In June 1986, in the midst of public discussions of "family values," at a time, when young women were urged to reconsider the virtues and blessings of married life, a Newsweek cover ominously reported "The Marriage Crunch" and added, "If You're A Single Women, Here Are Your Chances Of Getting Married." A full-cover chart dramatized the probability for marriage as female college graduates, progressed from age twenty to fifty. At twenty, such a woman's chance of marriage was well above 70 percent; by thirty, her chance had plummeted to 20 percent; and by thirty-five, it was about 10 percent. Inside, in an article titled "Too Late for Prince Charming?," Newsweek writers detailed the results of the Yale University study that had set off the alarm. The media seized on the "man shortage" theme, and the grim statistics were promulgated in formal and informal discussions; around the...