Jesse Bernard's most intriguing and influential work on marriage, the family, sexuality and changing women's roles in the US. "The Jessie Bernard Reader is a wonderful gift to all of us, whether sociologist or lay reader. Although reluctant to wear the mantle of feminism, Professor Bernard was a feminist before the Second Wave came along to give it heft. In her quiet insistence that empirical work mattered-and her demonstration of that belief in her work-she helped to change the face of sociology and made a lasting contribution to the study of gender. Her notion of a 'his' and 'her' marriage and her critical examination of motherhood were revolutionary for the time and permanently changed our understanding of both the dynamics of marriage and the romantic myths surrounding motherhood." -Lillian B. Rubin, Ph.D.