I haven't read it in a while; I am just glancing through it now, but can't quite recreate the whole argument. Basically, I would say it is a complex and nuanced set of arguments that the authors make which explore boys from a lot of angles. I am guessing that your friend missed some of the key points.
The authors have been counseling boys and men for decades and you can real feel their love and appreciation for the boys they have known and masculinity in general. But they are very into appropriate limit setting, exploring feelings, and creating appropriate levels of safety. Actually, if your friend's husband had read the book carefully, I suspect he would accuse it of trying to make a girl out of his son because it's goal is to help keep boys' emotional lives healthy, so it can get a little touchy-feely!
I do think you would like it.
