Product Description

When Brandon was born, Michael Quinn Patton began pondering how best to celebrate the day his son would become a man. As a sociologist, Patton was intrigued with the rich history of coming-of-age rites of passage for young men, dating to ancient tribal cultures. But as a humanist he was wary of contemporary men's movements and their stressing of new age spiritualities. When Brandon turned 18, Patton took his son to a place of mystery and wonder - the Grand Canyon - where they could explore together what it means to come of age. With an anthropologist as their guide, Patton and his son hiked the magnificent and dangerous canyon, exploring the oldest exposed rock on Earth while delving deeply into ancient coming-of-age myths like the Grail Legend.They found themselves faced with choices between fundamentally opposed paradigms: tribe-based warrior initiation and an emergent humanist celebration of father-son bonding and rational deliberation. Written in the tradition of "The Man Who Walked Through Time", and "Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", this is the story of the Pattons' remarkable journey of discovery as they learn about history and geology, false spirituality, facing danger together, and what it means to be a man in today's world. Patton cuts across many branches of social thought and belief: humanism, scepticism, father-son relations and men's movements, liberal religions, mythology, psychology, and social science. Life-affirming lessons of mutuality and acceptance are captured in "Grand Canyon Celebration", a timeless memoir for all families as they journey through the canyons of their own lives.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1273606 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-28
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.49 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 330 pages

From Amazon.com
Grand Canyon Celebration is a stunning, deeply personal, and profound account of a true, contemporary father-son coming-of-age ritual in the Grand Canyon. When Michael Quinn Patton's son Brandon turned 18, the two of them joined a mystical anthropologist and descended into the canyon for a 10-day trek. Patton, a social science professor, was interested in the differences between tribal manhood rituals (where the adolescent struggles to separate from the tribe to form an identity) and the modern adolescent struggle (to find and maintain a connection to the family). Through the lenses of the modern-day men's movement, formal skepticism, mythology, psychology, and ancient legends, the Pattons explored Brandon's coming-of-age while challenging themselves physically in the deepest exposed rock on Earth. Grand Canyon Celebration should be required reading for parents of teenage sons seeking ways to initiate them into the adult world, and is highly recommended for all readers interested in the father-son relationship, hiking, nature, social thought, or the conflicts between New Age and secular humanist theories. Patton is a beautiful, thoughtful writer, and his balance of geographical imagery and questioning intellect will keep readers turning pages. --Ericka Lutz

From Library Journal
It's a slippery slope going down and a rough uphill climb out of Patton's Grand Canyon journey with his 18-year-old son, Brandon. Patton, a social science professor at the Union Institute in Cincinnati, has authored several academic works. In writing for a general audience, Patton is often pedantic, and what could have been a lyrical adventure becomes mired in turgid prose and stilted conversation. In the company of an anthropologist/family therapist friend, Patton takes his son on a ten-day trek. What he hopes to achieve is a humanist coming-of-age experience for Brandon. There are nightly readings of Robert Bly, various interpretations of Arthurian legend, and attempts to define the quest for the Holy Grail. Patton tosses in Canyon geology and geography for good measure, adding a brief history of the first residents and early explorers. Brandon is an amusing young man, well grounded in the real world; we have to conclude that what Patton so desperately attempts to create for his son he actually yearns for himself. The illustrations are a delight. This could have been a popular classic; sad to say, it comes up short. Recommended only for larger public and academic libraries.?Janet N. Ross, Sparks Branch Lib., NV
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-Along with his friend Malcolm as a guide, Patton takes his 18-year-old son, Brandon, on a backpacking trek through the Grand Canyon as an initiation into manhood. Patton describes the beauty, geology, and history of the area as they hike. At night, he tells the story of Iron John and the three hikers discuss its meaning as a story about manhood. At the Holy Grail Temple, they retell the story of the Holy Grail, how the story has changed, and the significance of these changes as humankind has evolved. As they hike, the two men continually look for meaning and symbolism. When a lone bighorn sheep makes prolonged eye contact with Brandon, Malcolm suggests that it might be the young man's totem. At the confluence of Merlin and Mordred Abysses, Patton gets an idea for a "ritual test of Brandon's vulnerability to superstition and New Age mysticism." As they walk, Patton is so prone to sociological explanations that his fellow hikers tease him about his never-ending "reviews of the literature." This book is more than the retelling of an exciting trek. It is for teens who appreciate a discussion of the symbolism and interpretations of stories and events from psychological, sociological, mystical, and humanist points of views.
Jane Drabkin, Chinn Park Regional Library, Prince William, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.