Professor Susan Frelich Appleton has brought her characteristically keen perspective to this critical overview of American family law. The book is both sweeping and meticulous: she identifies theoretical moves that underpin all of family law at the same time that she delves into the minutiae of discrete doctrines. Professor Appleton seamlessly moves between the archaic historical practices that still undergird the field and cutting-edge scholarship that propels it forward, and her astute readings give us a prediction for the path family law will take. This book should be mandatory reading for all family law professors. -- Albertina Antognini, Loyola Marymount University, USA In a dynamic legal landscape, the legal understanding of the family has evolved, even as the familys core functions in society persist. In clear, straightforward prose, Susan Appleton reconciles these changes with the abiding interest in the family as a site for the privatization of dependency and care. Advanced Introduction to Family Law in the US is required reading for practitioners, instructors, and students alike. -- Melissa Murray, New York University, USA This is a remarkable text. It supplies a comprehensive examination of the law and a conceptually compelling account of why and how the state regulates the family. At our current crossroads, Appleton shows how legal restrictions on reproductive autonomy reverberate across the broad terrain of family law. -- Douglas NeJaime, Yale Law School, USA
