SOURCE: Rudikoff, Sonya. “‘Most Detestable of All Permitted Things.’” Washington Post Book World no. 207 (30 June 1974): 1.

In the following favorable assessment of Divorced in America, Rudikoff asserts that Epstein's “really useful contribution is not to be found in the albeit interesting amalgam of fact and discussion about divorce, but rather in the running autobiographical commentary which threads through this vast subject.”

If you know a man who is about to be divorced, be sure he reads this book [Divorced in America]. It includes, of course, the usual information and review of the subject: the analysis of divorce law, custody and alimony problems, property settlements, visitation rights and all the rest. These matters are dealt with elsewhere, however, and with greater precision or historical dimension than Joseph Epstein seems interested in. His really useful contribution is not to be found in the albeit interesting amalgam of fact and discussion about...