false 1157374 1 <p>In their personal lives, people consider it essential to separate economics and intimacy. We have, for example, a long-standing taboo against workplace romance, while we see marital love as different from prostitution because it is not a fundamentally financial exchange. In <i>The Purchase of Intimacy</i>, Viviana Zelizer mounts a provocative challenge to this view. Getting to the heart of one of life's greatest taboos, she shows how we all use economic activity to create, maintain, and renegotiate important ties--especially intimate ties--to other people. </p><p>In everyday life, we invest intense effort and worry to strike the right balance. For example, when a wife's income equals or surpasses her husband's, how much more time should the man devote to household chores or child care? Sometimes legal disputes arise. Should the surviving partner in a same-sex relationship have received compensation for a partner's death as a result of 9/11? </p><p>Through a host of compelling examples, Zelizer shows us why price is central to three key areas of intimacy: sexually tinged relations; health care by family members, friends, and professionals; and household economics. She draws both on research and materials ranging from reports on compensation to survivors of 9/11 victims to financial management Web sites and advice books for same-sex couples. </p><p>From the bedroom to the courtroom, <i>The Purchase of Intimacy</i> opens a fascinating new window on the inner workings of the economic processes that pervade our private lives.</p> 1144955 26 3 2007 The Purchase of Intimacy total:9|5:2|4:6|3:1|2:0|1:0| 9 37 17 0 5 0 false false Tue Nov 03 17:01:07 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 17:01:07 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Sep 03 17:36:35 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 17:36:35 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Sep 02 12:11:04 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 02 12:11:04 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Sep 01 09:49:09 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 09:49:09 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Aug 30 21:44:04 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 21:44:04 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Aug 30 18:10:40 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 18:10:40 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Feb 16 19:16:45 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 19:16:45 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jan 27 13:27:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 13:27:22 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Tue Mar 24 03:28:27 -0700 2009 Mon Jan 26 12:12:02 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 24 03:28:27 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 04 22:19:25 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 22:20:05 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Thu Jun 19 06:53:05 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 19 06:53:05 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Mon Jun 16 07:35:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 16 07:35:00 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Jan 31 10:30:10 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 31 10:30:27 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Wed Jan 09 21:10:36 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 09 21:10:36 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Wed Dec 05 12:04:15 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 05 12:04:15 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 20 17:25:24 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 20 17:25:24 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 16 19:28:35 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 16 19:28:35 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1157374