More than ever men are struggling with the same enormous pressure to achieve physical perfection that women have been dealing with for centuries. The obsession with appearance, known as the Adonis Complex, affects boys and men of all ages and from all walks of life. This groundbreaking book offers hope and help for the men caught in the oppressive cycle of body obsession.

A down-to-earth program for change including diagnostic tools, a quiz to help readers identify the extent of their body image concerns, and stories of many boys and men. With this book, men suffering from the Adonis Complex will have the power to change their lives.

REVIEWS. . .

"The Adonis Complex brings in two major themes-male preoccupation with becoming 'muscle-bound,' related to obsessions and compulsions about body-building, steroid abuse, and the overall story of body dysmorphic disorder in men. (Body dysmorphic disorder is a condition in which a person imagines that some part or all of his or her body is abnormal or even hideous.)

Dr. Harrison Pope Jr. has done interesting research among body builders and men who abuse anabolic steroids and has also studied changing appearances in male action toys, including GI Joe dolls and bulkier, more muscular figures that put Arnold Schwartzenegger and the hulks of the World Wrestling Federation's "Wrestle-mania" to shame.

Dr. Pope and his coauthors have developed a computerized male body-image test, described in their book, and a self-assessment test regarding the Adonis Complex that readers can take. The test examines body preoccupations, time and energy devoted to body care, and various social and psychological ailments that result from body preoccupation in men. Dr. Katherine Phillips, one of the coauthors, is arguably the country's leading expert on body dysmorphic disorders, and wrote about this in an earlier book, The Broken Mirror.

Selected chapters also touch upon eating disorders. The authors discuss risk factors among boys that might lead to these disorders, including issues of intimacy, social anxiety, and sexuality related to body-building (including but not limited to concerns about homophobia and homosexuality). Very useful chapters offer suggestions about what men can do to overcome body dysmorphic obsessions, compulsions, and underlying anxieties. These chapters focus on how cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressants can help men with these disorders. Just like 'Making Weight', this book contains very useful resource lists."— Eating Disorder Today Newsletter, Winter 2003, Vol 1, No 3