Readers seeking a historical and cross-cultural treatment of marriage and the family will not be disappointed by this book. A readable and comprehensive account of marriage, rich in colorful social history, Quale's work excels in the comparison of lines of development among the foremost cultures of the world. Particularly impressive in this regard is her treatment of the Eastern civilizations and how these differed from what demographic historians have come to call the `West European pattern' of marriage....Although written as a history, this book should be of interest to students of the family in the social sciences. While it is not a path-breaking work in the sense of providing significant novel conceptual or theoretical insights, it skillfully incorporates theoretical and empirical contributions from a multitude of disciplines. It devotes considerable attention to contemporary trends and consistently relates the institution of the family to the overall socioeconomic, political, and demographic contingencies within society....Quale has written an important book that contains a wealth of useful informaton and deserves serious consideration for use in graduate and undergraduate instruction.
Journal of Marriage and the Family