Women's America: Refocusing the Past

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful introduction to U.S. Women's History
Review: I have used various editions of this book for the past four years in teaching a women's history course at a college-preparatory, single-sex independent high school. I have found this to be an incredibly complete anthology and the new edition is even better than the previous ones. My only complaint about the new edition is that the editors -- both renowned historians in the field -- on a few occasions shortened the articles to the point that the context needed to understand them was missing. However, because of the brevity of the articles, it is the perfect anthology for an introductory course.

Rating:
Summary: A Biased Book
Review: Rationale for the three star rating: I would give this book a "one." However, I think that women's history buffs would give it a "four" or "five". I read this for a class, and found it dull and very biased (I AM female, in fact, I used to attend a women's college. I am PRO women and their acheivements. However...) Though i don't think it was the intent of the book, I grew to dislike government programs and all this "rah rah" jazz women have done in the last century which often accomplished little. I want to know when people are going to start taking responsibility for their own lives instead of expecting society to change or be chaged for them- in their lifetimes, no less. Many movements were admirable, thank goodness we have the vote today! But every article seems to have a very biased attitude (to the liberal persuasion) and I personally would like to see a more neutral tone. BUT I realize that this is not a concern of many people who read women's history and have a great interest in these articles that are, by nature, slanted one way. This is a good text for those looking to confirm their owm points of view. I PERSONALLY would like to see a more well-rounded approach. But find out for yourselves!