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Book Review: The Dadly Virtues
“The Dadly Virtues: Adventures from the Worst Job You’ll Ever Love,” edited by Jonathan V. Last, Templeton Press, 2015, 192 pages, $24.95
Seventeen meditations on fatherhood, the book covers just about every aspect of fatherhood, each written by a different author. These include dealing with that newborn, dad’s role in instilling a sense of adventure in your children, religion, sports, siblings, pets, school, telling your kids about the birds and the bees, dating, college, marriage and more.
Nor are these dry recitations on fatherhood. Each essay in the book is funny. The fun starts on the back cover, with quotes from the authors’ children about the book. Humor runs through the entire book.
Depending on the author, the humor ranges from quiet dry wit to don’t-drink-your-coffee-while-reading-because-you-will-snort-coffee-through-your-nose funny. P. J. O’Rourke’s chapter on how fatherhood turns men into adults will make you chuckle. Tucker Carlson’s exploration on filling your children’s lives with excitement and danger will make you laugh. So will Toby Young’s on bad parenting, Andrew Ferguson’s on empty nests, Rob Long’s on marriage, and Joseph Epstein’s on being a grandparent.
The chapters are not just about jokes. Each dispenses wisdom about some aspect of fatherhood. Any dad who had gone through “the Talk” on sex with their children will identify with the embarrassment experienced by Matt Labash. You may not be as into shared experiences in television watching with your children as James Lileks, but he reminds you of some shared experience with your children.
Fathers who have been through the experiences related by the authors will nod in agreement. Fathers who have yet to go through some aspect of fatherhood outlined will get useful pointers. “The Dadly Virtues” is out in time for Father’s Day. It is a book with application past Father’s Day. This book is one that will resonate throughout the year.
This book review originally appeared in the Daily News of Galveston County.
Published in General
Thanks for the review. Sounds like a great read.
Sounds like a great read. If only my dad and brother liked to read this kind of stuff…
Ugh – the talk. This is especially difficult with daughters. Even more so when your daughter keeps asking for details at random moments on long car rides.
They do that because they know it embarrasses dad. I am pretty sure of that.
Seawriter
It’s not so much the embarrassment factor (my mother was a nurse, and frankness on medical and biological issues is easy for me), so much as the inability to relate things still beyond her level of understanding. She (the 11 year old) is already a bit boy crazy, so there is the issue of the male / female divide, plus explaining that some things are just none of her business.
On a long car ride, on Hwy 99, in CA:
Daughter age 7, “Gram told me how babies are made.”
Me: “Did she now?” (with sarcasm)
Daughter: “”Did you do that with daddy?”
Me: “Yes, dear.”
Daughter: (with shock in her voice, remembering she had a little sister.) “You did that twice!”
Me: “Yes dear.”
Followed by “EEEWWWWW!!!!”
Followed later by “Do you still do that? How often?”
Yep. Daddy and I were already separated, so those questions didn’t come up, thankfully.
Another Princess Bride quote, this time by Peter Falk as the Grandfather: “Some day, you might not mind so much.”
Is the dude on the cover supposed to look like Cosmo Kramer?
I think they are supposed to be two of the authors, but I don’t know what any look like.
Seawriter
I’m a bit curious to know what Rob Long has to say about marriage…
Then you should buy the book . . .
Rob won’t mind.
Seawriter
According to Webster’s dictionary, a wedding is “the process of removing weeds from one’s garden.”
Excellent review, Seawriter.
Makes me think about what I missed because I never had children.
I have a great variation on that. I have two adopted Chinese daughters. The oldest (11) comes home from school after her class in family life. (That is what they call sex ed. at her Catholic school)
She tells her mom she knows how babies are made and what married people do. Then, a light bulb goes on in her head and she says, “You did that with Daddy!” Without missing a beat, my wife says, “Yes, but only once, then we adopted you.”
Not often enough, thanks to you!
Sea,
Was there at AEI, got the book, had them all sign it, and was ROFLMAO listening to the gents expound on fatherhood. Tucker was/is priceless, and never having listen to him before a real funny surprise.