The Skimmer

The Marriage-Go-Round By Andrew J. Cherlin Knopf; 271 pages

Why do we have so many romantic partners? Thanks to multiple marriages and divorces, cohabitation, stepfamilies and various other couple combinations, America experiences "more turbulence in our family lives, more changes of partners and parents, than any other nation." So says Johns Hopkins University professor of public policy Cherlin, whose new study of the U.S. marriage landscape blames two contradictory yet dominant cultural ideals for our matrimonial meanderings. On one side is marriage itself, which holds a sacred place in American life. On the other is a "kind of individualism that emphasizes self-expression and personal growth." It's easy to see where the trouble lies. Until death do us part, sure--but only if that doesn't get in the way of our pursuit of happiness. Tracing the history of American marriage from the Puritans to the Mormons, from the nuclear family's apex in the 1950s to its free-love-, cohabitation- and divorce-fueled decline, Cherlin sees a nation that is forever stepping "on and off the carousel of intimate partnerships."

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