Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry, go through by Jonny Phillips.

‘GRAYSON PERRY FOR Ruler AND QUEEN OF Britain. Think about how BRILLIANT our country would appear if he was.’ Caitlin Moran

Grayson Perry continues to be considering masculinity – what it is, how it operates, so why little boys are usually manufactured from slugs and snails – since he was a young man. Now, with this funny and required book, he turns round to look at men with a clear attention about The Descent of Man and ask, what type of guys would make the globe an improved place, for everyone?

What would happen if we rethought the old, macho, outdated edition of manhood, and embraced a different notion of what makes a guy? Apart from quitting the coronary-inducing tension of always being ‘correct’ and the vast new wardrobe choices, the real benefit might be that a recently fitted masculinity allows men to have better associations – and that’s happiness, right?

Grayson Perry admits he’s not immune from the stereotypes himself – as the psychoanalysts mention, ‘if you place it, you’ve got it’ – and his applying for grants everything from power to physical appearance, from feelings to a whole new Manifesto for Males, are shot through with honesty, tenderness and the fact that, for everybody to benefit, upgrading masculinity must be something men decide to carry out themselves. They have nothing to lose but their hang-ups.