Fatherhood Science

The inspiring, heart-rending story of a father's unwavering love for his son. David Goldman and his Brazilian wife, Bruna Bianchi, led what appeared to be a happy life in New Jersey. But in June 2004, Bianchi took their four-year-old son, Sean, to Brazil for what she said would be a two- week vacation. Once there, she informed Goldman that she was staying in Brazil-and keeping Sean, setting in motion an international controversy that would eventually reach the highest levels of the U.S. and Brazilian governments. It would be almost five years before David saw Sean again.

There are hundreds of books on parenting, and with good reason - becoming a parent is scary, difficult, and life-changing. But when it comes to books about parenting identity, rather than the nuts and bolts of raising children, nearly all are about what it's like to be a mother. Drawing on research in sociology, economics, philosophy, gender studies, and the author's own experiences, Father Figure sets out to fill that gap.

When a mountain mysteriously appears in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a group of scientists are sent to investigate – and discover what is at the summit. Eminent scientist, explorer and chronic loner Harry Tunmore is among those asked to join the secret mission – and he has his own reasons for joining the team beyond scientific curiosity. But the higher the team ascend, the stranger things become. Time and space behave differently on the mountain, turning minutes into hours, and hours into days.

From buying buggies and cutting the cord to dealing with your wife's breastfeeding in public - the life of a first-time father will throw up new experiences every day. The Expectant Dad's Survival Guide tells you everything you need to know during your partner's pregnancy and the first few weeks of your new life as a dad. Combining expert advice from midwives, psychologists and obstetricians with first-hand accounts, it explains what's happening with her, what's going on with your baby, and what the hell you should be doing every step of the way.

Turns out that The Bitch In the House was only half the story. Daniel Jones, husband of Cathi Hanauer, has rallied the men for the "literary equivalent of The Full Monty," in which a group of thoughtful, passionate, and often hilarious men lay it bare when it comes to their wives and girlfriends, their hopes and fears.

Throughout his 25-year journalistic career, David Carr was noted for his sharp and fearless observations, his uncanny sense of fairness and justice, and his remarkable compassion and wit. His writing was informed both by his own hardships as an addict, and his intense love of the journalist's craft. His range - from media politics to national politics, from rock-n-roll celebrities to the unknown civil servants who make our daily lives function - was broad and often timeless.

Just as his music career was taking off, Juan Vidal received life-changing news: He’d soon be a father. Throughout his life, neglectful men were the rule - his own dad struggled with drug addiction and infidelity - a cycle that, inevitably, wrought Vidal with insecurity. At age 26, with only a bare grip on life, what lessons could he possibly offer a kid? Determined to alter the course for his child, Vidal did what he’d always done when confronted with life’s challenges. He turned to the counterculture.

In Our Fathers, Ourselves, research psychologist, author and scholar Dr. Peggy Drexler examines the ways in which the father-daughter bond impacts women and offers helpful advice for creating a better, stronger, more rewarding relationship. Through her extensive research and interviews with women, Dr. Drexler paints an intimate, timely portrait of the modern father-daughter relationship.

As parents we all want the best for our child, but so often we give in to societal pressures which can result in us overmanaging every aspect of their lives, leaving them overwhelmed, overscheduled and lacking motivation. This can terrifyingly lead to mental health problems as adolescents and adults. How can we prevent this happening to our children? Over their combined 60 years of practice, William Stixrud, a clinical neuropsychologist, and Ned Johnson, the founder of an elite tutoring agency, have worked with thousands of children all facing this problem.

David Giffels grew up fascinated by his father's dusty, tool-strewn workshop and the countless creations - both practical and fantastical - it inspired. So when he enlisted his 81-year-old dad for the unusual project of building a casket, he thought of it mostly as a way to learn and to spend time together. Life had other plans. The unexpected death of his mother and, a year later, of his best friend, coupled with turning 50 and the growing realization that his father won't always be around for such offbeat adventures, leads to a harsh confrontation with mortality and loss.

Fatherhood today is far different from previous generations. Stay-at-home dads are increasingly common, and growing numbers of men are working part-time or flextime schedules to spend more time with their children. Dads today are more emotionally and physically involved on the home front. They are "all in", and - like mothers - they are struggling with work-life balance and doing it all.

This book will give you a head's up on all the defining moments you are guaranteed to experience as a parent. It'll warn you when your life is going to take a change of course and how your child is going to influence the choices you make, and it’ll give you some practical, knowing, sanity-saving methods of dealing with them. Each moment is headlined with a common scenario that dads have encountered down through generations - but that will still come as a shock to you for the first time.

Community leaders and activists Gómez and Arroyo worked with children, teenagers, and parents - both the victims and the bullies - to put together this searing anthology of original essays, poetry, plays, and commentary on how bullying has affected their lives.

A practical guide to navigating grief and everything that comes with loss. Jeff Brazier has experienced bereavement in many forms: in his childhood; helping his two boys through the devastating death of their mother, Jade Goody; witnessing the anguish of his own mum when she lost both of her parents; and hearing the stories of his coaching clients who are coming to terms with loss. No one can be an expert on grief, but within this book Jeff provides support and guidance from someone who has been there.

It's not just moms who are struggling with the work-family juggle; more dads are suffering from the stress of unreachable expectations and incompatible commitments. Now, in this second phase of the women's movement, one of the founding editors of Ms. magazine says men can be allies, not enemies, if they use their power (earned or not) to protect their families.

Duke "HandCannon" LaRue is a bad guy, an angry nihilist who'll lease his prosthetic gun-arm to the highest bidder. Today it's Dr. Shocktagon, who's just one major player in a nefarious plan to rewrite reality and unleash an ancient nightmare on Earth. But when Duke gets life-changing news, he's got to decide if now is the right time for end of the world and everything in it. Of course, changing sides in the ultimate war between Good and Evil is never as easy as you think.

Recalling his growing-up years in Los Angeles following World War II, author James Pratt describes 12 lessons he learned from observing his father, an unpretentious and uneducated man who acquired little of this world's wealth but who lived an honorable life. "For some, these 12 virtues may seem antiquated, out of date, or hopelessly provincial," writes Pratt. "I don't see it that way. What my father practiced and conveyed to me were principles that made it possible for children to grow up in a stable, two-parent home, where there was a widely accepted code of decency, honesty, honor, and patriotism."

Build a more equitable world for your daughter. Today’s generation of feminist dads are raising confident, empowered daughters who believe they can achieve anything. But the world is still profoundly unequal for women and girls, with workplaces built by men for men, massive gender pay gaps, and deeply ingrained gender stereotypes. Dads for Daughters: How Fathers Can Give Their Daughters a Better, Brighter, Fairer Future offers fathers guidance for building a world where their daughters can thrive.

A reckoning with the way we choose to see and define ourselves, Self-Portrait in Black and White is the searching story of one American family's multi-generational transformation from what is called black to what is assumed to be white. Thomas Chatterton Williams, the son of a 'black' father from the segregated South and a 'white' mother from the West, spent his whole life believing the dictum that a single drop of 'black blood' makes a person black.

A collection of essays about father figures in popular culture, Dad Bod unpack the ideas that inform our collective image of fatherhood as it is found in movies, television shows, and video games. Follow a newly minted parent as he journeys to the heart of dadness to redefine what it means to be a father.