The battle of the breasts

Once upon a time, long, long ago, people used to argue about politics. Now they argue about parenting. Thirty-five years ago, the issue that defined a generation was whether American troops should be in Vietnam. Today, it’s whether to follow the advice set out in The Contented Little Baby Book. Defend the war on Iraq at a dinner party and your neighbour will barely raise an eyebrow, but dare to suggest that Gina Ford is a good thing and the room will immediately divide into two warring camps.

As the parent of a one-year-old, I naturally feel quite strongly about some of these issues and I sat down to read Fatherhood, Marcus Berkmann’s new book, with a warm glow of anticipation. Most baby books are humourless how-to manuals written by po-faced American women with doctorates in child psychology, but this one promised to be different. Berkmann is The Spectator’s in-house pop critic, not to mention the author of a highly acclaimed book on cricket.