Integrates its stories of real-life couples into chapters about the nitty-gritty of commitment: finding a spouse, sex and sex roles, money, in-laws, jobs, homemaking, notions of beauty and expectations about intimacy.

What do you think of those Russian brides? What do they think of YOU? International marriages bring a substantial number of newcomers to the US and contribute to the transformation of the basic institution of society OCo the family. When men are from Mars and women are aliens, the marital dynamic can be quite dramatic. A Russian-born journalist, Ms. Popova shines a blinding light on some of the amusing and amazing oddities that are revealed when an outsider takes a blunt look at how we live."

Russian-American marriages reflect many of the same issues and problems of other inter-cultural marriages, but at the same time face some unique challenges. Since the publication of the first edition of Wedded Strangers in 1998, the number of these mixed couples has soared. Improved relations between the countries have brought hundreds of Russians to the U.S., while Americans continue to travel to Russia for business, study and tourism. Dozens of dating and marriage agencies in the two countries are busy matching Russians with Americans. The Internet, chat rooms, e-mail, and list servers for Russian-American couples and for people seeking spouses have revolutionized romance. Further, the end of the Soviet Union has eased travel restrictions, heartbreak over denied visas, and harassment of these couples. In response to these factors and to the hundreds of letters, phone calls and e-mails that poured in from couples who read the first edition and wanted to share their own stories, Dr. Visson has expanded Wedded Strangers with new material, including a chapter on marriages resulting from the phenomenal growth of agencies and Internet sites which introduce American men to Russian women. Another chapter deals with contemporary young couples who choose to live in both Russia and the U.S. A third chapter is devoted to the results of these marriages: a new generation of Russian-American children. The author shows how the couples differ in their attitudes toward raising children and explores the hopes and frustrations of these families.

There have always been mail-order brides in America. In this book Zug starts with the so-called "Tobacco Wives" of the Jamestown colony and moves forward to today's modern same-sex mail-order grooms to explore the advantages and disadvantages of mail-order marriage. It's a history of deception, physical abuse, and failed unions. It's also the story of how mail-order marriage can offer women surprising and empowering opportunities.

Based on an extensive reading of a broad range of women’s accounts of their lives in the Soviet Union, this book focuses on many hidden aspects of Soviet women’s everyday lives, thereby revealing a great deal about how the Soviet Union operated on a day-to-day basis and about the place of the individual within it. Including testimony from both celebrated literary and cultural figures and from many ordinary people, and from both enthusiastic supporters of the regime and dissidents, the book considers women’s daily routines, attitudes and behaviours. It highlights some of the hidden inequalities of an ostensibly egalitarian society, and considers many wider questions, including how extensive was the ‘reach’ of the Soviet regime; how ‘modern’ was it; how far were there continuities after 1917 between the new Bolshevik regime and Russia’s imperial past; and how homogenous and how mobile was Soviet society?

In the past, as in the present, transnationalism has played a vital role in the development of wealth, technology and art in all societies touched by cultures other than their own. This timely book provides an introduction to the social and cultural aspects of transnationalism, particularly focusing on the modern world since 1500, with an emphasis on the past 200 years. Topics covered include the role of migration, the development of cities, the effect of transnationalism on marriage and families, the presence of transnational corporations, dress, religion and art. A key text for understanding our increasingly transnational world. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.