Archive for July 12th, 2009

My review of Jeremy Adam Smith’s book, Daddy Shift, ran at City Journal’s website on Friday.

Key quotes: “Smith’s book arrives at a fortuitous time. Men have accounted for roughly four out of every five jobs lost over the past year and a half, and many have been forced into caregiving roles, whether they wanted them or not. Partially as a result, The Daddy Shift has gotten more media attention than Smith and Beacon Press expected. Unfortunately, much of it has dwelt on the tired image of apron-wearing, stay-at-home “Mr. Moms” bumbling around, learning to cook. A closer reading of The Daddy Shift finds that Smith has uncovered a more valuable insight: that men and women are different, and as men take on more caregiving duties, they are changing the definitions of working and caregiving in ways that people who view the world through the lens of the Mommy Wars cannot see.”