Rating: 
Summary: Take my book....please
Review: I loved this book (note tense). The stories of the women who came early to this country were enthralling. It wasn't until I reached the early 19th century that I realized I was holding in my hand nothing more than the standard, formulaic "woman as noble victim, heroine, saviour of the race....superior to man in every way....able to leap tall buildings in a single bound," etc. "Lifetime" for the bibliophile. I thought we were beyond this.In short: one L O N G whine.
Rating: 
Summary: Molls and Dolls
Review: I started skimming through this book to see if I wanted to read it, and I was hooked. This is a history that skips all the boring parts. You can start anywhere and find one fascinating fact after another. Mae West got her start on stage in a play that she wrote, featuring male transvestites. Sort of the Madonna of her day. When Ignac Paderewski, concert pianist, performed in the 19th century, women rushed the stage to throw corsages at him. Sort of the Tom Jones of his day. American nurses in World War I adapted the absorbent wood pulp bandages used to treat wounds, to create what would become Kotex. The bibliography in America's Women is marvelously extensive; you can use it for research, or just to get ideas for more interesting reading. Brava, Gail Collins, for an outstanding book!
Rating:
Summary: America's Women in Bold Face and Plain
Review: In writing the history of America's women Gail Collins tells us that " the pendulum swings wide." In this fascinating book Ms. collins lays out for us 400 years of the history of American women from 1587 to the mid-1970s. The pendulum swings not only through time but it also swings from North to South, from the very poor to the very rich, from the enfranchised to the disenfranchised, from the illiterate to the women of letters, from the vomen desperate to create a home to the women desperate to leave a home. In the book the author presents us with the history of American women, both the obscure and the celebrated. Who, for example, knew that during World War II Maya Angelou's great ambition was to be a street car conductor? To accomplish her goal she had to spply and re-apply because of the great reluctance to hire a black woman as conductor. Free from strident ideology Ms. Collins has written 452 pages of text (and 104 more of notes, bibliography and index) with impeccable even-handedness and tongue-in-cheek humor. As a result, reading the book is a highly enjoyable journey during which one meets our very often hardworking, often brave, sometimes extraordinary foremothers. We meet Hannah Dustan who, in 1697 as a captive of a local tribe, scalped her captors and returned home to a herone's welcome. We meet the visionary Grimke sisters, Southern abolitionists, and we see how they transformed their extraordinary vision, seemingly having arisen from nowhere, into a powerful and far-reaching voice for Emancipation...and we meet many others. We see the pendulum swing of women from Dorothy May Bradford who in 1620 took one look at the wild, uncultivated Plymouth forest and jumped from the ship to Betty Friedan who in 1970 took one look at the thousands of women pouring onto the sidewalks of New York to demonstrate on behalf of themselves. Whereas Dorothy took to the water, Betty took to the street. Indeed, the pendulum has swung wide.
Rating:
Summary: America's Women in Bold Face and Plain
Review: In writing the history of America's women Gail Collins tells us that " the pendulum swings wide." In this fascinating book Ms. collins lays out for us 400 years of the history of American women from 1587 to the mid-1970s. The pendulum swings not only through time but it also swings from North to South, from the very poor to the very rich, from the enfranchised to the disenfranchised, from the illiterate to the women of letters, from the vomen desperate to create a home to the women desperate to leave a home. In the book the author presents us with the history of American women, both the obscure and the celebrated. Who, for example, knew that during World War II Maya Angelou's great ambition was to be a street car conductor? To accomplish her goal she had to spply and re-apply because of the great reluctance to hire a black woman as conductor. Free from strident ideology Ms. Collins has written 452 pages of text (and 104 more of notes, bibliography and index) with impeccable even-handedness and tongue-in-cheek humor. As a result, reading the book is a highly enjoyable journey during which one meets our very often hardworking, often brave, sometimes extraordinary foremothers. We meet Hannah Dustan who, in 1697 as a captive of a local tribe, scalped her captors and returned home to a herone's welcome. We meet the visionary Grimke sisters, Southern abolitionists, and we see how they transformed their extraordinary vision, seemingly having arisen from nowhere, into a powerful and far-reaching voice for Emancipation...and we meet many others. We see the pendulum swing of women from Dorothy May Bradford who in 1620 took one look at the wild, uncultivated Plymouth forest and jumped from the ship to Betty Friedan who in 1970 took one look at the thousands of women pouring onto the sidewalks of New York to demonstrate on behalf of themselves. Whereas Dorothy took to the water, Betty took to the street. Indeed, the pendulum has swung wide.
Rating:
Summary: Deft and Entertaining as Well as Informative
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Tasty tidbits of feminine history
Review: 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:
Summary: A marvelous book!
Review: The author worked very hard compiling this fascinating treatise on the history of the American woman. Beginning with the earliest Americans to today, I learned a lot that I hadn't heard before. Interesting details and observations, make you feel like you are really there, living in the century or era described. You can actually feel it, real. Let me tell you! Our foremothers had GUTS and TRUE GRIT. I am a history buff and have been reading up on women's history for at least 20 years. This book is the best compilation I have ever read. Gail Collins deserves a Congressional Medal for this one!
Rating:
Summary: A marvelous book!
Review: The author worked very hard compiling this fascinating treatise on the history of the American woman. Beginning with the earliest Americans to today, I learned a lot that I hadn't heard before. Interesting details and observations, make you feel like you are really there, living in the century or era described. You can actually feel it, real. Let me tell you! Our foremothers had GUTS and TRUE GRIT. I am a history buff and have been reading up on women's history for at least 20 years. This book is the best compilation I have ever read. Gail Collins deserves a Congressional Medal for this one!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating...
Review: The book grabs the reader from the first paragraph. It is well-researched and scholarly, but the author manages to make it as readable as the best of novels as well. Gail Collins tells the story of women in America without resorting to the easy out of man-bashing; she lets the stories speak for themselves. The book makes me proud to be a journal keeper and proud to be a woman.
Rating:
Summary: THIS BOOK IS SO FAR GOOD, I READ THE FIRST EIGHT CHAPTERS
Review: This book is filled with tons surpises so far and can't wait to finish it. I can't wait to see what pictures where in there. I personally think men should read this as well. Its like American Girls books and Penny Colman's Girls. Plus, other women in other countries should write about history of women in their country and be available all over the world. I really like Miss Collins writing, I reach I could read her collums in the NY Times, my family gets it everyday. Thank you.
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