interesting topic but with a somewhat dry and academic delivery, Well done but not an enjoyable read, Even for someone who reads a lot of dry scholarly books about history, this one lacks verve, It was slow going, mainly because of the author's decision to make the first and last few chapters purely statistical.
If you want a very longwinded description of exactly how many bachelors lived in the US in theth andth century, this could be the book for you.
Overall I think much of this information would have been better placed in appendices, Who wants to plod throughpages just to winnow out the tidbit that bachelors increased byfromtonot a real stat, just an example of how this information is presented The author doesn't really convince me of his theory that bachelors were treated like "rogue elephants" and despised by American society until thes.
It's easy enough to understand why that was correct in the colonial era fines and taxes on the unmarried were common, but considering how many died of disease or accident in those early settlements, punishing those who took passage across the Atlantic but did not start families once they settled here is understandable.
I wasn't quite convinced that bachelors were despised and feared in the mid to lateth century, At least in the middle and upper classes, single gents were much in demand for dinner parties, which were traditionally balanced so that an equal number of men and women were present.
Unmarried females "of a certain age" were of very lowly social status during this time, although, due to women's influence in the sphere of home and private life, they weren't viewed as dangerous nor "rogue.
" Still, a respectable bachelor of any age could usually finagle a dinner invite whereas single ladies were often excluded from such parties.
There are a few interesting segments, particularly about gentleman's clubs and social organizations such as the YMCA, and about early athletic celebrities like the boxer John Sullivan.
The information about homosexual bachelors in theth century seems to be entirely drawn from one man's diary.
The author might have scrounged up a few more references for this particular topic, as the diarist is a strict misogynist and this was not necessarily true of allthcentury homosexual men.
But the best part of this book is the chapter about the Police Gazette, The author provides a wonderful analysis of this longrunning publication, which is as good a reflection of the attitudes and styles ofthcentury bachelors as anything.
Aside from that, this book doesn't have much appeal unless you enjoy archaic census reports, It's a fascinating topic, but the author just doesn't have the literary style to make it an interesting read.
A highly readable overview of the creation and recreation of a bachelor subculture in urban America, A fascinating and informative history of American bachelor culture, The author reviews a variety of primary and secondary sources to paint an evolving picture of bachelors, The essential argument is that economic and social conditions intertwined to create mostly urban conditions that altered the way that men interacted with the world around them.
Obliterates any notion that men "have always been" or that manly behaviors are products of biology, I take away a strong sense that institutions and popular culture play a powerful role in the types of human beings we produce as a society.
Overall it
is heavy on census data but an informative read and a n impressive body of work.
In this engaging new book, Howard Chudacoff describes a special and fascinating world: the urban bachelor life that took shape in the late nineteenth century, when a significant population of single men migrated to American cities.
Rejecting the restraints and dependence of the nineteenthcentury family, bachelors found sustenance and camaraderie in the boarding houses, saloons, pool halls, cafes, clubs, and other institutions that arose in response to their increasing numbers.
Richly illustrated, anecdotal, and including a unique analysis of The National Police Gazette the most outrageous and popular men's publication of the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, this book is the first to describe a complex subculture that continues to affect the larger meanings of manhood and manliness in American society.
The figure of the bachelorwith its emphasis on pleasure, selfindulgence, and public entertainmentwas easily converted by the burgeoning consumer culture at the turn of the century into an ambiguously appealing image of masculinity.
Finding an easy reception in an atmosphere of insecurity about manhood, that image has outdistanced the circumstances in which it began to flourish and far outlasted the bachelor culture that produced it.
Thus, the idea of the bachelor has retained its somewhat negative but alluring connotations throughout the rest of the twentieth century.
Chudacoff's concluding chapter discusses the contemporary "singles scene" now developing as the number of single people in urban centers is again increasing.
By seeing bachelorhood as a stage in life for many and a permanent status for some, Chudacoff recalls a lifestyle that had a profound impact on society, evoking fear, disdain, repugnance, and at the same time a sense of romance, excitement, and freedom.
The book contributes to gender history, family history, urban history, and the study of consumer culture and will appeal to anyone curious about American history and anxious to acquire a new view of a sometimes forgotten but still influential aspect of our national past.
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