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Westport and London: Praeger, 2002. 253 pp. Tables, notes, bibliographical references, index. $64.95 (cloth), ISBN 0-275-97266-6.
Growing Up as a Global Nomad
There are forty thousand Americans in Saudi Arabia as of the latest count. How many of them are children growing up so far from Kansas? How many children who grow up as military brats, as they like to call themselves, have mixed reactions to their parents life choices? Is it a good thing or not so good? Morten Ender, who grew up himself as a military brat and is now Associate Professor of Sociology at West Point, set out to gather the latest studies and recommendations about the children who spend part of their childhood and adolescence in a place different from their "passport country." Since World War II, American political, military, corporate, and humanitarian responsibilities abroad have expanded exponentially. Increasing numbers of government officials, educators, military personnel, business executives and missionaries began to travel and live outside of their home country for varying lengths of time and many brought their families. Earlier sociological works...