{"product_id":"for-better-and-worse-the-complicated-past-and-challenging-future-of-marriage-hardcover","title":"For Better and Worse: The Complicated Past and Challenging Future of Marriage - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eStephanie Coontz\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eHaley Swenson\u003c\/b\u003e (Afterword by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA provocative, authoritative reckoning with the past and future of marriage, explaining why it's become more rewarding as well as riskier\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMarriage rates have fallen dramatically since the 1970s. Yet far from devaluing marriage, people still overwhelmingly describe marriage as the highest commitment they can imagine. Most Americans say they \u003ci\u003ewant\u003c\/i\u003e to marry eventually, and couples who do marry have a lower chance of divorce than at any time since the 1970s. Increasingly, though, people tell pollsters they \"have no idea\" if they actually \u003ci\u003ewill \u003c\/i\u003eend up married. And unlike in the past, young women are more uncertain than young men. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eFor Better and Worse\u003c\/i\u003e, Stephanie Coontz--author of the \"rich, provocative, and entertaining\" book \u003ci\u003eMarriage, A History\u003c\/i\u003e--unravels the roots of such paradoxical trends. Examining five critical periods of historical transformation, she reveals how shifting romantic ideals, gender expectations, sexual mores, and cultural myths have bequeathed us a welter of contradictory beliefs, dysfunctional habits, and emotional earworms that make it hard to adjust our family relationships to the social and economic challenges of twenty-first-century life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCoontz demonstrates that today's widespread nostalgia for a seemingly more stable past is an understandable reaction to heightened economic insecurity and eroding social solidarities. But trying to reproduce a largely imaginary golden age of marriage from the past simply locks us into a restricted future. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCurrent public debates about marriage are dominated by two diametrically opposed groups. One argues that marriage is the only sure route to personal happiness and social stability; the other, that marriage is inherently oppressive. Coontz puts forward a radical middle ground, pointing to surprising new research on the personal changes and the policy innovations that can help people create successful relationships, in or out of marriage.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eStephanie Coontz \u003c\/b\u003eis the director of research and public education for the Council on Contemporary Families. She has authored five books on gender, family, and history, including \u003ci\u003eMarriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage\u003c\/i\u003e, which was cited in the United States Supreme Court decision on marriage equality. A sought-after radio and podcast guest, she has published extensively in both academic and popular media, from \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, CNN, and \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eThe Chronicle of Higher Education\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eJournal of Marriage and Family\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 304\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.2 x 9.1 x 6.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 26, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53226417914153,"sku":"9780593299098","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0916\/4960\/5929\/files\/y3nOinvV0i9780593299098.webp?v=1780499118","url":"https:\/\/www.thescholarssourcebookstore.co\/products\/for-better-and-worse-the-complicated-past-and-challenging-future-of-marriage-hardcover","provider":"The Scholar's Source","version":"1.0","type":"link"}