From Front Porch to Back Seat

Beth Bailey teaches American history and is the director of American Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is the author of The First Strange Place: Race and Sex in World War II Hawaii.

Whether or not we've come a long way since then, this engaging study of courtship shows that at least half the fun is in reading about getting there. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. As entertaining as it is informative. Bailey documents sources from Margaret Mead to advertising's hokey hype in her comprehensive analysis of the rituals of American amore, exploring the themes of 'control, competition, consumption, the sexual economy, etiquette and gender.'. Booklist A fascinating study of an important part of our recent past. The Nation Whether or not we've come a long way since then, this engaging study of courtship shows that at least half the fun is in reading about getting there. St. Louis Post-Dispatch

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1. Calling Cards and MoneyChapter 2. The Economy of DatingChapter 3. The Worth of a DateChapter 4. Sex ControlChapter 5. The Etiquette of Masculinity and FemininityChapter 6. Scientific Truth and LoveEpilogueNotesIndex