Mintzer, a journalist and writer of nonfiction books for all ages (Everything Kids' Baseball Book) is also the parent of an adopted daughter and is the co-president, with his wife, of the New York City Chapter of the Adoptive Parents Committee. In this very useful compendium, he combines research with anecdotes from adoptive parents to present a highly detailed guide to all types of adoption. One of the strengths of this guide is the author's objectivity and non-judgmental attitude. He believes that "there is no one-size-fits-all approach" and covers many kinds of adoptions including domestic, international, single-parent, gay and lesbian and adoption out of foster-care and adoption by relatives. The current trend in adoption literature is to favor open adoptions, where the adoptive parents and the adoptee maintain communication with one or both of the birth parents over closed adoptions, where there is no contact. Mintzer presents the arguments for both sides, but maintains that both open and closed adoptions have worked well for families and believes that the decision should be based on what is right for all the individuals involved. Anyone interested in adopting a child will find in this valuable resource a wealth of practical information, such as legalities, costs, useful Web sites, adoption fraud and home study interviews. (Jan.)
