160,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ 

Late Night Thursday! Our Hobsonville Bookstore is open until 9pm tonight! ✨

Personal Life

3.8 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 15 ratings, 2 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Carol Smart challenges conventional views on the family, offering a fresh conceptual approach that emphasises connectedness, relationality and embeddedness. Moving beyond theories of individualisation, she explores the bonds between people, the role of memory and cultural heritage, the significance of emotions, family secrets, and shared possessions in shaping personal relationships. This book realigns empirical research with theoretical analysis to deepen understanding of personal life and family dynamics.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$4299
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 3-4 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is essential for academics and students in sociology and social sciences, as well as anyone interested in the future of family and personal relationships. It suits readers seeking a deeper theoretical and empirical understanding of intimate social life.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

For more than a decade, Carol Smart has been at the forefront of debates about the sociology of the family. Yet she has become frustrated by the fixation of many commentators with the supposed decline of commitment, and even the decline of the possibility of family life.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

For more than a decade, Carol Smart has been at the forefront of debates about the sociology of the family. Yet she has become frustrated by the fixation of many commentators with the supposed decline of commitment, and even the decline of the possibility of family life. In this exciting new book, she puts forward a new way of understanding families and relationships.

Breaking with conventional wisdom, Personal Life offers a fresh conceptual approach to understanding personal life, which realigns empirical research with theoretical analysis. She gives emphasis to ideas of connectedness, relationality and embeddedness, rejecting many of the assumptions found in theories of individualisation and de-traditionalisation by authors such as Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, Bauman and Giddens.

Instead, her approach prioritises the bonds between people, the importance of memory and cultural heritage, the significance of emotions (both positive and negative), how family secrets work and change over time, and the underestimated importance of things such as shared possessions or homes in the maintenance and memory of relationships.

This ground-breaking text will be essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of families and personal relationships, and who wants to understand this most intimate area of social life.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Brenda Almond, Times Higher Education Supplement, describes it as "a striking book – honest, engaging, insightful," offering perceptive insights beyond academia. Judith Stacey from New York University praises it as "a creative, invigorating book" that reconfigures the study of family and appeals across disciplines and borders. The book is noted for reconnecting sociology with lived personal experiences through family memories and emotions.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780745639178

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 31 August 2007

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polity Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 19.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 290g

Pages: 232

About the Author

Carol Smart is Professor of Sociology at the Morgan Centre for the Study of Relationships and Personal Life, School of Social Science, University of Manchester.

More from Education & Reference

View all
  • Revenge of the Tipping Point
    Twenty-five years after the publication of his groundbreaking first book, Malcolm Gladwell returns with a brand new volume that reframes the lessons of The Tipping Point in a startling and revealing light. What does the heartbreaking fate of the cheetah tell us about the way we raise our children? Why do elite universities care so much about sports? What is...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Body Keeps the Score
    The Body Keeps the Score by Dr Bessel van der Kolk is a compelling and compassionate exploration of the deep-seated impact of trauma on the human body and mind. This groundbreaking work delves into the complex causes of trauma and paints a vivid picture of the revolutionary treatments that are enabling countless individuals to reclaim their lives filled with purpose...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • One Last Question, Prime Minister
    From Muldoon to Luxon, untold stories from the House of Parliament Barry Soper has spent close to five decades questioning New Zealand's prime ministers.From the imposing, larger-than-life characters of Rob Muldoon and David Lange, to the golden age of Helen Clark and John Key, and the post-Covid era of Jacinda Ardern and the 'Chrises', Soper's insight and nose for a...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Kitchen Confidential
    The classic bestseller from the star of Parts Unknown and No Reservations: 25th Anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Irvine Welsh. BEFORE THERE WAS THE BEAR, THERE WAS BOURDAIN. β€˜Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantino’ β€” A.A. Gill β€˜Fantastic: as lip-smackingly seductive as a bowl of fat chips and pungent aioli’ β€” Daily Telegraph After twenty-five years of sex,...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Song of the Birds
    A stunning and panoramic history of native birds in Aotearoa, from the bestselling author of The Meaning of Trees For millions of years, the song of the birds echoed throughout Aotearoa, with no one around to hear it. While the arrival of humans would transform their story forever - birds may have changed us even more. In this beautiful and...
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Lucky You're Tough
    New Release
    Lucky You're Tough
    Lucky You're Tough chronicles the early life of helicopter pilot and NZSAS soldier Mark Law, from growing up in the rural wilds of Whangamōmona through to surviving a series of life-threatening events that would shape his life and career. After a career as a badged soldier in the NZSAS that led to an intriguing stint with the British SAS and...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Hormone Health is Mental Health
    New Release
    Hormone Health is Mental Health
    Hormone Health is Mental Health is a lifechanging guide to understanding perimenopause and midlife women's mental health - and how understanding your hormones is the first step to feeling like yourself again. This book is for women in their thirties, forties, and fifties who feel like they're falling apart. Women who feel like their brains and bodies are betraying them,...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Age Code
    What if the food you eat could rewind your biological clock? 'Clear and compelling' β€” Chris van Tulleken 'Really interesting and insightful' β€” Joe Wicks 'Fascinating' β€” Tim Spector From the rising incidence of cancer in the under-50s to increased infertility rates, there are signs everywhere that growing numbers of us are ageing too quickly. Why? Many believe there’s one...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    American Hagwon
    β€˜Profoundly generous and humane’ DOUGLAS STUARTβ€˜Engrossing … brilliantly imagined’ COLM TΓ“IBÍNβ€˜Breathtaking … I adored it’ ELIF SHAFAKβ€˜Extraordinary’ TARA WESTOVERMin Jin Lee, the acclaimed author of Pachinko, returns with a breathtaking contemporary epic that follows one family as they reckon with personal dreams and familial duty. John and Helen Koh and their three children – Bo, DH and Mido – are...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The 48 Laws Of Power
    The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene is a modern classic that delves into the complexities of power dynamics and strategies for gaining and maintaining power. Greene meticulously examines the principles that have driven those who wield power, from ancient rulers and military leaders to modern-day figures. The book unfolds through historical anecdotes, examining the tactics, victories, and mistakes...
    Paperback
    $3400
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Explosive Child [Sixth Edition]
    The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene, PhD, now in its revised and updated sixth edition, delves deeply into a revolutionary, research-based approach to understanding and parenting children who frequently display severe fits of temper and other challenging behaviours. Penned by a distinguished clinician and pioneer in addressing the needs of children with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties, this ground-breaking...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $3299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Cauldron
    How did an elderly cleric overthrow the Shah of Iran and change the world?Why did Bin Laden attack the USA - and why did the USA destroy Saddam?How did Britain and France carve up the Middle East - and why did the Kurds never get their own state? THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE MAKING OF TODAY'S MIDDLE EAST: A SPELLBINDING...
    Hardback
    $4999
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 160,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.