Review of Man Mission
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Emily Meadows
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Review of Man Mission
[Following is a volunteer review of "Man Mission" by Eytan Uliel.]
Man Mission by Eytan Uliel is a hilarious and heartwarming book about four friends who take an annual boys' trip together. It started as a dream during college, where they discussed how fun it would be to explore new locations, do outdoor activities, and taste local foods together. After college, they make it a reality when the founding members of what is deemed the "Man Mission" hike Harper’s Pass together in New Zealand. The author, Eytan, gets injured and finds himself in the back of a pickup truck being driven by gun-toting drug dealers. He’s pretty sure he’s going to die. It’s a fantastic start to what ends up being 15 years of trips together.
In the book, Eytan and his friends grow from young to middle-aged men. We follow along as they navigate through careers, marriages, fractured marriages, and children. To guide them as they plan their annual trips, Eytan and his friends create a Man Mission charter and rules. As time progresses, new traditions are created, like spontaneous sumo wrestling and wearing a pink bracelet if you have been whining a lot. Mostly, these trips give the friends time to relieve stress, laugh, catch up on each other’s lives, and challenge their own assumptions of what it means to be a man. Some glorious moments in the book were laugh-out-loud funny, like when the men came face-to-face with an angry male elephant in South Africa or when they found themselves in a hot spring with a group of Taiwanese men in Taiwan.
I enjoyed reading Man Mission. As a woman, it was fascinating for me to glimpse inside the head of a member of the male sex. I appreciated how the author discussed his insecurities and the expectations of men in today's society. In one online description of this book, someone called this book the male equivalent of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, and I agree with that description. These four friends experienced the highs and lows of life together each year as they traveled to more and more exotic locations. The author himself got more and more philosophical with age.
There wasn’t much to dislike about this book. Reading about each Man Mission made me feel an urge to travel. Each chapter ended with a trip summary that listed the country, mode of transport, distance covered, time taken, accommodation, and, my favorite, injuries sustained. The ambitious itineraries for each trip often led to sunburn, a broken bone, a torn ligament, sore muscles, or even just a bruised ego.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It was exceptionally edited, which made it easy to read and navigate through. The author’s writing was both funny and poignant. The premise that these four friends took annual trips together was original and unique. I would recommend this book to all men. That might seem general, but what made this book rise above the norm was the author’s insight that men around the world are largely the same, regardless of country of origin. Men of all generations would enjoy reading about Eytan’s adventures. I would also recommend this book to women who like humorous books and aren’t afraid to get a firsthand view of the male mind. And finally, I would encourage anyone who likes adventurous travel to pick up a copy of this book for inspiration.
******
Man Mission
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Man Mission by Eytan Uliel is a hilarious and heartwarming book about four friends who take an annual boys' trip together. It started as a dream during college, where they discussed how fun it would be to explore new locations, do outdoor activities, and taste local foods together. After college, they make it a reality when the founding members of what is deemed the "Man Mission" hike Harper’s Pass together in New Zealand. The author, Eytan, gets injured and finds himself in the back of a pickup truck being driven by gun-toting drug dealers. He’s pretty sure he’s going to die. It’s a fantastic start to what ends up being 15 years of trips together.
In the book, Eytan and his friends grow from young to middle-aged men. We follow along as they navigate through careers, marriages, fractured marriages, and children. To guide them as they plan their annual trips, Eytan and his friends create a Man Mission charter and rules. As time progresses, new traditions are created, like spontaneous sumo wrestling and wearing a pink bracelet if you have been whining a lot. Mostly, these trips give the friends time to relieve stress, laugh, catch up on each other’s lives, and challenge their own assumptions of what it means to be a man. Some glorious moments in the book were laugh-out-loud funny, like when the men came face-to-face with an angry male elephant in South Africa or when they found themselves in a hot spring with a group of Taiwanese men in Taiwan.
I enjoyed reading Man Mission. As a woman, it was fascinating for me to glimpse inside the head of a member of the male sex. I appreciated how the author discussed his insecurities and the expectations of men in today's society. In one online description of this book, someone called this book the male equivalent of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, and I agree with that description. These four friends experienced the highs and lows of life together each year as they traveled to more and more exotic locations. The author himself got more and more philosophical with age.
There wasn’t much to dislike about this book. Reading about each Man Mission made me feel an urge to travel. Each chapter ended with a trip summary that listed the country, mode of transport, distance covered, time taken, accommodation, and, my favorite, injuries sustained. The ambitious itineraries for each trip often led to sunburn, a broken bone, a torn ligament, sore muscles, or even just a bruised ego.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It was exceptionally edited, which made it easy to read and navigate through. The author’s writing was both funny and poignant. The premise that these four friends took annual trips together was original and unique. I would recommend this book to all men. That might seem general, but what made this book rise above the norm was the author’s insight that men around the world are largely the same, regardless of country of origin. Men of all generations would enjoy reading about Eytan’s adventures. I would also recommend this book to women who like humorous books and aren’t afraid to get a firsthand view of the male mind. And finally, I would encourage anyone who likes adventurous travel to pick up a copy of this book for inspiration.
******
Man Mission
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Latest Review: Forever Young by Karma Wiederrick
