Martin K. Whyte's comments about Reading History Sideways
"Reading History Sideways is an intellectual gem from one of America's leading family sociologists. Arland Thornton convincingly demonstrates that theorizing about the processes of family change over several centuries was based upon faulty evidence drawn not from past history, but from contemporary 'primitive' societies. The resulting notion that there is a developmental sequence from extended to nuclear family living has been extraordinarily influential. Hopefully this new book will finally undermine the intellectual dominance of the developmental paradigm in studying family change."
- Martin K. Whyte, Harvard University
Publication details for Reading History Sideways: The Fallacy and Enduring Impact of the Developmental Paradigm on Family Life.