When Allen Appel asked hundreds of sons, young and old, to recall the most memorable and valuable words their fathers told them, there came an outpouring of things practical and indispensable, some familiar, many surprising.

From Father to Son celebrates the trials and satisfactions of manhood and captures dads’ uncanny knack for seeing ahead. It is a useful gift any man can give proudly, perhaps remembering something his own father said. Advice like: “A computer is a tool, just like a hammer;” “The sun always comes up the next day;” and “Just because it looks good on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s going to look good when it comes in the mail.”