Coontz has written two critical books on the subject of American families, their dynamics, and examines the role of family in a capitalist structure. My favorite of hers is "The Way We Never Were" which destroys the idyllic Fifties. Her books have such a (refreshing) positive slant and aren't written in the elitest intellectual language... definitely one of my favorites. And she's a professor at Evergreen!

-erin