Catfight: Rivalries Among Women--From Diets to Dating, from the Boardroom to the Delivery Room (Paperback)

"CATFIGHT represents an important wave of feminist literature... offering valuable, multilayered, introspective, and solidly researched insight into [important] societal questions. The strength of [Tanenbaum's] very original criticism and approach is to illuminate how women experience competition in different areas of life and with different intensities than men do." -- The Chicago Tribune

"Fascinating, chatty." -- New York Post

"A thoughtful and thoroughly engaging writer, Tanenbaum offers not cold sociological interpretation, but earnest encouragement. CATFIGHTT addresses...the heavyhearted suspicion that the same feminist battles we've been fighting for years could well go on forever. There's a lot of bravery here; the book will surely prompt conversations between women and take some of the taboo out of the subject of competition." -- Women's Review of Books

"[CATFIGHT's] approach to the contradictions between feminist rhetoric and women's real experiences is sure to attract even more attention for this fast-rising social critic." -- Publishers Weekly

"Tanenbaum's inquiry...blends well-documented research, interviews, and personal reflection in a lively, accessible style." -- Library Journal

"Tanenbaum relates her own experiences and interviews a variety of women and psychologists to explore the seemingly eternal adversarial relationships that exist among women despite many recent feminist gains." -- Booklist

"Tanenbaum's prose is provocative.... She succeeds beautifully at getting women to think about the role competition plays in their daily lives." -- San Francisco Bay Guardian

"Tanenbaum's best when grappling with the conflicting demands of work and children. She describes the isolation of motherhood with particular care." -- Village Voice

"CATFIGHT is an incisive exploration of a long-taboo subject--how and why women sabotage one another. Tanenbaum is a witty young woman, wise beyond her years. Her insights and lively stories explain the essence of women's resentment of other women; how to spot sabotage by the Other Woman; why rape victims are often disbelieved even by women friends; and much more. Since competition is a learned behavior, not innate, Tanenbaum is able to guide us toward healthy competition. CATFIGHT will prompt women to confront--and cure--their own feelings of competitiveness." -- Gail Sheehy

Leora Tanenbaum has so accurately hit the nail on the head with her new book "Catfight". In it, she relays how she finds herself in constant competition with other women, no matter how much she likes them. If she walks into a party, she notices that it's the women, not the men, that size her up and constantly watch her and the other women's moves all night. For all our efforts to catapult Sisterhood screaming into equality, Tanenbaum displays the fact that we are holding ourselves back with our competitive nature. Her story of feeling like she had to equal other women in the areas of breastfeeding, child rearing, and the always controversial working Mother saga rang all too true. Never have I devoured a non-fiction book so quickly (well, with the exception of "Reviving Ophelia", another female must-read). I have also emailed and called all my girlfriends to alert them to this marvelous book. A winner!