"Jamieson s analysis throughout is lucid and stimulating, enlivened by apt illustrations from her case studies, including some derived from her own research. The study of intimacy is clearly going to be a developing field and students who are attracted to courses in this new area will be fortunate to have Jamieson s text as a guide through the growing literature, relevant theories and competing claims." David Morgan, University of Manchester

"Starts like a textbook and ends like a thriller. Lynn Jamieson sets out clearly the modern theories of personal life. Then she digs out the facts - on friendships, child rearing, families, sexuality - and confronts them. The results are sometimes surprising, and always convincing." R. W. Connell, University of Sydney

"Draw[s] on, and contribute[s] to, sociology s newly enlarged sensitivity to the forms of private life and personal experience ... Jamieson s book is strikingly evidence-based." The Times Higher Education Supplement

"Researchers and teachers in the area of personal relationships will encounter valuable new ideas and sources in this book ... good summaries of valuable qualitative studies by scholars from Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand." Contemporary Sociology

"Finding a monograph that is important reading for scholars, graduate students, and upper division undergraduates is unusual. Jamieson s book is important for all three audiences" Alan C. Acock, Oregon State University, Journal of Marriage and the Family.