal the current, confused state of American masculinity." —Wright Thompson, New York Times bestselling author of The Barn

"Wise, insightful, and harrowing, American Men will leave readers both shattered and inspired—and grateful for Jordan Ritter Conn’s humanity. This book dares to suggest that even as his subjects struggle—and sometimes fail—there is also occasion for hope. At turns heart wrenching and uplifting, American Men showcases Conn's remarkable gifts as a storyteller, and as a man."—Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of Cleavage: Men, Women, and the Space Between Us, and (with Jodi Picoult) Mad Honey