Marriage, a History (Stephanie Koontz)

Ii just ordered this book from the library.

“Marriage, a History is filled with amazing stories and examples for all eras. Coontz is scholarly, incisive and entertaining. She tackles our most central questions about the meaning of marriage with evidence, not platitudes. Her powerful book is timely and profoundly apt.” —Dr. Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls

“Brimming with surprises and rich with insight. Stephanie Coontz provides a penetrating and fresh look at an institution we thought we knew well. Marriage, a History is not just a survey of varying cultural and historical approaches to marriage; it is a probing yet unbiased analysis of some of the most important, and divisive, issues of our day. For anyone who cares about the future of our society.” —Ellis Cose, author Bone to Pick and Envy of the World

“This is a magnificent, beautifully written book on an eternally interesting—and politically timely—subject. Coontz’s vast knowledge and superb scholarship should make this book the resource for anyone who is married, was married, wants to marry, can’t marry, hates the very thought of marrying, or thinks they know what the one right kind of marriage is.” —Carol Tavris, Ph.D., author of The Mismeasure of Woman

“Marriage, a History will force an entire reevaluation of our so-called marriage crisis in America. Coontz’s exquisitely written new book is a must read, not only for those of us in a modern marriage, or, with mixed emotions, contemplating commitment, but for every policy and law maker who would have us believe they have a monopoly on the truth. A page-turner.” —Willam S. Pollack, Ph.D., author of Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Masculinity

“Stephanie Coontz has written an extraordinary book with a powerful message: that today’s marriages are fragile not because Americans have become more self-centered and career-minded, but because we expect more from marriage than any previous generation. Scrupulously researched, filled with fascinating detail, and written with grace, humor, and wisdom, this book reveals that marriage is not a static, unchanging, and increasingly unattainable ideal, but a relationship whose success or failure ultimately depends on our willingness to adapt to social realities unlike any that existed in the past.” —Steven Mintz, John and Rebecca Moores Professor of History, University of Houston and author of Huck’s Raft: A History of American Childhood

“I love this book! It is sheer pleasure. Stephanie Coontz has delivered another pathbreaking, dialogue creating, scholarly tour de force! This book is the best source we could possibly use to credibly inform us about how modern marriage was created and what our past tells us about our future: trenchant analysis, interesting data, and graceful prose. I can think of no other modern scholar who so perfectly helps us explore the themes of modern marital malaise or who helps us understand who we are now—and how we got there.” —Pepper Schwartz Ph.D., author of American Couples: Money, Work and Sex and Love Between Equals: How Peer Marriage Really Works

“Fair, lucid and enormously informative. It may outlive us all, for Coontz has captured our times like a bug in amber.” —Professor Helen Fisher, author of Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Love