An exclusive NEWSWEEK Poll proves what every wife intuitively knows: unemployed middle-aged men are sad, tired, and defeated. But here's the rub: they're also in denial. Plus, read this week’s cover story on the new, alarming plight of white men.

The recession hit all sectors of the economy, but one demographic was dealt a blow from which it may never recover: college-educated, middle-aged white men. Part of why the layoffs have been so striking is that they're so unprecedented.

Gallery: NEWSWEEK Poll: The Beached White Male

It's a demographic that has weathered past recessions well, but during the last recession, write Rick Marin and Tony Dokoupil in this week’s cover story, only half as many lost their oxford shirts. Unemployment is taking its toll on this previously privileged group.

A NEWSWEEK poll of 250 unemployed men ages 41 to 59 found that 66 percent have bouts of sadness and depression, and 45 report a diminished sex drive. Complicating their plight is the fact that few come to terms with it: 60 percent think it's unlikely they will get to their previous level of work again, 82 percent are “concerned” about that, yet 58 percent have not accepted a job “beneath them.”