Liquid Love

This book is about the central figure of our contemporary,'liquid modern' times - the man or woman with nobonds, and particularly with none of the fixed or durable bondsthat would allow the effort of self-definition and self-assertionto come to a rest. Having no permanent bonds, the denizen of ourliquid modern society must tie whatever bonds they can to engagewith others, using their own wits, skill and dedication. But noneof these bonds are guaranteed to last. Moreover, they must be tiedloosely so that they can be untied again, quickly and aseffortlessly as possible, when circumstances change - as theysurely will in our liquid modern society, over and over again. The uncanny frailty of human bonds, the feeling of insecuritythat frailty inspires, and the conflicting desires to tighten thebonds yet keep them loose, are the principal themes of thisimportant new book by Zygmunt Bauman, one of the most original andinfluential social thinkers of our time. It will be of greatinterest to students and scholars in sociology and in the socialsciences and humanities generally, and it will appeal to anyoneinterested in the changing nature of human relationships.