A personal, intimate account of the extraordinary ways that today's families are being created. From adoption and assisted reproduction, to gay and straight parents, coupled and single, and multi-parent families, the stories in Modern Families explain how individuals make unconventional families by accessing a broad range of technological, medical and legal choices that expand our definitions of parenting and kinship. Joshua Gamson introduces us to a child with two mothers, made with one mother's egg and the sperm of a man none of them has ever met; another born in Ethiopia, delivered by his natural grandmother to an orphanage after both his parents died in close succession, and then to the arms of his mother, who is raising him solo. These tales are deeply personal and political. The process of forming these families involved jumping tremendous hurdles-social conventions, legal and medical institutions-with heightened intention and inventiveness, within and across multiple inequities and privileges. Yet each of these families, however they came to be, shares the same universal joys that all families share. A companion for all those who choose to navigate the world of modern kinship, Modern Families provides a "fascinating look at the remarkable range of experiences that is broadening the very idea of family" (Booklist).

A personal, intimate account of the extraordinary ways that today's families are being created. From adoption and assisted reproduction, to gay and straight parents, coupled and single, and multi-parent families, the stories in Modern Families explain how individuals make unconventional families by accessing a broad range of technological, medical and legal choices that expand our definitions of parenting and kinship. Joshua Gamson introduces us to a child with two mothers, made with one mother's egg and the sperm of a man none of them has ever met; another born in Ethiopia, delivered by his natural grandmother to an orphanage after both his parents died in close succession, and then to the arms of his mother, who is raising him solo. These tales are deeply personal and political. The process of forming these families involved jumping tremendous hurdles-social conventions, legal and medical institutions-with heightened intention and inventiveness, within and across multiple inequities and privileges. Yet each of these families, however they came to be, shares the same universal joys that all families share. A companion for all those who choose to navigate the world of modern kinship, Modern Families provides a "fascinating look at the remarkable range of experiences that is broadening the very idea of family" (Booklist).

Using extensive interviews, hundreds of transcripts, focus-group discussions with viewers, and his own experiences as an audience member, Joshua Gamson argues that talk shows give much-needed, high-impact public visibility to sexual nonconformists while also exacerbating all sorts of political tensions among those becoming visible. With wit and passion, "Freaks Talk Back" illuminates the joys, dilemmas, and practicalities of media visibility.
"This entertaining, accessible, sobering discussion should make every viewer sit up and ponder the effects and possibilities of America's daily talk-fest with newly sharpened eyes."--"Publishers Weekly"
"Bold, witty. . . . There's a lot of empirical work behind this deceptively easy read, then, and it allows for the most sophisticated and complex analysis of talk shows yet."--Elayne Rapping, "Women's Review of Books"
"Funny, well-researched, fully theorized. . . . Engaged and humane scholarship. . . . A pretty inspiring example of what talking back to the mass media can be."--Jesse Berrett, "Village Voice"
"An extraordinarily well-researched volume, one of the most comprehensive studies of popular media to appear in this decade."--James Ledbetter, "Newsday"

Imagine a pied piper singing in falsetto, wearing sequins, and leading the young people of the nation to San Francisco and on to a liberation where nothing was straight-laced or old-fashioned. And everyone, finally, was welcome--to come as themselves. This is not a fairy tale. This was real, mighty real, and disco-sensation Sylvester was the piper.
Yale-trained sociologist Joshua Gamson uses Sylvester's life to lead us through the story of the 1970s, when a generation took off its shame. Celebrity, sociology, and music history mingle in this endlessly entertaining story of a singer who embodied the freedom, spirit, and flamboyance of a golden moment in American culture.

"Gamson has brilliantly analyzed the complexities of celebrity as a cultural form. He gives us an insider's account, without going native. He provides us with a critical overview, without overlooking the messy details of celebrity-making and its central place in American society. "Claims to Fame is a must for all those who seek to understand American public culture."--Jeffrey C. Goldfarb, author of "The Cynical Society: The Culture of Politics and the Politics of Culture in American Life

"The most thoughtful and thoroughgoing sociological analysis I know of this strange and ubiquitous phenomenon, celebrity. Intricately argued and elegantly written, frequently amusing and properly alarming, "Claims to Fame deftly avoids either undervaluing or overvaluing the gullibility of the consumers of celebrity. Gamson--to use his own words--'mines . . . superficialities for their depths' and gives us more insight into the culture of entertainment than a dozen treatises on the 'resistant' potential of Madonna."--Todd Gitlin, University of California, Berkeley

"The best general account we have of the economic and representational parameters of contemporary celebrity. "Claims to Fame would be worth reading simply for its lively and wonderfully detailed description of the 'celebrity industry' in Los Angeles. Yet, by tying this description to a compelling argument about the nature of our investment in celebrity images, the book does much more. It should have an important place in future discussions of the mass media and American culture."--Richard deCordova, DePaul University, author of "Picture Personalities

"Insightful, well-written, replete with telling anecdotes, "Claims to Fame demonstrateshow one can critically analyze American culture without sneering at the American people."--Gaye Tuchman, author of "Making News

"Establishes a new landmark in the study of everyday life in the modern metropolis. This book brilliantly integrates systematic theory and participant observation data. Forms of domination and resistance are poignantly captured in different social settings, and admirably related to economic and political forces. The volume will do more to enhance ethnographic research than any previous study in sociology."--William Julius Wilson, University of Chicago

"What is unleashed in "Ethnography Unbound is the theoretical and critical potential of exemplary urban fieldwork and pedagogy. This book by Michael Burawoy and his talented students sets an inspirational standard to emulate in the classroom and in the 'field'."--Judith Stacey, author of "Brave New Families

"Bravo! A book that explodes the barriers that prevent us from seeing, simultaneously, both the social world and our role in its making. The dichotomies of teacher/student, researcher/researched, and theory/data are subjected to a penetrating and refreshing scrutiny in this unique project."--Rick Fantasia, author of "Cultures of Solidarity

"Burawoy and his colleagues have rediscovered the ancient truth that participant observation is well-suited to understanding the larger society as well as microsocial life. Moreover, they have made that rediscovery superbly. The essays are of high quality and I hope that the book will increase yet further the current interest in participant observation and ethnography."--Herbert J. Gans, author of "People, Plans and Policies