MARRIAGE.

By Robert O. Blood Jr. '42.New York: The Free Press (Macmillan),1969. 535 pp. $8.95.

This volume was written as a college textbook for courses in family living and family sociology. It is intended to be scientific through its use of "scientific evidence about human behavior"; idealistic because it reflects an interest in "marriage at its best"; integrated as it is organized around the development of "personal relations" in marriage; and focused because it emphasizes the experiences American middle-class college students can expect to encounter.

These qualities are especially valuable if one is interested in middle-class Americas marriage - either introspectively or to find out how the other half lives. Topics as diverse as mixed marriages, birth preparation techniques, and parental responsibilities are discussed and implicitly related by the organization. The clearly worked writing style and detailed table of contents make it easy to follow the author's thoughts and to search out specific topics.

However, the book also has a disappointing side. Because of its honest attempt to emphasize "marriage at its best" and middle-class America, an extremely important set of issues has either been ignored or skimpily treated. At a time when the problems described in Patrick Moynihan's TheNegro Family and the effects of a gap of understanding between generations are being discussed and felt by an increasing segment of the American population, it is disappointing to read a book that does not give adequate treatment to such topics.

The author's preface leaves no doubt as to what one should expect in Marriage. The prospective reader's interest will then determine if this is the type of marriage he seeks to understand better.

Assistant Professor of Sociology at Northwestern University and co-editor of Selected Studies in Marriage and the Family, Goodman has accepted an assistant professorship at Yale University.