Families as They Really Are

Families as They Really Are goes to the heart of the family values debate by reframing the question about families from "Are they breaking down?" to "Where are they going, how, and why?"

Essays in the book are not reprints; you won't find them anywhere else. Each article is a new contribution to the research and theory about families, drawn from an interdisciplinary community of experts.

The four parts of Families as They Really Are focus on how we got to where we are today, what's happening in relationships, youth in the 21st century, and the state of the gender revolution.

For students and general readers, Risman (U. of Illinois at Chicago) brings together 40 essays by members of the Council on Contemporary Families, an interdisciplinary community of historians, social scientists, and other experts who study and work with families, on how families operate in everyday life, how they got to where they are today, research on the topic, families and relationships in the twenty-first century, youth and social class in the twenty-first century, and the impact of the gender revolution. They incorporate new articles with the Council's Briefing Papers, press releases, and newspaper articles based on them and provide information meant to lead to better social policy. Topics include differences in childhood over the last three centuries, how professional African Americans pioneered the modern marriage, sex, cohabitation, same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, parenting, divorce, immigrant families, child care, children's poverty, men's contributions to the household, and gendered violence. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

A fresh collection of original essays by leading scholars that focuses on how families operate in everyday life: what they are, how they work, and why they matter.

Barbara J. Risman is a professor of sociology at the University of Illinois in Chicago and is also the Executive Officer of The Council on Contemporary Families, a national organization whose mission is to bring new research findings and clinical expertise to public attention.