The History of Childhood

“Just magnificent…. an extremely important contribution to the knowledge of man.”Erich Fromm
“Neither history nor psychiatry can ever be the same again. It is not impossible that this book will at some time be considered a turning point in the integration of the social sciences.”Reuben Fine
“The direction of human affairs has never been confided to children, and historians, who have concerned themselves primarily with political and military affairs and at most with the intrigues and rivalries of royal courts, have paid almost no attention to the ordeals of childhood…. Yet it seems clear that the history of childhood must be of major importance to any study of human society….. It is high time that it should be told and that it should be taken into account not only by psychiatrists and sociologists, but also by historians. So large and crucial a segment of human existence should not forever remain veiled and neglected by those whose mission it is to recover man’s past.”William L. Langer, from the Foreword