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Rating: 
Summary: Over 40, Single, Happy to Be That Way
Review: Interestingly, reading the reviews of some of the men here confirmed for me why I'm so happy to not be married to any of them. The fact is that most men my age prefer women in their 20's, or foreign women who are willing to defer to them because they are desperate to marry an American man and live an American lifestyle. I really don't fault men for this at all. What I do have a problem with is the idea that as a single woman I'm supposed to desire these same men, and I'm supposed to feel terrible if they don't want me. I don't want them to want me. They don't interest me. I'm not gay and I don't dislike men at all -- I have some great male friends my age. They're great as friends. I support their decisions to date anyone they want. I don't want them as partners.As a highly educated, successful, social, attractive woman in her 40s, I have built a life around friends, family, community involvement, and creative work. Most of my married friends are in relationships that I would not want to have. I really wonder, if being a single woman over 40 wasn't so stigmatized in our society, if most of us who "put off" marriage and family would want them at all. I knew I'd gotten somewhere real when I realized that what I wanted was the social status our society accords marriage and family; the reality was that on a real, day-to-day basis, these activities were very unappealing. Although the author's take is interesting, books like these just perpetuate the myth that single women in midlife can't be happy without a man. Maybe men just don't add a lot to our lives anymore, and nobody wants to admit that.
Rating: 
Summary: A HISTORIC BOOK!
Review: Reviewers who criticize this book as lacking useful advice for women or overly blaming men are missing the point: It's a fascinating snapshot into the minds of modern American women and the author herself as well as an indication of the changes for society ahead. If you want to save yourself a read, here's a quick summation: Successful, attractive, demanding, self-centered and aging women seem to have a hard time finding a successful man willing to give up his own carefree life to settle down with an old maid such as herself AND they can't seem to figure out why or what do to about it! It's an unintentional black comedy that will leave people in the know laughing and everyone else will have a hard time putting it down. I can't resist putting my own 2 cents into the issues the book raises and say that it's clear these women, indeed society, need to ask what's more important to women: Money and power or romance and love. To the women in the book, the answer is quite clear but that doesn't stop them from complaining about it and making fools of themselves. Grab some popcorn and enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Whitehead hits it on the head
Review: This book explains why women over 30 have such a hard time finding a man -- it's not certainly not because they don't have anything to offer. Today's women over 30 have more education, earn more money, and are more fun to be with than ever before. The reason it is so hard to find a man is that the good ones have been taken the good ones that are left are too expensive. But for a man, Whitehead argues, it's much easier if they can get the woman to agree to live together. This way, he can have all the benefits of marriage without all the commitment. Once he tires of her, he can dump her and live with another woman. I know this sounds cruel, but this is what is happening and you would be oblivious if you didn't acknowledge that this goes on. While Whitehead offers a great explanation on why all the good men are taken, she doesn't offer any great suggestions on how to overcome it. But since the problem of finding a mate is such a difficult one, I didn't expect her to. This book overall is great. Its scholarly explanation and documentation make it a great read and her writing is easy to follow. I enjoyed it. Hope you do too!
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