Mothers and Sons

This book explores the complex and rewarding relationship between mothers and their sons. It begins with a survey of the literature on the mother/son relationship. The main part of Forcey's study is based on the oral histories of 120 mothers in which they reveal their feelings of responsibility toward their sons, their expectations, and how they communicate. The book closes with three "portraits" of women who describe their relationships with their sons and how they have changed over time and through such upheavals as mothers returning to work and divorce. In examining the mother/son relationship, Mothers of Sons ultimately questions whether or not mothers foster sexist masculinity and whether they can be blamed for male dominance.

This, the first full-length study of Angela Thirkell's Barsetshire series, shows the popular novelist to have greater scope and more serious intentions than many of her reviewers recognized. Her chronicles of rural English society, set in Trollope's mythical county, present a solid case for traditional middle-class values, including an emphasis on topics of current interest like preservation of the environment and loyalty to family, county, and country.

Taking an alternative approach to the history of Buddhism, this book describes how Buddhist authors reorganized family values in China. It covers readings of more than 20 Buddhist texts written in China between the 5th and the 13th century.