Book cover of From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth-Century America

Book description

"Whether or not we've come a long way since then, this engaging study of courtship shows that at least half the fun is in reading about getting there."--'St. Louis Post-Dispatch.'

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked From Front Porch to Back Seat as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

While we can hardly think about couples today without the idea of dating, the practice was new and very edgy in the early 20th century.

Beth Bailey shows how the classic “dating and rating” complex emerged and became not just accepted but expected among middle-class couples. She also takes us through the transition to the “going steady” complex later in the century.

If you love From Front Porch to Back Seat...

Ad

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like From Front Porch to Back Seat?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 98 books like From Front Porch to Back Seat.

Browse books like From Front Porch to Back Seat

Book cover of Love for Sale: Courting, Treating, and Prostitution in New York City, 1900-1945
Book cover of Bad Girls: Young Women, Sex, and Rebellion before the Sixties
Book cover of Coming Of Age In New Jersey: College and American Culture

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,277

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like From Front Porch to Back Seat, you might also like...

Book cover of The Bridge: Connecting The Powers of Linear and Circular Thinking

The Bridge by Kim Hudson,

The Bridge provides a compassionate and well researched window into the worlds of linear and circular thinking. A core pattern to the inner workings of these two thinking styles is revealed, and most importantly, insight into how to cross the distance between them. Some fascinating features emerged such as, circular…

Book cover of And Then They Were Gone: Teenagers of Peoples Temple from High School to Jonestown

And Then They Were Gone by Judy Bebelaar,

Of the 918 Americans who died in the shocking murder-suicides of November 18, 1978, in the tiny South American country of Guyana, a third were under eighteen. More than half were in their twenties or younger.

The authors taught in a small high school in San Francisco where Reverend Jim…

5 book lists we think you will like!