I Don't: A Contrarian History of Marriage

...get it right, that is. If my 7th grade World Civ book had been written with Susan Squire's gift of sharp wit, caustic humor, and intelligent readability, I believe I may have decided to pursue history as a profession. Squire takes the reader on an historic tour of the one of civilization's most confounding institutions - marriage. With a scat-singer's skill, she weaves arcane facts, literary quotes, and a wildly entertaining recounting of history, in and out of the narrative. Squire's history is the polar opposite of dry - it's liquid and moist and messy and heaving, and one of the most entertaining reads I've had in a long time.

This book is for anyone who is divorced or has thought about divorce--or even for us single folk. It's smart, sophisticated, witty, and briskly written. It would seem destined for the best-seller list if the media (and book chains) weren't fixated on promoting the same books and the same ideas. (David Carr--hasn't that been done? Bob Woodward--jeez, again? Dexter Filkins--yeah, war is hell, thanks for the 100th book on Iraq. Dick Cheney? You mean we need a book to tell us he's Dr. Evil? ) Anyway, if you want an original take on a ubiquitous institution--divorce, and more specifically, how we got to where we are--this would be a good book for you. Or, dare I say, a good gift for someone you know and love, even a married friend, especially a married friend.

Susan Squire's I Don't, A Contrarian History of Marriage is an intelligent and playful history of an institution we're all captivated by in one way or another but know little about. Her writing is funny and outrageous because it's true. Squire imparts the horrendous ways every western society--Greeks, Romans, Christians--treated women. But I Don't is hardly a diatribe against marriage or men. Squire is not out for vengeance. Instead, she tells the story of why and how society became organized into couples and families. And this honest investigation thereby helps to ease the pain of the impossible conundrum of marriage by putting the personal into a political and historical context. We're not alone, we don't live in a vacuum. I Don't is a powerful book.

A fantastic, original, and entertaining read. Considering all the horrifying events Squire covers, from plagues to witch burnings, it's amazing how many times she made me laugh. A fresh and provocative look at how western civilization and religion have shaped contemporary mating. I can't believe I got married without knowing all this.

A research product that is fascinating and memorable. The author does a sardonic job on the Old and New Testaments in examining the routes of males on top as a biblical command! Especially interesting is her cross-examination of the Genesis story with Adam, Eve, the Serpent and Him as putative witnesses on the "stand". Her chapter on the virgin birth is uniquely well-documented. The story flows to Martin Luther and the religious re-acceptance of marriage without female authority. Looking forward to the sequel from Luther to modern times when relationships change dramatically at least in the Western world.