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Title: America's Women: Four Hundred Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines by Gail Collins, Jane Alexander ISBN: 0-06-057256-6 Publisher: HarperAudio Pub. Date: 23 September, 2003 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.72 (18 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Tasty tidbits of feminine history
Comment: Packed within the +550 pages of AMERICA'S WOMEN: FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF DOLLS, DRUDGES, HELPMATES, AND HERIONES are countless antidotes of the various contributions women have made throughout the history of the United States spanning from the first European women to arrive in the 16th century to the 1960's. What makes this book especially strong is that it is not focused exclusively on well-known historical figures and times; rather, the 'Average Jane' is highlighted. There is often little known about these Jane's, but Collins does a good job in weaving their personal histories into her work. Another satisfying point is that Collins didn't resort to male bashing or pointing the finger at men that is so easily done in other books of this genre. My favorite sections focused on women's achievements made during the Colonial, Civil War, and Wild West eras. I was impressed with the vivid details of how the roles of women have changed and what they women had to endure. I am now greatly appreciative of their living conditions and struggles on a daily basis. Collins does a good job in highlighting the dichotomy between the role of women defined by society and the need for women to step forward and take over traditionally defined male roles in order for their families to survive. It was during these three eras that traditional feminine roles were bypassed and women accomplished incredible tasks on their own. There are many biographical and historical books on that market that focus on the achievement of men in the building of the nation, for this reason it is refreshing to read how women also did their fair share in shaping the country. It gave me inspiration, and will also certainly affect others. Recommended.
Rating: 5
Summary: My review of America's Women
Comment: America's Women is the most comprehensive, informative, and entertaining book about the history of women I have ever read. There are many achievements by female pioneers I never even heard of. Nellie Bly was a newspaper reporter who became a national celebrity when she went around the world in 80 days in 1888. Sarah Josepha Hale became the first female editor of a fashion and advice magazine in 1836. Phillis Wheatley was an extraordinary female slave who learned to speak fluent English in a year and a half. She was the first American writer to achieve international fame with her poetry. She was also credited in persuading George Washington to allow black men to serve in the Continetal Army. I also learned about Ellen Swallow Richards who became the founder of home economics in the early 20th century Girls were able to take chemistry, biology, and geology classes under her theory that it would help them become better homemakers.
The causes that women in history have fought for are logical, diverse, and interesting. Women have fought for the right to vote, the prohibition of alcohol, and the sexual purity of men which I found interesting. Women also won the right to schooling during the Revolutionary War which I never knew.
There were some people I only recoginized by name in this book. However, after reading about their accomplishments, I had a better understanding of what their influence was. Jane Addams was the founder of a housing settlement called Hull House in Chicago. She provided housing for thousands of poor people and immigrants in the early part of the 20th century. Eleanor Roosevelt was a model for future first ladies. She wanted to give black people equal access to government services. She aimed to improve housing conditions for all people. She seeked for ways to stimulate the economy during the Great Depression and World War 2.
America's Women covers every subject related to women with such depth and accuracy. Gail Collins really traces well how the attitudes about education, women in the work place, family, and even sex has evolved over 400 years. Today women are more educated and more self confident about their decisions than ever before. They have made a mark in every field of endeavor. America's Women is an excellent book.
Rating: 5
Summary: Deft and Entertaining as Well as Informative
Comment: Last September in Fast Company magazine, there was a brief commentary on this book which caught my eye. It cited a number of historical facts of which I had previously been unaware. For example:
1. In 1637 in Virginia, Ann Fowler was sentenced to 20 lashes after she suggested that Adam Thorowgood (a county justice) could "Kiss my arse." The state's General Assembly then ruled that husbands would no longer be liable for damages caused by their outspoken wives.
2. During the 18th century in Pennsylvania's Brandywine Valley, impoverished single women with children were required to wear a P (for pauper) when appearing in public.
3. In the 19th century during Civil War era, about 80% of the reading public was female.
4. "In World War II, 1,000 women pilots flew 60 million miles -- mostly in experimental jets and planes grounded for safety reasons --and often towed targets past lines of inexperienced gunners. Then [they] would get arrested for leaving base wearing slacks after dark."
As Collins examines four centuries of historical material, much (most?) of it is probably unfamiliar to most readers. In process, she focuses on various "dolls, drudges, helpmates, and heroines" and their diverse contributions -- both positive and negative -- to the evolution of American history. Although Collins is renowned for her work as a journalist (editorial page editor of the New York Times), she displays in this volume all of the skills of an accomplished historian as well as those of a cultural anthropologist. Also, she's a terrific storyteller.
I wholly agree with Ellen Chesler (who reviewed this book in The New York Times) that "vast scholarship on women has dramatically reshaped academic thinking about American history....Curiously little of this scholarship has found its way into popular imagination, however, which is why Gail Collins' book is such a welcome development." My own hope is that America's Women will have substantial influence on the revision of curricula for U.S. history courses, especially those now required in public schools. Presumably Collins and Chesler share that hope. The objective would NOT be instruction driven by gender-specific values from feminist perspectives; rather, what Chesler characterizes as a "deft and entertaining" synthesis of historical materials within "a rich narrative."
Who knows? If American history courses properly acknowledge, indeed celebrate the achievements of women such as the Grimke sisters, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, and Dolores Huerta, perhaps (just perhaps) several of the young women enrolled in those courses will be inspired to make their own contributions at a time when opportunities for America's women are greater than ever before.
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Title: A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove: A History of American Women Told through Food, Recipes, and Remembrances by Laura Schenone ISBN: 0393016714 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Madam Secretary: A Memoir by Madeleine Albright ISBN: 0786868430 Publisher: Miramax Pub. Date: 16 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Scorpion Tongues: The Irresistible History of Gossip in American Politics by Gail Collins ISBN: 0156006502 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Benjamin Franklin : An American Life by Walter Isaacson ISBN: 0684807610 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: The Time Traveler's Wife (Today Show Book Club #15) by Audrey Niffenegger ISBN: 1931561648 Publisher: MacAdam/Cage Publishing Pub. Date: 17 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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