Writing with upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in mind, Yarber and Sharp (sociology, Auburn U. at Montgomery) compile 18 previously published research articles and essays on single-parent families and their impact and place in society. They address the historical, demographic, and economic trends of modern society that affect the growth of single-parent families; the diversity of these families in terms of nationality, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, family size, and sexuality, as well as specific groups like children of incarcerated parents, grandmothers raising grandchildren, and single-father families; the different experiences of families from these backgrounds in the areas of income, the law, psychological well-being, religious support, and teen sexual activity; and social problems and policies that affect them. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)