Making Men: Five Steps To Growing Up – Review

Used with permission

Chuck Holton, Army Ranger and war correspondent, endeavors to help young men live happier and more fulfilling lives by embracing hardship and responsibility. His book explains what growing up and becoming a man looks like.

The book is structured around five qualities of manhood. Chuck describes each quality and weaves his story through the book, showing how he learned of and adopted them.

The qualities are submission, honor, assessment and improvement, perish and provide, and engagement. Chuck makes a critical point: Real men sacrifice for the good of others by embracing difficulty and hardship. This selfless leadership leads to a healthy family, an adventurous life, and personal fulfillment.

According to Chuck, submission is the foundation of manhood. A man must submit to God and proper authority. This means submitting to the Ultimate Being and orienting one’s life according to his design and commands, revealed in nature and the Bible.

Chuck explains that to live honorably, one must value things rightly. Chuck writes: “Understanding honor requires nothing more than learning what is most important and living appropriately based on that knowledge.” (66). This requires desiring what is true and good, serious thinking, prioritization, and a willingness to take action.

Chuck’s third quality, assess and improve, is likened to a farmer walking down a field, evaluating the quality of his crops and rooting out weeds. Chuck believes in the importance of assessing one’s life, including career, religious beliefs, and physical health, to make needed changes. 

The following quality, perish and provide, is the heart of manhood and leadership. A man considers the needs of others as more important than his own. He is devoted to his wife, kids, and colleagues and fulfills his duties. Importantly, this quality of sacrificial service is the key to a fulfilled life. Chuck writes, “The more hardship a man is willing to embrace, the more fulfilling his life will become….” (138).

Lastly, Chuck explains that a man must engage and execute. This is the opposite of passivity. Knowing what one ought to do is not enough. One must act. Action, the key to an adventurous and fulfilling life, is the capstone quality that separates men from boys.

The book is accessible and practical, with many interesting stories that emphasize and illustrate the qualities of manhood. It would benefit high school, college, and middle school students. Girls and young women interested in marriage can also benefit from learning what to look for in a husband.