No Kids: 40 Good Reasons Not to Have Children

French psychoanalyst Maier (Bonjour Laziness), a mother of two, tackles a politically incorrect topic: childlessness by choice. Translated from its successful 2007 French edition, No Kids bluntly challenges the conventional wisdom that all married couples must have-and want to have-children. Maier gives 40 reasons against having children including, ""You won't have to use that idiot language when talking to kids"" and ""Motherhood or success: pick one."" She writes directly, tackling each reason in two to three pages. Contained in the book are various French or other European references that might not be common knowledge in North America, but editors' notes clarify each one. Verdict Maier's book will find fans and detractors-but no one will be indifferent. Recommended to those would like an entertaining and brutally frank take on marriage and the place of children in that institution.-Leigh Mihlrad, Albany Medical Coll. Lib., NY .