Few of us have been spared the agonies of intimate relationships. They come in many shapes: loving a man or a woman who will not commit to us, being heartbroken when we're abandoned by a lover, engaging in internet searches, coming back lonely from bars, parties, or blind dates, feeling bored in a relationship that is so much less than we had envisaged - these are only some of the ways in which the search for love is a difficult and often painful experience. Despite the widespread and almost collective character of these experiences, our culture insists they are the result of faulty or insufficiently mature psyches. For many, the Freudian idea that the family designs the pattern of an individual's erotic career has been the main explanation for why and how we fail to find or sustain love. Psychoanalysis and popular psychology have succeeded spectacularly in convincing us that individuals bear responsibility for the misery of their romantic and erotic lives. The purpose of this book is to change our way of thinking about what is wrong in modern relationships. The problem is not dysfunctional childhoods or insufficiently self-aware psyches, but rather the institutional forces shaping how we love. The argument of this book is that the modern romantic experience is shaped by a fundamental transformation in the ecology and architecture of romantic choice. The samples from which men and women choose a partner, the modes of evaluating prospective partners, the very importance of choice and autonomy and what people imagine to be the spectrum of their choices: all these aspects of choice have transformed the very core of the will, how we want a partner, the sense of worth bestowed by relationships, and the organization of desire. This book does to love what Marx did to commodities: it shows that it is shaped by social relations and institutions and that it circulates in a marketplace of unequal actors. -- Publisher description.

"From its beginnings in Twilight fan-fiction to its record-breaking sales as an e-book and paperback, the story of the erotic romance novel Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels is both unusual and fascinating. Having sold over seventy million copies worldwide since 2011, E. L. James’s lurid series about a sexual ingénue and the powerful young entrepreneur who introduces her to BDSM sex has ingrained itself in our collective consciousness. But why have these particular novels—poorly written and formulaic as they are—become so popular, especially among women over thirty? In this concise, engaging book, Eva Illouz subjects the Fifty Shades cultural phenomenon to the serious scrutiny it has been begging for. After placing the trilogy in the context of best-seller publishing, she delves into its remarkable appeal, seeking to understand the intense reading pleasure it provides and how that resonates with the structure of relationships between men and women today. Fifty Shades, Illouz argues, is a gothic romance adapted to modern times in which sexuality is both a source of division between men and women and a site to orchestrate their reconciliation. As for the novels’ notorious depictions of bondage, discipline, and sadomasochism, Illouz shows that these are as much a cultural fantasy as a sexual one, serving as a guide to a happier romantic life. The Fifty Shades trilogy merges romantic fantasy with self-help guide—two of the most popular genres for female readers. Offering a provocative explanation for the success and popularity of the Fifty Shades of Grey novels, Hard-Core Romance is an insightful look at modern relationships and contemporary women’s literature"--Publisher's website.

What is the role of law in a society in which order is maintained mostly through social norms, trust, and nonlegal sanctions? Eric Posner argues that social norms are sometimes desirable yet sometimes odious, and that the law is critical to enhancing good social norms and undermining bad ones. But he also argues that the proper regulation of social norms is a delicate and complex task, and that current understanding of social norms is inadequate for guiding judges and lawmakers. What is needed, and what this book offers, is a model of the relationship between law and social norms. The model shows that people's concern with establishing cooperative relationships leads them to engage in certain kinds of imitative behavior. The resulting behavioral patterns are called social norms. Posner applies the model to several areas of law that involve the regulation of social norms, including laws governing gift-giving and nonprofit organizations; family law; criminal law; laws governing speech, voting, and discrimination; and contract law. Among the engaging questions posed are: Would the legalization of gay marriage harm traditional married couples? Is it beneficial to shame criminals? Why should the law reward those who make charitable contributions? Would people vote more if non-voters were penalized? The author approaches these questions using the tools of game theory, but his arguments are simply stated and make no technical demands on the reader.

"How a new understanding of warfare can help the military fight today's conflicts more effectively. The way wars are fought has changed starkly over the past sixty years. International military campaigns used to play out between large armies at central fronts. Today's conflicts find major powers facing rebel insurgencies that deploy elusive methods, from improvised explosives to terrorist attacks. Small Wars, Big Data presents a transformative understanding of these contemporary confrontations and how they should be fought. The authors show that a revolution in the study of conflict--enabled by vast data, rich qualitative evidence, and modern methods--yields new insights into terrorism, civil wars, and foreign interventions. Modern warfare is not about struggles over territory but over people; civilians--and the information they might choose to provide--can turn the tide at critical junctures. The authors draw practical lessons from the past two decades of conflict in locations ranging from Latin America and the Middle East to Central and Southeast Asia. Building an information-centric understanding of insurgencies, the authors examine the relationships between rebels, the government, and civilians. This approach serves as a springboard for exploring other aspects of modern conflict, including the suppression of rebel activity, the role of mobile communications networks, the links between aid and violence, and why conventional military methods might provide short-term success but undermine lasting peace. Ultimately the authors show how the stronger side can almost always win the villages, but why that does not guarantee winning the war. Small Wars, Big Data provides groundbreaking perspectives for how small wars can be better strategized and favorably won to the benefit of the local population."--

Deborah Tannen's You Just Don't Understand spent nearly four years (in cloth and paper) on The New York Times Best Seller list and has sold over a million and a half copies. Clearly, Tannen's insights into how and why women and men so often misunderstand each other when they talk has touched a nerve. For years a highly respected scholar in the field of linguistics, she has now become widely known for her work on how conversational style differences associated with gender affect relationships. Her life work has demonstrated how close and intelligent analysis of conversation can reveal the extraordinary complexities of social relationships--including relationships between men and women. Now, in Gender and Discourse, Tannen has gathered together six of her scholarly essays, including her newest and previously unpublished work in which language and gender are examined through the lens of "sex-class-linked" patterns, rather than "sex-linked" patterns. These essays provide a theoretical backdrop to her best-selling books--and an informative introduction which discusses her field of linguistics, describes the research methods she typically uses, and addresses the controversies surrounding her field as well as some misunderstandings of her work. (She argues, for instance, that her cultural approach to gender differences does not deny that men dominate women in society, nor does it ascribe gender differences to women's "essential nature.") The essays themselves cover a wide range of topics. In one, she analyzes a number of conversational strategies--such as interruption, topic raising, indirection, and silence--and shows that, contrary to much work on language and gender, no strategy exclusively expresses dominance or submissiveness in conversation--interruption (or overlap) can be supportive, silence and indirection can be used to control. It is the interactional context, the participants' individual styles, and the interaction of their styles, Tannen shows, that result in the balance of power. She also provides a fascinating analysis of four groups of males and females (second-, sixth-, and tenth-grade students, and twenty-five year olds) conversing with their best friends, and she includes an early article co-authored with Robin Lakoff that presents a theory of conversational strategy, illustrated by analysis of dialogue in Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage. Readers interested in the theoretical framework behind Tannen's work will find this volume fascinating. It will be sure to interest anyone curious about the crucial yet often unnoticed role that language and gender play in our daily lives.

Families as They Really Are goes to the heart of the family values debate by reframing the question about families from "Are they breaking down?" to "Where are they going, how, and why?" Essays in the book are not reprints; you won't find them anywhere else. Each article is a new contribution to the research and theory about families, drawn from an interdisciplinary community of experts. The four parts of Families as They Really Are focus on how we got to where we are today, what's happening in relationships, youth in the 21st century, and the state of the gender revolution.

One of America's most beloved writers shares her suggestions for finding beauty in the world even during the toughest times. Survival Lessons provides a road map of how to reclaim your life from this day forward, with ways to reenvision everything—from relationships with friends and family to the way you see yourself. As Alice Hoffman says, “In many ways I wrote Survival Lessons to remind myself of the beauty of life, something that’s all too easy to overlook during the crisis of illness or loss. I forgot that our lives are made up of equal parts of sorrow and joy, and that it is impossible to have one without the other. I wrote to remind myself that despite everything that was happening to me, there were still choices I could make.” Wise, gentle, and wry, Alice Hoffman teaches all of us how to choose what matters most.

Alan Arkin knew he was going to be an actor from the age of five: "Every film I saw, every play, every piece of music fed an unquenchable need to turn myself into something other than what I was." "An Improvised Life" is the Oscar winner's wise and unpretentious recollection of the process--artistic and personal--of becoming an actor, and a revealing look into the creative mind of one of the best practitioners on stage or screen. In a manner that is direct, down-to-earth, accessible, and articulate, Arkin reveals insights not only about himself (and his audience and students), but also truths for the rest of us about work, relationships, and sense of self.

"Psychic, medium, clairvoyant, channel--these are all words to describe Sylvia Browne's unique powers. I've personally witnessed her bring closure to distraught families, help the police close cases, and open people's hearts to help them see the good within themselves." — Montel Williams " The Other Side and Back is the most grounded and authentic 'entry to the other side' that I have ever read. You know immediately upon reading the first few pages that Sylvia Browne is more than a psychic — she is a master at conveying the truth that exists in the fourth dimension." — Caroline Myss, Ph.D., author of Anatomy of the Spirit World-famous psychic and New York Times bestselling author Sylvia Browne takes readers on an unprecedented and comprehensive "tour" of the afterlife — a world-changing revelation that has helped millions live for today, tomorrow, and forever... Includes * how spirit guides and angels "talk" to us daily * the truth about ghosts and hauntings * solving "unsolvable" missing persons cases * how psychic energy can keep people healthy and improve relationships * why we shouldn't fear aging and death * must-read predictions for the new millennium * and more

Part biography, part cultural history, The Creation of Anne Boleyn is a fascinating reconstruction of Anne's life and an illuminating look at her afterlife in the popular imagination. Why is Anne so compelling? Why has she inspired such extreme reactions? What did she really even look like?! And perhaps the most provocative questions concern Anne's death more than her life. How could Henry order the execution of a once beloved wife? Drawing on scholarship and popular culture Bordo probes the complexities of one of history's most infamous relationships. In her inimitable, straight-talking style Bordo dares to confront the established histories, stepping off the well-trodden paths of Tudoriana to expertly tease out the human being behind the myths.

Having studied how boys and girls develop differently, Michael Gurian turns his attention to adult men in this entertaining, informative, and groundbreaking book on the male brain. Following two decades of neurobiological research, "What Could He Be Thinking? answers the questions women and the world are asking about husbands, fathers, boyfriends, and coworkers. Mixing neurobiology with Gurian's very readable writing style, anecdotes from everyday life, and a new vision of the male psyche, the book will satisfy the tremendous curiosity women and our culture have about the roots of male behavior. Women know intuitively that men are different from them. What women are now just coming to realize is that the men they are married to, having sex with, working with, parenting with, and trying to fathom, act and think in very male ways, not only because they are socialized to do so, but because they are built to - neurobiologically. The new field of brain science has revealed wonderful secrets about a man's mind. In this book, women who are eager to understand the men in their lives can discover the new brain science in an entertaining way, as they get answers to the prime question every woman asks at some time in her life: What could he be thinking? The book provides fascinating information about the male brain, male habits, male tendencies and the nuances of men's' actions and thoughts. It is a provocative, exciting vision into the minds of men.

Evaluating the lifestyles, struggles, and dehumanization of children with Autism over the years, University of Chicago professor Bruno Bettelheim provides insight on the life of these children from the perspectives of what can and cannot be seen. Focusing on three case histories, The Empty Fortress provides an introduction to the problems and struggles that an autistic child faces during their early years. One of the most popular books in communicating the theory of psychogenesis, Bruno Bettelheim presents both a scientific and personal analysis of autism.

A report on the daily activities at a center for the treatment of children with emotional problems

What happens when your Prince Charming turns out not to be so charming after all? In To Have and To Hold , bestselling author Jane Green offers a sizzling, highly entertaining look at romantic relationships after we say “I do.” Alice knows she should be happy. A charming twenty-eight-year-old with a successful catering business, she’s always dreamed of a rose-covered cottage in the English countryside, filled with children and animals and home-cooked meals. Her favorite attire is comfy jeans, her best manicure features garden dirt under the nails. But when her teenage crush—the wealthy, dashing man-about-town Joe Chambers—wants to make her his bride, Alice is more than willing to play Cinderella to Joe’s prince. Never mind that he wants her to change—a diet, ice-blond highlights, stilettos, snooty gallery openings—and that he’s allergic to nature and kids. She tells herself she’s happy to sacrifice for love, and besides, with Joe’s stunning good looks and high-profile career at a top financial firm, every woman in London wants to be in her shoes. But that’s just the problem. Despite Alice’s efforts to be the perfect wife, Joe soon reveals a penchant for being hopelessly unfaithful. When a notorious indiscretion with a female colleague forces Joe to transfer to New York, Alice’s life turns upside down. As Joe continues to sneak around, and her best friend’s beau offers a tempting glimpse of what real love could be like, Alice must decide how much Cinderella she can take before her deepest desires win out—and if she can summon up the courage to find real happiness on her own. Delicious, witty, and packed with sparkling sex appeal, To Have and To Hold is an unputdownable read that will have you rooting out loud for its endearing heroine. A #1 bestseller in Britain, this latest tale from the beloved, utterly winning Jane Green proves that the search for true love doesn’t always end when someone dons a veil, and offers a lively, refreshing take on modern marriage.

Written for the spiritually-minded woman, Spiritual Rules describes how Kabbalah views relationships and what makes them work (or not work); and reveals that it is the woman who holds the power to determine the outcome. The book explains the spiritual reasons behind the different ways that men and women think and act in a relationship. And who better to reveal to women the secrets of men and marriage than a kabbalist? Author Yehuda Berg is not just any man, but a kabbalistic teacher who regularly provides counsel to hundreds of individuals and couples, and who is happily married himself. His book is based on the principles of Kabbalah, but the ideas and methods he presents will resonate with people of all backgrounds. This is not a book of dating tips, although its rules do work. They have to work: They are the Laws of the Universe. You will learn about the Law of Attraction (Like attracts Like), and about the Vessel and the Light and their respective roles. You’ll find the true meaning of the term “soul mate;” and why it is that your soul mate has to find you, not the other way around.

Dogs are invented creatures -- invented by humans, who have been shaping the lives of these four-legged companions for more than 14,000 years. However, we often forget that, just as dogs live in our world, we live in theirs. The Modern Dog is a look at our coevolution, interpreting both canine and human points of view, by Dr. Stanley Coren, the most consistently popular author of dog books ever. A fascinating treasure trove of information gleaned from science, folklore, religious writing, tradition, and politics, The Modern Dog explores not only how dogs behave, but also how we share our lives with our dogs. Much more a romp than a formal exposition, The Modern Dog 's profiles and tales are funny, sweet, quirky, and reveal a lot about both species and our centuries-long partnership. This book will show you how the mutually beneficial relationship between humans and dogs might very well be the reason why early Homo sapiens evolved and survived while Neanderthals became extinct. You will see how dogs have played many prominent roles in human history, from ancient Egypt, where Pharaoh Ramses II was buried with the names and statues of four of his dogs, to modern American politics, where many U.S. presidents have derived comfort from canine companionship. Our modern dog is quite different from the dogs that existed even a century ago, its job having changed dramatically from the hunting, herding, retrieving, and guarding for which many were bred. In this book, you will see that it is often how people respond to and interpret the actions of dogs (and dog owners) that has a greater effect on the dog's life than the behavior patterns that have been programmed into the dog's genes. The Modern Dog will show you how some of your dog's strange and funny habits are his own and some come from you. Illustrated throughout with Dr. Coren's own charming drawings, The Modern Dog chronicles the various aspects of how we interact with dogs, how society responds to dogs, how our relationships with dogs have changed over history, and where dogs fit into our personal and emotional lives. It does this by telling the stories of dogs that work, dogs that love, dogs that behave badly, and dogs that will make you laugh.

Relationships with our siblings stretch, as an old saying has it, all the way from the cradle to the grave. Few bonds in life are as significant, as formative, as lasting, and as frequently overlooked as those we share with our brothers and sisters. In this stellar, first-of-its-kind anthology, contemporary writers explore the rich and varied landscape of sibling experience, illuminating the essential, occasionally wonderful, often difficult ways our brothers and sisters—or lack thereof—shape us. There are those who love and cherish their siblings, those who abhor and avoid them, and everyone in between. Contributors include the following: Steve Almond, Daphne Beal, Nat Bennett, Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, James Cañón, T Cooper, Lauren Grodstein, Nellie Hermann, Joanna Hershon, Nalini Jones, Etgar Keret, Victor LaValle, Vestal McIntyre, Jay Baron Nicorvo, Mary Norris, Eric Orner, Peter Orner, Angela Pneuman, Margo Rabb, Edward Schwarzschild, Robert Anthony Siegel, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway, and Rebecca Wolff

.Tracee is a runaway bride and kleptomaniac. Lana's an audacious beauty and a recovering alcoholic. Rita is a holy-roller minister's wife, desperate to escape her marriage and discover whether she actually has a mind of her own. One warm summer's night, these three women go on the lam together. Their car breaks down on a rural highway in North Carolina and they're forced to seek shelter in a seemingly abandoned nightclub. Which is where they meet Marcel. And soon everything changes. Marcel, you see, is a lion, a retired circus performer stuck in a cage in this godforsaken roadhouse. And through admiration - one might even say love - for Marcel, our heroines find a way to confront their complicated pasts and fight for the strange, embracing relationships they've formed out in the middle of nowhere. They ultimately navigate their way back to their own hearts - and ours. Written with the deftness, humor, and sparkling wit that have marked her books, plays, and movies, Delia Ephron's The Lion Is In is an unforgettable story of friendship, courage, love - and learning to salsa with the king of the jungle.

From the bestselling author of War of the Roses , soon to be a major motion picture: The Roses , starring Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch. In an attempt to reconnect with his two alienated adult children, George Temple replicates the memorable horse trek through the forbidding Yellowstone wilderness they had enjoyed twenty years earlier. But his callous children, Courtney and Scott, accompany him only to persuade him to restore the financial support he has withdrawn. As they are led by a drunken guide and a venal horse wrangler over potentially lethal terrain, their bonding experience quickly disintegrates. Nostalgia is corrupted into a nightmare of lust, betrayal, and entrapment as the children's disturbing motives are revealed and dark family secrets are exposed. Courtney's appetite for selfish and violent pursuits establishes her as one of the most evil women in fiction, alongside the likes of Lady Macbeth. Through her, Warren Adler explores how an obsession for celebrity and blind ambition can distort familial love and turn a beloved child into a grotesque monster. As he did in the iconic The War of the Roses, Adler paints a frightening picture of the American family, only more sinister.

A hilarious and candid essay collection about living a normal life in Hollywood, where life is anything but normal, from mom, actress, and #1 New York Times bestselling author Tori Spelling. With her signature wit and unique Hollywood insight, Tori Spelling explores the adventures—and misadventures—of raising a family in Tinseltown. From balancing parenthood with tabloid pressures and from becoming a mini mogul to her evolving relationship with her mom, Tori takes us behind the glitz and glamor of being a modern-day celebrity. Featuring her whip-smart voice that fans know and love, she effortlessly illustrates that when you’re Tori Spelling, every day is uncharted territory.