Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a ManAmateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man
Score Modern
What it's about
Thomas Page McBee, a trans man, trains to fight in a charity boxing match at Madison Square Garden while trying to understand the relationship between masculinity and violence. Through boxing, he examines male violence, gender stereotypes and the limits of conventional masculinity.
Why it's worth reading
It was a Baillie Gifford Prize finalist. It's a thoughtful, honest and original book about what it means to be a man.
You'll love it if you liked
Just Kids
The Argonauts
Between the World and MeGood to know
It's short and mixes memoir with research.
By the numbers
- Readers73 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics24 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz7 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #198 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #779 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1459 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story, Thought-provoking
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Quick answers
Is Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man worth reading?
Yes. It was a Baillie Gifford Prize finalist. It ranks #1,459 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 68.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man about?
Thomas Page McBee, a trans man, trains to fight in a charity boxing match at Madison Square Garden while trying to understand the relationship between masculinity and violence. Through boxing, he examines male violence, gender stereotypes and the limits of conventional masculinity.
How long does it take to read Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man?
About 6 hours (224 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man?
If you liked it, try Just Kids by Patti Smith, The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson or Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.