validation of the masculine,” he doesnnot mean by “masculine” an innernsecurity so great that it allows tenderness;nhe wants old-fashioned toughness.nHe believes decisiveness, aggressiveness,nand the capacity for violencenare as important as the nurturant valuesnabout which so much is being heard. Itnis a tribute to the level of intimidationnachieved by feminists that Davidson’snunapologetic embrace of manhood willnprobably shock the reader. “Does thisnmean that a man or a woman whonexhibits less of some of these [stereotypical]ncharacteristics is less of a mannor a woman than one who exhibitsnmore? Yes, it does. When we sayn’What a woman!’ or ‘What a man!’nthat is exactly what we mean.” Prosenlike this provides a long-forgotten thrill,nlike the aroma of steak after a regimennof tofu. Unfortunately, his eagerness tonremind the reader of manhood occasionallyntempts Davidson to overstatement.nHe argues that the masculinendisposition to smash things must benpreserved against the day when a cometnthreatens to collide with the Earth. Ifncomet-busting is typical of the reasonsnmale aggressiveness is needed, it maynsafely be allowed to vanish. It is surelynenough to observe that those othernguys over the hill are liable to vent theirnaggression on us, and for this reason wenmust keep our masculine powder dry.nWe always like to think that foolishnideas have no power to persuade othersnpresumably as rational as we. It wouldntherefore be nice to be able to agreenwith Davidson that feminism has alsonfailed as an influential social movement,nbut to do so would be selfindulgent.nDavidson is certainly rightnthat many social changes for whichnfeminists claim credit (or take blame)nwere generated by larger social forces,nparticularly “the decreasing specializationnin the basic spheres of human life”nthat permits everyone, women included,nto try more things. However, neithernthe Geraldine Ferraro debacle inn1984 nor the failure of the EqualnRights Amendment, Davidson’s principalnconcrete evidence that feminismnis finished, warrant any such conclusion.nThe Democratic Party remains asnpowerful as it is pro-feminist. It currentlyncontrols both houses of Congressnand may elect a President thisnyear. Feminist organizations played anmajor role in blocking the appointmentnof Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.nAnd while the ERA was never ratified,nvirtually everything it demanded is beingnsecured by other means, chieflynlitigation involving the 14th Amendment,nTitle IX, Title VII of the CivilnRights Act, and other civil rights legislation.nDavidson asserts, wholly incorrectly,nthat “By the mid-eighties, thenidea of comparable worth was effectivelyndead among thoughtful Americans.”nIn fact, hundreds of state andnmunicipal governments have imposedncomparable worth pay scales or havenordered comparable worth studies, thentelltale prelude to legislative action.nAstonishingly, Davidson makes onlynone small parenthetical reference tonaffirmative action for women, an ideanvery much alive and recently given fullnrecognition by the Supreme Court. Itnis not easy to follow Davidson’s assertionnthat “a consensus is emerging thatnfeminism went too far” at a time whenntens of millions of men are beingndiscriminated against solely becausenfeminist claims about past “sexism”nand the need for “role models” havenbeen institutionalized. Davidson’snsweeping judgment that “the FeministnEra is over” is sheer wishful thinking.nAt such junctures Davidson has fallennvictim to the vices of his virtues.nThe autonomy of mind which allowsnhim to praise masculinity when, allnaround him, men are losing theirs alsonweakens his sensitivity to external stimuli.nIn much the same way, Davidson’snfluency leads him, often enough, tonfustian. There are whole paragraphsnconsisting solely of rhetorical sentences.nThe book as a whole is rathernamorphous in overall design, with digressionsnof dubious relevance, and isnextremely repetitious. Davidson makesnvirtually all his points in the first half ofnFailure; some of the later chapters readnalmost like revised versions of earliernones.nThese lapses, however, do not diminishnthe value of Davidson’s book.nHe has not only looked upon thenGorgon and returned, he has broughtnback a vivid description of the creature.nAMERICA BY THE THROAT:nTHE STRANGLEHOLD OF FEDERAL BUREAUCRACYnfllRMTnGe«»«”s«>’ns-.ii^iic!nby George Rochen”A lucid, even entertaining, yet also brilliantnand penetrating diagnosis of the majornsocial disease of our time. A splendid booknthat deserves very wide readership.”nNobel laureate Milton FciedmannSenior Research Fellow,nHoover Institutionn’^’B^’Ske^it^frkaAtTbr-pSmriSM ai’il” “nrt firipniiL riis.«M Cico’j’.t’ liniin’ ‘ncil < sni;”i’ •i’iii •• “‘i . h • •!•ndisplays a keen understanding of this issue,nand carries an important message.”nWilliam E. SimonnFormer Secretary of the Treasuryn$5.00 PAPERBOUNDn$14.95 HARDBOUND (Michigan residents add 4% sales tax)nVISA AND MASTERCARD ORDERS 800-253-3200, EXT. 801n”Democracy will break down if the people do not soon become aware of whatnis being done in their name . . . take notice of what Dr Roche is telling you innthis book.”nF. A. HayeknNobel Laureate, F.A. Hajek, Author, The Road to SerfdomnHILLSDALE COLLEGE PRESSnHillsdale, Michigan 49242nnnJULY 1988125n