Gloria Steinem wrote in an introduction to Women’s Studies, “Happy or unhappy, families are all mysterious. We have only to imagine how differently we would be described – and will be, after our deaths – by each of the family members who believe they know us”. Families, for better or worse, have a potent impact on us as individuals. This encyclopedia is unique. While there are many titles about families and special aspects of family such as adoption, technology or gender roles, there is not a big encyclopedia of the American family. This satisfactorily fills a gap on academic library shelves. Besides the excellent entries on a broad range of issues pertaining to the family, a very convenient chronology allows the user to trace the history of the American family. The chronology starts with the 1619 transport of children to Virginia: “These children, from poor families and in some cases orphaned, were transported against their will. They faced a low rate of survival because of the difficulties of the voyage and the dangers of malaria upon arrival”. The last item in the chronology is the statement of the Statement by US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook school shootings.
The scope is from the beginning to the end – from family planning to elder abuse. Also, many ethnicities are treated – Japanese immigrant families, Jewish families, Latino families, general “ethnic enclaves” and interracial marriages are covered. The spectrum of class issues are found here, too, with entries from food stamps to home mortgage deductions. From the daily such as reading to children (where public libraries get some well-deserved praise) and frozen food to the monumental, such as family development theory, it is all here. Entries are well-documented and often point to more than four other related entries. Under Gay and Lesbian Marriage Laws, for example, there are links to adoption, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People, Civil Unions, Defense of Marriage Act, Domestic Partner Benefits and Same-Sex Marriage.
Libraries supporting sociology and family consumer science students should own this encyclopedia, whether in the online version as here reviewed or in its four print volumes. It covers unique ground. It is surprising when families have such impact that there are so few resources that cover the totality of the experience. This one, covering as it does everything from the roof over the family’s head to schooling, learning, cultural intricacies and media portrayals, is a necessity in every library.
