| The Marriage-Go-Round: The State of Marriage and the Family in America Today Contributor(s): Cherlin, Andrew J. (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0307386384 ISBN-13: 9780307386380 Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group OUR PRICE: $19.95 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2010 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Sociology - Marriage & Family - Family & Relationships | Marriage & Long Term Relationships |
| Dewey: 306.850 |
| Physical Information: 0.87" H x 5.68" W x 8" (0.68 lbs) 288 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Andrew J. Cherlin's three decades of study have shown him that marriage in America is a social and political battlefield in a way that it isn't in other developed countries. Americans marry and divorce more often and have more live-in partners than Europeans, and gay Americans have more interest in legalizing same-sex marriage. The difference comes from Americans' embrace of two contradictory cultural ideals: marriage, a formal commitment to share one's life with another; and individualism, which emphasizes personal choice and self-development. Religion and law in America reinforce both of these behavioral poles, fueling turmoil in our family life and heated debate in our public life. Cherlin's incisive diagnosis is an important contribution to the debate and points the way to slowing down the partnership merry-go-round. |
