“All The Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation”

By Rebecca Traister

Simon and Schuster (339 pages, $27)

Employing the tools of social history and narrative journalism, “All The Single Ladies” paints an upbeat portrait of the unmarried life, concluding with a call for policy changes to support “the epoch of single women that's upon us.”

Rebecca Traister traces the trend of happy singlehood back through American history to its pre-Colonial roots in England. In 1563, she reports, the House of Lords petitioned Queen Elizabeth I to marry ASAP. The queen refused, proclaiming, “I have long since made choice of a husband, the kingdom of England.”

In the 16th century, a queen was the rare woman who could support herself without a husband. But as of 2010, Traister reports, the playing field had changed. American women now hold the majority of all jobs, including 51 percent of management positions; about a third of the nation’s doctors are female, and 45 percent of its lawyers. This economic situation supports the startling statistic at the basis of Traister’s book: Only 20 percent of Americans are married by age 29 -- compared to nearly 60 percent in 1960.

Traister interviewed 100 women, and 30 of their stories are woven through the text in some detail. As she humorously acknowledges, she drew heavily from her own pool of friends. Traister herself remained single until 35 -- she began writing this book weeks before her wedding -- and weaves in many first-person observations and anecdotes, including her experiences of metropolitan living and female friendship, identified as pillars of a positive single life. (TNS)