Publisher Description

A journalist's provocative and spellbinding account of her eighteen months spent disguised as a man.

Norah Vincent became an instant media sensation with the publication of Self-Made Man, her take on just how hard it is to be a man, even in a man's world. Following in the tradition of John Howard Griffin (Black Like Me), Vincent spent a year and a half disguised as her male alter ego, Ned, exploring what men are like when women aren't around. As Ned, she joined a bowling team, took a high-octane sales job, went on dates with women (and men), visited strip clubs, and even managed to infiltrate a monastery and a men's therapy group. At once thought-provoking and pure fun to read, Self-Made Man is a sympathetic and thrilling tour de force of immersion journalism.

Table of Contents

Self-Made Man1. Getting Started
2. Friendship
3. Sex
4. Love
5. Life
6. Work
7. Self
8. Journey's End
Acknowledgments
Author Interview

Review

A thoughtful, entertaining piece of first-person investigative journalism . . . Self-Made Man transcends its premise altogether. . . . So rich and so audacious . . . [I was] hooked from Page 1. (David Kamp, The New York Times Book Review)

Vincent's account of how she 'became' a man is undeniably fascinating." (Los Angeles Times Book World)

Eye-opening . . . Self-Made Man will make many women think twice about coveting male 'privilege' and make any man feel grateful that his gender is better understood. (The Washington Post)

[Vincent] can be as perspicuous and exact as Joan Didion or Gloria Steinem at nailing a hitherto disregarded truth about the sexes in a single elegant and witty phrase. . . . This is a brave and often fascinating book, with Vincent . . . offering us perspectives that are entirely fresh and new. (The Times,London)

Long Description

A journalists provocative and spellbinding account of her eighteen months spent disguised as a man Norah Vincent became an instant media sensation with the publication of "Self-Made Man," her take on just how hard it is to be a man, even in a mans world. Following in the tradition of John Howard Griffin ("Black Like Me"), Norah spent a year and a half disguised as her male alter ego, Ned, exploring what men are like when women arent around. As Ned, she joins a bowling team, takes a high-octane sales job, goes on dates with women (and men), visits strip clubs, and even manages to infiltrate a monastery and a mens therapy group. At once thought- provoking and pure fun to read, "Self-Made Man" is a sympathetic and thrilling tour de force of immersion journalism.

Review Quote

Vincents account of how she became a man is undeniably fascinating. ("Los Angeles Times Book World")

Discussion Question for Reading Group Guide

INTRODUCTION The true story of Norah Vincent''s audacious gender-bending experiment, Self-Made Man is a fascinating account of a year and a half spent discovering how the other half lives. Remaking herself as a man named Ned, Vincent exposes the truth by experiencing it; the men she meets, as well as the man she becomes, not only alter her perceptions of the opposite sex forever, but, in doing so, deeply affect her understanding of women and herself. Vincent, fearless from the first, begins by tackling the stereotypes of male competition, aggression, and sexual swagger. To her chagrin, she discovers truth in the clich

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