Synopses & Reviews
Almost everyone aspires to marriage something these books go to some lengths to explain, albeit in completely different ways. As the title suggests, I Like Being Married is an unabashed celebration of marriage; it's fluff but enjoyable fluff. Leach, executive director of Orbis Books, and Borchard, author of the children's book series The Emerald Bible Collection, have collected bits and pieces quotes, stories, traditions, and even top-ten lists that show why people take pleasure in matrimony. The quotes and stories come from both celebrities (e.g., George Bush, Winston Churchill, Celine Dion, Natasha Richardson, C.S. Lewis, and Mel Gibson) and regular Joe and Jane Does. Charming and well edited, it contains just enough variety in length and subject to be interesting, yet it is also cohesive. Public libraries should purchase. The companion book to a PBS documentary that aired Feb. 14, Marriage Just a Piece of Paper? is far more serious in tone and scope. Although it is also a smartly chosen m lange of quotes from different people, it focuses on the societal changes that have led to increased divorce rates, cohabitation, and single motherhood despite the beneficial aspects of marriage. Sociologists, politicians, ministers, and the occasional person on the street are all given a chance to explain whether they think marriage especially as it relates to the raising of children is in decline and, if so, what might be done to stop that decline. Editors Anderson and Brian Boyer worked on the documentary as managing editor/producer and executive producer/ director, respectively, and Don Browning is a professor of ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Given that the effects ofdivorce on children is a major topic (see, e.g., Judith Wallerstein and others' The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce and E. Mavis Hetherington and John Kelly's For Better or for Worse) and that many patrons probably watched the PBS special... - Library Journal
Synopsis
Marriage - Just a Piece of Paper? goes beyond conservative-liberal battles over the state of the American family and addresses head-on the difficult question of marriage itself, weaving together scores of revealing interviews with children, adults, and well-known experts, the book poignantly captures their voices and the complexities of their loves, hopes, disappointments, and heartbreaks.
We hear from children of divorce, young African-American men teaching fatherhood skills, and young couples trying to decide whether to live together or marry. We hear from mothers, fathers, ministers, judges, and therapists. We also hear from prominent politicians and scholars, including Joseph Lieberman (U.S. senator from Connecticut), Sam Brownback (U.S. senator from Kansas), William Julius Wilson (Harvard University), Judith Wallerstein (author of The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce), David Blankenhorn (Institute for American Values), Wade Horn (National Fatherhood Initiative), Linda Waite (coauthor of The Case for Marriage), Frank Keating (governor of Oklahoma), and Judith Martin (better known as "Miss Manners").
Tied to a nationally broadcast PBS documentary narrated by Cokie Roberts, the book goes far beyond the film by providing more and fuller interviews. For anyone interested in life's most significant relationship, Marriage - Just a Piece of Paper? will prove an invaluable resource.