Something scary is happening to boys today. From kindergarten to college, they are less resilient and less ambitious than they were a mere twenty years ago. Fully one-third of men ages twenty-two to thirty-four are still living at home with their parents, about a 100 percent increase in the past twenty years. Boys nationwide are increasingly dropping out of school; fewer are going to college. Parents, teachers, and mental-health professionals have voiced concern, but no one has come up with good reasons for their decline or, more importantly, with workable solutions to reverse this troubling trend—until now.

Family physician and research psychologist Dr. Leonard Sax delves into the scientific literature and draws on his vast clinical experience to propose a theory of why boys and young men are failing in school and at home. He argues that a combination of social, cultural, and biological factors, ranging from environmental estrogens to the over-prescription of ADHD drugs, is creating an environment that is literally toxic to boys. Here, he presents his practical solutions, from new ways of controlling boys' use of video games to innovative education reforms.