The Second Shift (Paperback)

by Arlie Hochschild (Author), Anne Machung (Author) "SHE is not the same woman in each magazine advertisement, but she is the same idea..." (more)
Key Phrases: sharing showdown, share the second shift, sharing the second shift, Nancy Holt, Evan Holt, Ann Myerson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
The best discussion I have read on what must be the quintessential domestic bind of our time. -- The New York Times Book Review

Review
The best discussion I have read on what must be the quintessential domestic bind of our time. (The New York Times Book Review)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (April 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142002925
• ISBN-13: 978-0142002926
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,549 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this, February 23, 2003

By	B. Dusel (Evanston, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Second Shift (Paperback)

As a college-age male, one might think that I would have little reason to read a study about the struggles of working women. That is wrong.
This insightful, modest study of family life (witnessed by the capable Arlie Hochschild as a fly-on-the-wall) gives perspective on a dillemma everyone should think about before marriage: how to reconcile economic and personal needs with having children. This problem affects women and men, mothers and fathers.
Unfortunately, it is rarely talked about in our society. People are forced to muddle through using their parents as examples, or to try to construct new strategies from scratch. Hochschild provides a useful structure for discussing the problem and avoiding the emotional and marital cost of relying on "myths." Any serious couple should be able to talk about these subjects to avoid misunderstanding and conflict.
One problem with this book is the writing - the points do not always flow together, and sometimes the sentences are simply awkward. This study is also weighted toward middle class families, though it explores others as well. Despite being over a decade old, this book is still relevant.
Well worth reading, whether you are deciding on a career, getting married, or already trying to balance both.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for modern families, September 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Second Shift (Paperback)

Hochschild's book is a superb description of what so many of of us live but barely understand. She examines the demands of work in the home and outside, the gender identities that shape our feeling toward work, the goals that shape our chices and the intentions that define our commununication about responsiblity. The author validates the struggle of working women, without bashing men and talks about how to resolve the "stalled revolution" of shared responsibility both at home and in the workplace. Most importantly, Hochschild illuminates how our methods of dealing with the second shift, not the second shift itself per se, negatively impact our children.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So Much Time. So Little Change, June 16, 2006

By	Susan R. Meyer "Life Coach" (New York, New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book has been reissued with a new introduction to an old and important message. "A man may work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done" is an adage older than any of us. Hochschild draws a bleak and accurate picture of the increasing number of women with two jobs. As the economy worsens, and as more women want to maintain their careers, this number grows. The number of men pitching in at home, Hochschild reminds us, has not grown. Women come home from work to a full set of responsibilities. Women take off for the sick child, the doctor's appointment, the school play.
Yes, some men stay home, and yes, some men do their fair share. But things cold get better. I'd like to see this as required reading in high school - let's see if we can create a new trend.