The Social Origins of Private Life: A History of American Families, 1600-1900 by Stephanie Coontz

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Library Journal

This intelligent synthesis takes careful note of class, race, gender, and region, to illuminate the differing American ``family systems'' that emerged during the last three centuries. The analysis considers the impact of economic, social, political, and ideological transformations upon the family, itself also an agent of change. Emphasizing both the complexity and the diversity of her subject, Coontz concludes that every family system has always incorporated unresolved tensions. Dense, scrupulously researched, and theoretically informed, this book should be welcomed by historians. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.-- Cynthia Harrison, Federal Judicial Ctr., Washington, D.C.