Marriage, a History Audiobook By Stephanie Coontz cover art

Marriage, a History

How Love Conquered Marriage

 Preview

$0.00 for first 30 days

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Marriage, a History

By: Stephanie Coontz
Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.91

Buy for $18.91

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Just when the clamor over "traditional" marriage couldn't get any louder, along comes this groundbreaking book to ask, "What tradition?"

In Marriage, a History, historian and marriage expert Stephanie Coontz takes listeners from the marital intrigues of ancient Babylon to the torments of Victorian lovers to demonstrate how recent the idea of marrying for love is - and how absurd it would have seemed to most of our ancestors. It was when marriage moved into the emotional sphere in the 19th century, she argues, that it suffered as an institution just as it began to thrive as a personal relationship. This enlightening and hugely entertaining book brings intelligence, perspective, and wit to today's marital debate.

©2005 SJ Coontz Company (P)2016 Tantor Gender Studies Social Sciences Sociology World Marriage Middle Ages Thought-Provoking
Comprehensive History • Thought-provoking Insights • Clear Reading • Extensive Research • Global Perspective
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
This book is great because it gives an expansive review of the institution of marriage across thousands of years and many cultures. However when we get to modern(ish) time around 1700 and onward, it fixates on the United States and western Europe rather than continuing to provide a holistic review of marriage across the globe. I think I heard about West Asian traditions a handful of times and legitimately never when the time period became modern. This is no fault of Ms. Coontz as I know she was proving her argument that 'western' societies are experiencing unprecedented marriage evolution. I did learn a lot. I will turn my attention to other authors to get a better handle on other global regions' marital history into the modern age.

Solid History Narrative Centered Around West

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I am not a proponent for the institution of marriage and I found this book both informative and illuminating. The depth of history and use of current/past demographical/statical information is amazing. A very worthwhile listen. I highly recommend it!

Marriage

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story was good. A bit long in places and a little repetitive. I thought the history would include where modern traditions (something blue, something borrowed) would include more of. But overall a good listen.

Educational heading into wedding season

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Coontz is great! I felt like the narration was a little drier than I would have liked but I got over it quickly because I was captivated by the writing.

Coontz is so good!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I find the delivery quite stiff and staccato. Given the short sentences and factual material this often comes off as a long bullet list.

Harsh delivery, interesting material

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book is fascinating. I did find that last third or so less interesting, as it moved into theorizing about modern marriage. The narration was excellent, except for the narrator's irritating tendency to say "newkiller family".

Fascinating exploration of an ancient institution

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Finally, a researched explanation of what most take for granted. Should be read by high school students.

I wish l had heard this book before I married!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A fascinating read that explains just how much of what people think of as "traditional Marriage" was a recent, short-lived invention. Full of fascinating tidbits and interesting themes that aim to summarize sweeping historic trends.

"Traditional Marriage" invented in 1950

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
About halfway through I was a little bored with a lot of redundancies, and had to put it down for a while. later on I became a little overwhelmed with what seem to be several chapters of satistics. However the rest of the book is incredible, and is worth waiting through the slow parts to read or listen to. in the end I would recommend this to everybody.

A must-read, even if a bit slow.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This audiobook was great. I would recommend to anyone especially to young people. Great job!

Awesome Book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews