OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Midmen" by Steve Ochs, GED.]

MIDMEN: The Modern Man’s Guide to Surviving Midlife Crisis by Steve Ochs, GED is a non-fiction, self-help book on aging that is masquerading as a comedy. MIDMEN provides advice on the serious topics of dealing with aging parents, money management, and depression, while weaving in anecdotes, such as the first time the author used Viagra, and humor to make the book fun to read. The target audience for MIDMEN is middle-aged men who may be staring down the face of a mid-life crisis.

Mr. Ochs is a middle-aged man himself who decided to provide a road map for his fellow midmen to survive their midlife crisis. MIDMEN devotes chapters to your spouse, your kids, your parents, the world, money, your mind, and your body. Two chapters that I found to be particularly full of helpful information were the chapters on your parents and money. Caring for aging parents is very difficult, but MIDMEN provides a framework of things to plan for before the reader gets to the point where one or both parents are unable to care for themselves. These items include transportation, medical advocacy, medication, benefits, and assisted living. Money management is a critical piece to having a happy retirement and the money chapter includes great information on budgeting, debt management, job hunting, and available government programs.

For full disclosure, I am neither middle-aged nor a man. I am actually in my late-twenties and I think this book will appeal to a wide variety of readers beyond the targeted audience of middle aged men. The information in the book is applicable to all ages and both genders. I think the spouses of middle-aged men would find the book helpful to understand why their spouse may be acting oddly. Additionally, this book would be helpful for readers younger than middle-age to get aging roadblocks on their radar so they can plan accordingly.

The biggest criticism I have for MIDMEN is the section on diet. Because Mr. Ochs is very clear that he is not a nutritionist or a scientist, I think readers should consult with their personal doctors before eliminating all of the foods that are listed in the book as cancer-causing. It would be helpful to reference scientific studies to back up the assertions made in the diet section or remove them if there is not sufficient scientific backup.

I rate MIDMEN 4 out of 4 stars. MIDMEN is very easy to read and provides a lot of laughs. Mr. Ochs’ straightforward manner and willingness to poke fun at himself really makes the book stand out from other self-help books on aging that are available.

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Midmen
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I loved your review! This book seems useful and informative. I'm wondering what foods he thinks are carcinogenic? I may have to read it!

Hi Meg,
i list various problems with various foods, not just the potential for cancer from certain foods. The book is well-researched but citations weren't included for two reasons: 1. It's self-published so it's not required. That said, if I should find the elusive publisher, I will have to share my sources and, 2. Because the tone of MIDMEN is so irreverent, I didn't want to textbook it up with anything that looked reference booky. Meanwhile, I'm thrilled with this review and the reviewer was right to question any information that wasn't properly cited whether it was factual or not.
Best,
Steve

Sounds like a great book! Thanks for the extra info. And congrats on the great review!

Funny yet informative: this book sounds like a winner! I am also neither a man nor middle-aged, but that period of life isn't as far away as it used to be. So much emphasis is placed upon women and menopause, and it's nice to know that there's a resource for what men go through (I'll need to know how to deal with my husband when we get there, lol!) Thanks for a great review!

Glad folks enjoyed the review and I really did enjoy the book.

It's weird, I actually kind of knew while I was writing the book that it stood the possibility of attracting more female readers than male in spite of the obvious intended audience. If you look at the reviews on the Amazon sales page, you'll see that at least half of the commentators are women! So, thanks for paying attention to it. If you should choose to read it and you enjoy it, your comments on Amazon really matter. I guess they also really matter if you don't enjoy it but I won't rush you to post them! Thanks again.