The way we never were : American families and the nostalgia trap / Stephanie Coontz.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [377]-379) and index.

The way we wish we were : defining the family crisis -- "Leave it to Beaver" and "Ozzie and Harriet" : American families in the 1950s -- "My mother was a saint" : individualism, gender myths, and the problem of love -- We always stood on our own two feet : self-reliance and the American family -- Strong families, the foundation of a virtuous society : the family and civic responsibility -- A man's home is his castle : the family and outside intervention -- Bra-burners and family bashers : feminism, working women, consumerism, and the family -- "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Mary with a baby carriage" : marriage, sex, and reproduction -- Toxic parents, supermoms, and absent fathers : putting parenting in perspective -- Pregnant girls, wilding boys, crack babies, and the underclass : the myth of black family collapse -- The crisis reconsidered.