Height and Its Impact on Boys' and Men's Health, Happiness, and Success

Stephen Hall, an award-winning journalist, tackles the timely issue of male body image and demonstrates how physical size during childhood affects our psychology, social status, relationships, and income as adults. Combining fresh research, incisive reportage, and candid insights, "Size Matters" traces the surprising history of society's bias against shortness and reveals how short people can and do thrive despite this insidious bigotry.

Drawing on his own childhood experiences, where he was shorter than 99 percent of his peers, Hall explains the evolution of the growth chart, the biology of childhood aggression, and the wrenching phenomenon of bullying. He explores the factors that determine why some short children grapple with anguish while others develop an emotional resilience that enriches their later lives. Weaving together recent findings from animal behavior, psychology, and evolutionary biology, Hall assesses the role of physical size in mating success, challenging the notion that the alpha male reigns supreme.

Hall also pinpoints the social forces that create and capitalize on our anxieties about size, from bulked-up superhero action figures to pharmaceutical companies selling growth hormone to increase a child's height – at a cost of up to $40,000 per year. He introduces us to families who have agonized over whether to make this significant investment, and explains new research showing that a person's height as a teenager has lifelong psychological consequences. Hall even tracks down former classmates, both those he bullied and those who bullied him, to demonstrate the lasting impact of these childhood encounters on our adult lives.

Throughout his exploration, Hall builds a persuasive case against societal attitudes that make size (or any difference) matter, and argues forcefully that being short has psychological, social, and biological advantages. "Size Matters" aims to raise the consciousness and spirits of any short male and anyone who cares about him, challenging the insidious bigotry that short people face and celebrating the inherent worth and potential of individuals of all physical statures.

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