Monday, September 18, 2006

Marriage and the Modern Adult

Today I'm going to shamelessly plug a soon-to-be-released book by a friend of mine for the following reasons:

1) The topic of the book, modern marriage, is highly relevant to my peer/age group (and specifically relevant to me personally, as I'm about to be legally bound to another person);

2) I think the topic of the book is frequently discussed, but, in my opinion, rarely in the proper context (which the book lends); and

3) The book is good and we want the author to move some product, and fast.

The book is called Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women, by Dr. Christine Whelan. Notice how the "Dr." part lends instant credibility? The book tackles the facts and issues surrounding the modern generation's view on marriage and how we've accepted that personal, professional, and educational goals have conflicted with (and ultimately begun to overcome) traditional norms on when and how we should pick our lifelong mates. You know how "30 is the new 21"? Well, that's a good thing and this book proves it.

The book is written by an insightful and accomplished author, weaves empirical data together with in-depth interviews with young people of varying attitudes and marital status, and presents a new perspective on the value of traditional norms and "marrying age". Good times.

You can check out the book's site, more on the author, or just take my work for it and go straight to pre-ordering it on Amazon.

If you are interested in social science and the evolution of societal trends surrounding marriage, you'll love this book. If you are a young man or woman who is despondant about their prospects because of your age, this book will give you hope. If your parents are on your case about settling down, this is the ammunition you need to belittle their stupid arguments. If you are a social leper who is incapable of contributing anything to a relationship, then you need much more help than this book will give you, but go ahead and buy it anyway. It's a start.

Plus, I can personally attest to the fact that Christine is about to climb the Mount Everest of marital relationships, so that should say something to you about the confidence she has in her own expertise on the subject. The least you can do is buy the book.

The book is going to be released by Simon and Schuster on October 17, 2006. I'm going to get my hands on a copy sometime between now and then, and I'll give it a (totally unbiased) review here.

1 comment:

Screwsan said...

You're getting married in like 3 days, dude. Congratulations!

I did a little blurb on Christine's book in Boston's Weekly Dig and hope to do a full article if I can get my hands on a review copy. (Simon & Schuster don't like to share).

http://weeklydig.com/arts/articles/fall_books_preview

Have fun gettin' hitched.