- Paperback: 448 pages
- Publisher: Free Press; 1 edition (Aug 22 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0684834987
- ISBN-13: 978-0684834986
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14.1 x 2.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 413 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,334,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
It is the view of Evans, director of the Center for Advanced Feminist Studies at the University of Minnesota and author of Personal Politics , that "to understand the force of women's experience . . . we must adjust our vision so that we can see the world not only through the major male figures in the foreground but also through the eyes of female figures--a Puritan good wife, an African slave, an Iroquois matron, a westering woman, a female immigrant, a settlement house worker, a secretary." She advances to this end by melding the stories of representative, sometimes well-known, women into the larger sphere of American politics and public life. Richly diverse accounts exemplify the challenge and struggle that have defined and continue to alter the roles of women in our nation's development. In this respect Evans's useful exploration of the participatory nature of women's history in the United States differs from the majority of feminist literature.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
YA-- A fascinating, readable volume that discusses the continual reshaping of the role of women in America from the 17th century to the 1980s. Evans' chapters roughly coincide with standard textbook organization of history (early settlers, Revolutionary era, 1845-1865, etc.), which makes the book useful to students of American history searching for another viewpoint. Unlike earlier histories, which only discuss women in the home, Evans shows the impact husbands, brothers, and sons had on the women's lives and thinking, and the effect of women's actions on men's politics. Although women's place in society remains unchanged in many basic ways, the intervening 300 years have seen great changes in the acceptance of women in public and political spheres. Evans makes these changes understandable to lay readers who may not yet have a sense of the totality of American history. No library should be without this title that offers such unique insight into women's roles and history from early settlers and native Americans to modern CEOs. --Dorcas Hand, Episcopal High School, Bellaire, TX
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
According to the Iroquois, the creation of the earth began when a woman came from heaven and fluttered above the sea, unable to find a resting place for her feet. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
According to the Iroquois, the creation of the earth began when a woman came from heaven and fluttered above the sea, unable to find a resting place for her feet. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid rediting of first edition,
By A Customer
This review is from: Born for Liberty (Paperback)
This edition of the text is an improvement on the first edition in its movement away from the east-coast view of women's history and a move towards a more inclusive analysis. As to the lack of definition of such terms as "oppression", as alluded to in another critique of the text, one is tempted to answer "I know it when I see it...," postmodernism just being the latest form of academic "oppression." Clearly Sara Evans is an outstanding practioner of history and one whom understands the skill of an historian's work. How easy it is to criticize that which you know so very little about.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful look at Women's History,
By Melissa G Johnson (Albany, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Born for Liberty (Paperback)
I enjoyed reading Evans look a the history of Women in the U.S. From it's beginnings in the colonial times, through the suffrage movement up to the 80's. It's a wonderful look at part of our history that is ignored in most texts. Highly recommend for any student of women's history!
2.0 out of 5 stars
PRESUMTIOUS PRECEPT,
By A Customer
This review is from: Born for Liberty (Paperback)
Its title claims a broad accomplishment, an "all your answers are here" assertion. Although it presents hundreds of historical figures, it is quickly evident that by "History of Women," the author means "The Plight of Women and What Their Heroes Have Done About It." The narrative embraces the concept that from this county's origin to the present, women are victims of misogyny, but that there are several heroes of the struggle. Despite the decline in feminist momentum, there nevertheless seems to be a wealth of "historical" readings recently published by feminists. A critique of feminism's tenants will not be attempted with this review, but it seems pressing to take issue with the didactic narratives of "historical" texts such as Born for Liberty. Exempt from their presentations is a clear discussion of three essential components: definitions of the terms "oppression" and "liberty," and the ideologies that steer their metanarratives in the name of "history." The exemption of these elements does not allow for rhetorical inquiry, which is vital for the veracity of the texts' contents. Feminist history, arguably a genre of its own, credulously seeks to convert its readers on the pretense that there is a universal understanding of what it means to be oppressed and liberated. Once readers naively embrace this pretense, they are prone to also believing the tenants of feminism. Perhaps, then, the narrative of Born for Liberty will successfully promote the feminist agenda, but its converts will have naively succumbed to the same tactics of hierarchical propaganda that it claims to abhor.
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