Andrew J. Cherlin is the Benjamin H. Griswold III Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University and is the author ofPublic and Private Families. His articles have appeared inThe New York Times Magazine, The Nation,and on the op-ed pages ofThe New York Times, The Washington Post,and other publications. He has been a recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship and the Distinguished Career Award from the Family Section of the American Sociological Association. He lives in Baltimore. From the Hardcover edition.