Sara Arber and Virpi Timonen (eds.) (2012). Contemporary Grandparenting. Changing Family Relationships in Global Contexts. Bristol, UK: The Policy Press, 270 pp. ISBN 978 1 84742 967 4 (paperback)

摘要

This edited volume provides an excellent addition to our understanding ofcontemporary grandparenting in diverse welfare stares and culturalcontexts. It is not quite as global in scope as the title suggests but providesinformative analyses from studies of grandparenting in rural China, theUnited States, Hong Kong, Norway, Singapore, the United Kingdom,Ireland, Portugal and Germany, as well as cross-references and summariesof findings from other developed regions of the world. The inclusion of avariety of countries highlights the reality that while grandparentinghas some universal similarities, the forms and intensities and the livedexperience of grandparenting differ markedly among various societal andcultural contexts. The editors were right to constrain the focus to thedeveloped world at 270 pages (including an Introduction, Conclusionand Index), the book could not have extended itself further. However,I found myself wanting to read about contemporary grandparenting inAfrica and other developing regions where grandparents play particularlycritical roles in raising orphaned grandchildren and in the economic and social future of their communities. Interesting perspectives, perhaps for a future book.