The Age of the Bachelor (Paperback)

by Howard P. Chudacoff (Author) "ROGUE ELEPHANTS. That is how one contemporary commentator on colonial American society referred to bachelors..." (more)
Key Phrases: boarding bachelors, bachelor subculture, bachelor population, Police Gazette, San Francisco, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Compared with single women, single men have been wallflowers when it comes to engaging the attention of historians. Brown University's Chudacoff, author of an earlier history of attitudes toward the life cycle, How Old Are You? Age Consciousness in American Culture (Princeton Univ., 1989), seeks to change that with this study of unmarried men in large American cities between 1880 and 1930. The total percentage of bachelors peaked during that time, and the resulting "subculture" centering around saloons, gangs, barber shops, YMCAs, boardinghouses, men's publications, and other male domains is Chudacoff's primary concern in this social history. His description of such institutions is usually interesting, if rarely surprising, but the book's argument for the overall cultural importance of bachelor subculture is strained. For larger academic collections in gender history.ARobert F. Nardini, Chichester, NH
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Brown University professor of history Chudacoff examines the rise of the urban bachelor in the late nineteenth century through the end of the 1920s, and the shift it signaled in the American idea of manhood. Previously, bachelors were seen somewhat as misfits in a culture centered on marriage and stable families. By 1890, though, an increasing number of bachelors appeared in urban centers, such as New York and Chicago. Chudacoff argues that the growing affluence of these (generally) younger men, coupled with ever increasing opportunities for diversion (saloons, pool halls, and social clubs top the list), led a larger percentage of the male population than ever in the past to forego marriage. For many men, the bachelor lifestyle became the defining act of being a man: living unencumbered by family and free to indulge in the many pleasures city life offered. Rigorously documented but very accessible to readers of American culture. Brian McCombie --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (November 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691070555
• ISBN-13: 978-0691070551
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #402,784 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and Enlightening, August 18, 2005

By	krebsman (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

Once in a while a book comes my way that gets me to see the world in a whole new way. Howard P. Chudacoff's THE AGE OF THE BACHELOR is one of those books. Chudacoff traces the influence on (and place in) American society of the unmarried adult male over roughly the last 120 years. Economics and demographics have played a big part in the changing role of unmarried men, from the days of the pitiable "old bachelor" who lived a lonely life in rooming houses of the 1800s to the glamorous "swinging single" of the late 20th Century. As more single men gained larger disposable incomes, entrepreneurs found ways to glamorize and exploit the unmarried condition, creating new markets and new values. This not only changed the lives of single men, but the society as a whole, as women, too, began to challenge the idea of the married state being the ideal one. I found this fascinating reading.

One of the major discussions of the book is the changing definition of what it means to be a man. How do men's lives differ from women's lives? Whereas females have a lot of generational interaction in their lives, males, with the advent of the move from agrarian to urban living, lost the mentoring influence of their fathers and developed same sex friendships almost exclusively among their contemporaries. Females tend to form relationships based on support and sympathy, whereas competition serves as the major tie among males. In the absence of time spent with the family, other venues of male camaraderie, like the saloon, the pool hall and the sports arena evolved.

The book contains many statistical tables and hefty appendices of notes and bibliography. But this is not a plodding book for specialists. I found it lively and entertaining with one insightful page after another. This is one of the most enlightening books I've read in a long time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Emergence & Peak of American Bachelor Subculture., May 9, 2005

By	mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: The Age of the Bachelor (Hardcover)

"The Age of the Bachelor" attempts to present a comprehensive examination of the bachelor subculture that emerged in the 19th century in a way that is not colored by the negative connotations often associated with bachelorhood. The book focuses primarily on urban bachelor lifestyles and institutions 1880-1930, the peak years of bachelor subculture in the United States. Most bachelors did, in fact, eventually marry. The bachelor subculture emerged due to men marrying at more advanced age than they previously had, prolonging the time that men spent as unmarried adults.

Author Howard Chudacoff introduces his subject with an overview of bachelorhood in colonial and early America and the roots of its negative connotations before moving on to the emergence of sporting-male culture and working class, middle class, and patrician bachelorhood in the 19th century. Included are discussions of why there were so many bachelors; how the social life of singles became an end in itself; how and where bachelors lived; the saloons, pool halls, cafés, dance halls and like institutions where these men spent their spare time; bachelors' relationships with women; and an analysis of the popular men's weekly "The National Police Gazette". The book's last two chapters address American male culture in general: how it changed in the 19th century due to increased urbanization and industrialization, the decline of bachelorhood 1940-1960, and its reemergence in the 1960s.

Howard Chudacoff has written an admirable survey of the emergence, prominence, and consequences of bachelor subculture in America. "The Age of the Bachelor" does contain statistics, so the writing is dense in some places, but it is generally very readable. There is a smattering of period photographs and illustrations throughout. This is a welcome study of an interesting and significant aspect of American social history that has previously been neglected.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Origins of Consumer Culture and Hedonism, February 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Age of the Bachelor (Hardcover)

A must read for historically minded hedonists or anyone interested in the origins of consumer culture. Very well written and the final chapter comparing late 19th century bachelors to Boomer singles was particularly interesting