Men on a Mission: Valuing Youth Work in Our Communities [Paperback]

This is a valuable book for any program serving young people. The National Mentoring Center 2008 A comprehensive study of men who work and volunteer with children in a variety of public settings. Journal of Economic Literature 2008 This book is a moving drama of men telling their stories of how children bring meaning into their lives-by bringing meaning into the lives of children. It is incredible how varied the backgrounds of these men are. -- Moshe Landsman PsycCRITIQUES 2009 A fabulous book... Reading Men on a Mission was perhaps the best educational experience I will have in some time. -- Nancy NCFR Community Portal Insightful and inviting... the book particularly shines with Marsiglio's discussion of the difficult cultural context within which men work with young people... Scholars of youth, youth work and community development, as well as those studying masculinity, gender and care work will find this book an important and accessible resource. -- Shauna A. Morimoto Contemporary Sociology 2009 Marsiglio gives voice to the enormous potential of male caregiving in the United States and around the world. -- William A. Corsaro American Journal of Sociology 2009 Men on a Mission is an inspiring book and an important one... Marsiglio's work has broader implications for the study of human development in general and for men and masculinity in particular... Particularly valuable as we think about individual lives and social policy. -- Carl F. Auerbach Men and Masculinities 2011

Men on a Mission provides the first comprehensive study of men who work and volunteer with kids in a variety of public settings. This engaging book brings to life diverse histories and experiences of men who have worked as coaches, teachers, youth ministers, probation officers, Big Brothers, Boys & Girls Club staff, 4-H agents, and the like.

Drawing on in-depth interviews with men between the ages of 19 and 65, ethnographic observations, and more than twenty years of research on fathers, William Marsiglio explores the many aspects of male mentorship of youth, including the motivating factors, the effectiveness of differing interpersonal strategies, how the work is perceived, the influences that youth work and fathering exert on each other, the ways in which such volunteerism affects men's personal development, and the impact of social policy and programmatic initiatives. He also highlights timely public debates about the feminization of work with kids, the culture of fear arising from the exploitation of children, public discussions about fatherhood, and community initiatives to help at-risk youth.

Situating men's youth work in historical perspective and discussing the status of youth today, this original and groundbreaking analysis offers a forward-looking vision for getting men more involved, and involved more productively, in helping kids thrive.

William Marsiglio is a professor of sociology at the University of Florida and author of Stepdads: Stories of Love, Hope, and Repair.