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The Prime of Life
Steven Mintz
其他書名
A History of Modern Adulthood
出版
Harvard University Press
, 2015-04-07
主題
History / Social History
Psychology / Developmental / Adulthood & Aging
History / United States / General
Social Science / Sociology / General
ISBN
0674425685
9780674425682
URL
http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=YamZBwAAQBAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
EBook
SAMPLE
註釋
“By drawing on 400 years of social and economic history . . . [the book] presents a thoughtful and thorough guide through the life stages.” (
Library Journal)
Adulthood today is undergoing profound transformations. Men and women wait until their thirties to marry, have children, and establish full-time careers, occupying a prolonged period in which they are no longer adolescents but still lack the traditional emblems of adult identity. People at midlife struggle to sustain relationships with friends and partners, to achieve fulfilling careers, to raise their children successfully, and to age gracefully.
The Prime of Lif
e puts today’s challenges into new perspective by exploring how past generations navigated the passage to maturity. Whereas adulthood once meant culturally-prescribed roles and relationships, the social and economic convulsions of the last sixty years have transformed it fundamentally, tearing up these shared scripts and leaving adults to fashion meaning and coherence in an increasingly individualistic culture.
Emphasizing adulthood’s joys and fulfillments as well as its frustrations and regrets, Mintz shows how cultural and historical circumstances have consistently reshaped what it means to be a grown up in contemporary society.
“A triumph of historical writing.” ―
The Spectator
“[Mintz’s] message―that there are many ways to wear the mantle of responsible adulthood and that the 1950s model is a mere blip on history’s radar―is deeply necessary and long overdue.” ―
New York Times Book Review
“Describing the cultural, economic, and social changes from the Colonial era to today’s world . . . Mintz argues that neither religious nor secular middle-class values are adequate responses to the new generation’s problems.” —
Choice
“A thoughtful and strangely encouraging tour of an often difficult life stage.” ―
Kirkus Reviews