Knot for all.(Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered Marriage)(Gay Marriage: Why it is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America)(Book Review)

MARRIAGE, A HISTORY: FROM OBEDIENCE TO INTIMACY, OR HOW LOVE CONQUERED MARRIAGE BY STEPHANIE COONTZ Viking, 448 pages, $25.95 GAY MARRIAGE: WHY IT IS GOOD FOR GAYS, GOOD FOR STRAIGHTS, AND GOOD FOR AMERICA BY JONATHAN RAUCH Times Books, 224 pages, $22.00 MARRIAGE IS A SHAPE-SHIFTING institution if there ever was one. Those who think they know what "traditional" marriage is might ponder these facts: * The biblical patriarchs were polygamous, effectively owned their wives, and had the power of life and death over their children. * The early Christian ...