Best Defense of Masculinity

With pop psychology feeding men a litany of reasons why they should get in touch with their "feminine sides," Rick Bragg doesn't bother. He's a sensitive guy, but he keeps it in check. That is to say, he doesn't read from the parts of his captivating new book, Ava's Man, that make him cry. In September, the cherub-faced Bragg addressed a massive crowd that had gathered to hear him read from a touching biography of his grandfather. "I don't know how things work in Missouri," he said before launching into an explanation of just what a bunch of Alabama or Mississippi men would do to another man caught blubbering in public. Sure, he admitted that he had to limit his reading in order to hold to that men-don't-cry credo, but he was stoic and firm in his resolution to read only nontearjerking excerpts, which we thought was manly indeed.