Rating: 
Summary: No More "Reserved Parking"
Review: Before this book came out I thought I had to obey signs in supermarket parking lots that read "Reserved Parking For Mommies-to-be". Then when I read "The Baby Boon" I took another look and saw that, unlike handicap spaces, these spaces are not set aside by law. They are set aside by store owners and they are DISCRIMINATORY. Ever since then I've been parking in these spaces and I encourage all drivers to do the same; it isn't illegal to park in them. I've alse given a complaint form to one store pointing this out and advising them to remove the sign. Thank you Elinor!
Rating: 
Summary: daniel_martin_corelli@yahoo.com
Review: After reading this book, I realized that we who are childfree are getting the short end of the stick. I am a biomedical researcher involved in drug research, and I am personally surrounded by a group of selfish parents who really believe that they are entitled to special privileges based on their reproductive status. Luckily, as a senior partner in my firm I steadfastly refuse to work overtime to cover for the parents who are unable to manage their time more effectively. I have a life too...and stop infringing upon mine to suit your needs.Although Ms. Burkett's opinions sometimes may be a bit too strong, she finally raises the important point that being childfree is just as valid a choice (and I stress CHOICE) to become a parent. Her case studies are remarkable in similarity to many of the defenses which the childfree are often forced to raise against the vast throng of parents and wannabes who just can't understand that some of us choose not to reproduce because of strong personally held beliefs, and that contrary to most standard rhetoric (left and right wing)--not all of us hate children. I notice that the reviews on this book are written both pro and con, but have you noticed the irony in that supporters of the book are willing to disclose their identity, whereas those who are on the opposing side display cowardice? And the idea that we are all selfish is just pure sophistry--how selfish are YOU parents when you continually demand special privileges at the expense of those who are childfree? I will remaind you that parenthood is a CHOICE--and that arguments of "who will take care of you when you are older" do not hold up in light of the increased number of nursing home residents and the decreased number of average visitors these residents receive? Try looking at at the epidemiological data--apparently the opposing side didn't bother to check their facts. The book stands on its merits as a good example of a much needed discussion in our society. To say anything less is selfish in and of itself.
Rating:
Summary: You Are Not Alone
Review: I was surprised that a book like this existed. After graduating from college with my associates degree, I landed what I thought was the perfect job in a hospital. Unfortunately, since I was the only person in the department who was childless, I had to work all the weekends and holidays. Once, after working 14 days in a row with no overtime pay, I finally had a day off, and much to my chagrin I was called into work. One co-worker told me that I owe more to the department because I did not have children. Being raised in a single-parent home, my mother did not count on her co-workers to pick up the slack for her call to motherhood. In my mother's day, a working woman had to lie about the fact that she had children in order to hold down a job. Today is much different. At 35, I will be graduating with my 4-year college degree, while other people my age look down their noses at me with that "What took you so long?" look because they had their college paid for on welfare benefits. I loved this book, but Dr. Burkett writes it at a very academic level, and I do not believe a non-college graduate would understand it. I loved the book, although I had to have my dictionary at hand to look up several words. Dr. Burkett is very smart and understands a section of our society that is often persecuted when they are the real heros. Thanks Dr. Burkett!
Rating:
Summary: Finally! The voice for the (formerly) voiceless!
Review: Finally, someone is willing to stand up and say, "I don't have children, and I shouldn't be responsible for helping you raise yours!" I am so sick of covering for co-workers while they attend to their children. Since I am single it is assumed I have no personal life or obligations. The one time I mentioned something like this to my previous boss, she got very uptight and assured me that no parent ever gets a break because of their kids. Hogwash! This country has been run by the Hillary-quoting "everything should be for the children" faction for WAY too long. Kids are fine, but they are not the be-all, end-all of the universe. This book points out the real unfairness of our soccer mom, child-oriented society, where people who have not procreated are treated like second-class citizens while those with children are pandered to. And, by the way, looking at the behavior of most kids today, I can't see how all of this time away from work has resulted in such great parenting skills. Yesterday in a deli I heard a mother telling her hyper, bratty, loud six-year-old he was "invading his brother's space." Get real! He was invading everyone's space, and he doesn't even understand the concept in the first place! For those out there who are also "feeling the pain" of helping support the country's "families" (after all, only people with children are considered a family), I would also recommend the cover article "The Backlash Against Children," which ran in the New York Times Sunday magazine sometime in September 2000.
Rating: 
Summary: Out of 256 pages, she complains for 255!
Review: I don't discount her personal experiences, but she was much too general and complaining about working parents.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book But a Pulled Punch
Review: "The Baby Boon" is a good policy-issue book and not just an outcry of personal complaining, although the author does occasionally use personal examples. In the book, Burkett examines the kinds of sacrifices childless people have made for those with children and concludes that the childless have been asked for too much. Property taxes for public school? No problem. Welfare, or whatever replaced it? Of course, there has to be a social net. But what of companies that give liberal maternity/paternity leave to new parents with no comparable benefit to the childless? Free corporate childcare centers? Or parents who assert practically a moral privilege not to work on weekends but expect their child-free cohorts to do it for them? Burkett is annoyed, as are many of us, by the assumptions of parents that (1) no amount of social engineering is too much when one has children; (2) single people don't have social lives so infringing on their spare time is no big deal; (3) the needs of kids supercede other adults needs so that "adults only" zones like restaurants or legitimate theaters are dwindling. It's almost as though one isn't a full citizen without a child and, as Burkett mentions several times, it's almost as though one isn't a woman without also being a mother. Much of the unfairness resides in governmental policy. For each of the many, many tax-reform laws passed during the 1990s "for the children," single people have lost out. This has swelled the parental sense of entitlement but transferred the tax burden to the childless (who, ironically, may be the ones working extra hours to take up the slack). Burkett points out that many of these entitlements are not targeted toward the poor but to the middle-class, which made them politically popular. The title of this book could almost have been "The Middle-Class Scam" instead of "The Baby Boon." At that point I felt she could have embarked on a full-scale critique of the Clinton era and its social policy but was reigned in by her topic and so had to pull a punch or tow. Still, fascinating reading and highly digestible "wonk" subject matter. "The Baby Boon" is a worthy book to read. About my only other criticism is that it gets a bit repetitive at times as Burkett reminds us that the definition of woman=mother is a regressive social policy. That's a small price to pay, though, for a fresh and interesting book for people who feel they've been "had" but don't really have counter-arguments against their situation.
Rating:
Summary: A slightly different take . .
Review: In addition to the things that others have said about this wonderful book, it gives ammunition to those (such as myself) that have gritted their teeth when they hear the words, "But it's for the children!". So I'm supposed to accept restrictions on my television set (the V-chip), restrictions on the Internet, make special accomodations, etc., all for the sake "of the children". Perfectly good books may be removed from libraries and banned because some brain-dead do-gooder believes they'll "harm the children". Hogwash! What many people fail to realize is that their children may not now or ever be used as a reason to abrogate my rights of free speech or thought. Foisting this off on all of us, in the form of government edicts, is yet another symptom of the inability of some people to do an adequate job of child-rearing. Their probably are dangers to children on both TV and the Internet; however, that's what the "off" switch and parental discipline are for. And please don't tell me, "you can't watch 'em all the time!"; that's dereliction of duty. Believe it or not, I actually like most kids I encounter; however, the world is (or should be) geared toward adults, in part so that adults can guide children. Notice the airlines tell you to put *your* mask on first, *then* your child's!
Rating:
Summary: This book will make you think....
Review: This book was an unbelievable read. Even if you don't agree with a single thing that Burkett says, her points will make you look at your world in a different way. Burkett offers an intelligent and well-researched discussion about the issues facing nonparents in society. Her commentary is stinging at times, but it stings because it resonates with truth. From the interviews with wealthy suburbanite parents who can't imagine life that isn't funded by the Federal Government, to her heartbreaking stories about dicsrimination in the workplace against nonparents, this is a book that will stretch your boundaries about what "family" really means to us as a society, and the impact that it has on us all. I cannot recommend this book enough. You will be talking about it for weeks afterward!
Rating:
Summary: Every revolution needs a Thomas Paine to kick it off
Review: In my contrarian view, I cherish Elinor Burkett's sarcastic wit. She is making such a new, radical argument. Now is not the time to be too compromising. All rabble rousers will love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Finially, a voice for the childfree!
Review: I am single and childfree (by choice of course!). I never thought about this issue until I saw an interview with Lisa Belkin on the news, and then read the NY Times magazine that Sunday. Needless to say, I was intrigued by everything I read and saw; especially the example of Jason_Gill and his situation because I had to go through the same thing when I went home/apartment hunting; especially in "family friendly" (FF) Montgomery County (suburb county of Washington DC) and random general thoughts about certain kids and parents to begin with. I went out and bought the book on Wednesday of this week and started reading. I finished it 5 hours later (with a screaming child from my neighbor's apartment echoing the halls [ironic huh?]) and was extremely moved. The situations she documents correlate to situations I encountered while working and living in our "FF" Society. On a break at work, I discussed the book with my colleagues (some childfree, some not) and we got into a very good debate about this subject. All agreed that single people do get less when it comes to society and the workplace. Some were even asking me how to get a copy of the book (or borrow mine). Then... A breeder who overheard our conversation (and I hate to use the term, but she was!); went off on me. I won't cite examples because, and this is very ironic, they were about the same things Lisa Belkin keeps getting from breeders she encounters on this subject! (My child is [fill-in-the-blank], I deserve because [fill-in-the-blank], Kids are....[fill-in-the-blank], Do you hate kids?, etc). No blood was spilled or bodies lay out from this encounter of course, but it truly documents to me, as way of a personal experience, the societal and workplace discriminations and attitudes we, the childfree, must endure everyday.
| 
