American Families: A Multicultural Reader

This is an excellent book for students of sociology, family history, human development or other fields that explore family life as it exists in our world today. I especially appreciate how the author expands the reader's understanding of family forms from the common view of The Family as a mother/father, white, middle class, with two children "Ozzie and Harriot" stereotype to a more realistic understanding of the complexities of families in this country. I enjoyed reading stories that revealed how the factors of race, class, and gender effect families in our society. I also appreciated the inclusion of family stories that reveal the impact of historical contexts. For example, the stories from immigrants reveal how our society has historically valued labor as a means for profit over labor as a means to support families. I didn't find the text to be overly academic, but rather fascinating, accessible and informative.