For Better and Worse
The Complicated Past and Challenging Future of Marriage
$49.52
- Hardcover
304 pages
- Release Date
30 June 2026
Summary
Twenty years ago, Stephanie Coontz asked of traditional marriage, “What tradition?” Now she returns to examine its contemporary state-what threatens its prevalence and what freedoms it can create for all people.
A provocative, authoritative reckoning with the past and future of marriage, explaining why it’s become more rewarding as well as riskier.
Marriage rates have fallen dramatically since the 1970s. Yet far from devaluing marriage, people still overwhelmingly describe mar…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780593299098 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0593299094 |
| Author: | Stephanie Coontz |
| Publisher: | Penguin Putnam Inc |
| Imprint: | Viking Press Inc |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 304 |
| Release Date: | 30 June 2026 |
| Weight: | 482g |
| Dimensions: | 235mm x 159mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
“Coontz’s work reminds us that the past still has the power to surprise us if we approach it honestly. That complexity is not the enemy of understanding but the beginning of it. That readers — including those who disagree with us — deserve seriousness rather than caricature. And that history, practiced with rigor, humility, and imagination, remains one of the best tools we possess for thinking clearly about the world we have inherited and the world we might still create.”
—Steven Mintz, professor of history, The University of Texas at Austin
“[A]n essential breath of fresh air in today’s marriage and family cultural discourse.”
—Phillip N. Cohen, sociologist at the University of Maryland
About The Author
Stephanie Coontz
Stephanie Coontz is the director of research and public education for the Council on Contemporary Families. She has authored five books on gender, family, and history, including Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage, 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 The New York Times, CNN, and The Wall Street Journal to The Chronicle of Higher Education and the Journal of Marriage and Family.
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