Bachelor Girl-

While historians have studied various subsets of women working class, professional, radical, etc., little attention has been paid to the single woman. As journalist Israel documents in this impressive history of single women in America from the Industrial Revolution to modern times, these women have maintained a flourishing subculture, despite attacks and ridicule by the media. While focusing primarily on white, middle-class Manhattan women, Israel draws on a variety of sources, movies, popular novels, magazine and newspaper features that shape the single-woman experience for the broader population. "B-girls" bachelor or bohemian, have always been with us, some from lack of marriage prospects, true, but many by preference. Israel says it's mainly the appeal of the companionship of other women and the desire for independence from marital suppression that keeps these women from tying the knot. Social acceptance of singletons has flip-flopped over the generations. Positive icons, including the emancipated New Woman, settlement house professionals, WWII's Rosie the Riveter, and liberated '70s "chicks," have alternated with scary images of frigid, lonely Old Maids staring at their used-up biological clocks. But even as social critics have changed their tunes about how much rope to allow these women, the women themselves brave factory girls, Bowery Girls, "shoppies," Greenwich Village bohemians, flappers, Murphy Browns and Bridget Joneses have been tough enough to have it "their way." Israel's witty and provocative look at a topic dear to many women deserves wide readership.

Bait and Switch-

The book mixes detailed descriptions of her job search with indignant asides about the "relentlessly cheerful" attitude favored by white-collar managers. The tone throughout is classic Ehrenreich: passionate, sarcastic, self-righteous and funny. Everywhere she goes she plots a revolution. A swift read, the book does contain many trenchant observations about the parasitic "transition industry," which aims to separate the recently fired from their few remaining dollars. And her chapter on faith-based networking is revelatory and disturbing. But Ehrenreich's central story fails to generate much sympathy—is it really so terrible that a dabbling journalist can't fake her way into an industry where she has no previous experience?—and the profiles of her fellow searchers are too insubstantial to fill the gap. Ehrenreich rightly points out how corporate culture's focus on "the power of the individual will" deters its employees from organizing against the market trends that are disenfranchising them, but her presentation of such arguments would have been a lot more convincing if she could have spent some time in a cubicle herself.

The Boundaries of Her Body-

In this masterful treatise, legal journalist Rowland analyzes how women's rights have, and have not, evolved since the signing of the Mayflower Compact in 1620 (though the bulk of the book covers just the 20th century). From time immemorial, women were perceived as having the singular mission of bearing and raising children, says Rowland, who documents the consequences of this view: until the late 19th century, women's rights derived from husbands, fathers and sons. It was believed that their biology made women incapable of thinking rationally—hence they could not own property, vote or work as many hours or for as much pay as men. Nor could they have sex not aimed at procreation without social and legal opprobrium. Rowland documents how a legal "zone of privacy" granted men as far back as the 1620s didn't accrue to women until 1965, when the Supreme Court legalized contraception. Drawing on legal and historical sources as well as the Bible, the journals of Meriwether Lewis and Lolita, Rowland covers every imaginable aspect of women's legal lives, up to the present day. This massive and remarkable history is well written in smart yet accessible language and is thus the perfect book for the classroom as well as the family room.

Century of Struggle-

The book you are about to read tells the story of one of the great social movements in American history. The struggle for women's voting rights was one of the longest, most successful, and in some respects most radical challenges ever posed to the American system of electoral politics...It is difficult to imagine now a time when women were largely removed by custom, practice, and law from the formal political rights and responsibilities that supported and sustained the nation's young democracy...For sheer drama the suffrage movement has few equals in modern American political history.

The Creation of Patriarchy-

A major new work by a leading historian and pioneer in women's studies, The Creation of Patriarchy is a radical reconceptualization of Western civilization that makes gender central to its analysis. Gerda Lerner argues that male dominance over women is not "natural" or biological, but the product of an historical development begun in the second millennium B.C. in the Ancient Near East. As patriarchy as a system of organizing society was established historically, she contends, it can also be ended by the historical process. Focusing on the contradiction between women's central role in creating society and their marginality in the meaning-giving process of definition and interpretation, Lerner explores such fascinating questions as: What can account for women's exclusion from the historical process? What could
explain the long delay--more than 3,500 years--in women's coming to consciousness of their own subordinate position? She goes back to the cultures of the earliest known civilizations--those of the ancient Near East--to discover the origins of the major gender metaphors of Western civilization. Using historical, literary, archaeological, and artistic evidence, she then traces the development of these ideas, symbols, and metaphors and their incorporation into Western civilization as the basis of patriarchal gender relations.

The F-Word-

Many young women today consider "feminism" a dirty word, an antiquated term that hasn't expanded to accommodate the diverse needs of a new generation. In addition, decades of negative campaigns, excessively "messaged" issues, and hanging chads have all combined to make political apathy appear not only smart, but also sexy. The result is that while they still bemoan the state of gender politics, gender equity, and the agendas of their local, state, and national politicians, nearly 19 million young women chose not to vote in the last election. Yes, the face of feminism is changing, but to what end? In this pivotal book, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, environmental and political consultant, asks these critical questions, tracing feminism's distinguished past and exploring new developments in American political history, asking what can be done to protect and further women's rights and freedoms. The F-Word is truly an astonishing look at the tenuous state of women's rights and issues in America, and a call to action for the young women who have the power to change their situation.

Fast Food Nation-

Schlosser's incisive history of the development of American fast food indicts the industry for some shocking crimes against humanity, including systematically destroying the American diet and landscape, and undermining our values and our economy. The first part of the book details the postwar ascendance of fast food from Southern California, assessing the impact on people in the West in general. The second half looks at the product itself: where it is manufactured (in a handful of enormous factories), what goes into it (chemicals, feces) and who is responsible (monopolistic corporate executives). In harrowing detail, the book explains the process of beef slaughter and confirms almost every urban myth about what in fact "lurks between those sesame seed buns." Given the estimate that the typical American eats three hamburgers and four orders of french fries each week, and one in eight will work for McDonald's in the course of their lives, few are exempt from the insidious impact of fast food. Throughout, Schlosser fires these and a dozen other hair-raising statistical bullets into the heart of the matter. While cataloguing assorted evils with the tenacity and sharp eye of the best investigative journalist, he uncovers a cynical, dismissive attitude to food safety in the fast food industry and widespread circumvention of the government's efforts at regulation enacted after Upton Sinclair's similarly scathing novel exposed the meat-packing industry 100 years ago.

The Girls Who Went Way-

Perhaps it's no surprise that this story has gone untold for so long, considering the personal nature of the subject and the moral dilemma heaped upon the young women who gave their babies up for adoption. What is astonishing is that Fessler, a photographer and video installation artist writing her debut book, manages to tell this compelling story with a perfectly honed sense of restraint and respect. She handles the large volume of source material nimbly, letting each individual story breathe. The only complaint is that her research method—using a self-selected group—isn't up to snuff for academic rigor. In the face of such glowing critical praise, that lone complaint seems, well, a little academic.

If Women Ruled the World-

With women making up only 14 percent of Congress and eight women CEOs in the entire group of Fortune 500 companies, women's collective voices are clearly underrepresented. Nor are they proportionately present on the airwaves or the op-ed pages of the country's newspapers. This book helps right that imbalance by giving women a platform for voicing their opinions, priorities, hopes, and ideas for change. The book includes short experiences, stories, thoughts, and meditations written and shared by women around the world. Authors, celebrities, experts, and politicians are included, along with soccer moms and teenage girls, creating a work that is humorous, moving, questioning, opinionated, warm, and informative as it examines what women would choose if they had a chance to participate in ruling the world. Note: A portion of this book's royalties will be donated to the Feminist Majority.

I, Rigoberta Menchu-

Born in the mountains of Guatemala into the Quiche, one of twenty-three mestizo groups, Rigoberta Menchu tells her story. The Quiche people's spirituality, much of which must not be told to outsiders, affirms community responsibility for village children and intensely personal relationships with the land and the natural world. The celebration of her ancient culture is all that strengthens in the face of a brutally repressed and poverty-stricken existence. Two of her brothers die as infants from malnutrition. When the Quiche begin their fight to keep the government and big-business people from stealing any more of their land, her family is forced to watch her youngest brother be tortured and burned alive; later her mother is tortured to death, and her father murdered. Obligated by circumstance and unquestionable responsibility to her people, Rigoberta Menchu assumes the role of organizer/leader. These interviews - conducted in Spanish, a language she has spoken for only three years - center on her role as a Quiche woman. Her politics are deeply personal: "They've killed the people dearest to me... Therefore, my commitment to our struggle knows no boundaries nor limits." Despite the layered nature of her written story - from oral history to transcriber to translator - Rigoberta Menchu's unadorned and selfless words ring like a clear and beautiful bell sounding both wonder and warning.

Living History-

Beginning with a brief outline of her childhood, college years, introduction to politics, and her courtship with Bill Clinton, Clinton covers a wide variety of topics: life on the campaign trail, her troubled tenure as leader of the President's Task Force on National Health Care Reform, meeting with foreign leaders, and her work on human rights, to name a few. By necessity, she also addresses the various scandals that plagued the administration, from Travelgate to Whitewater to impeachment, though she does not go into great detail about each one; rather, she seems content to simply state her case and move on without trying to settle too many old scores.

A Mile in her Boots-

The stories in this remarkable collection detail the experiences of women who work in a variety of outdoor professions including smoke jumping, river running, professional falconry, and horse packing. A celebration of women making their way in the wild, the stories in these pages include rescuing sea turtles amidst a swarm of nude bathers, driving cattle across Texas, and tracking a pair of fugitive Montana mountain men. A Mile in Her Boots is a chance for readers to enjoy rough-hewn adventures with a diverse, welcoming group of wild women.

Minding the Body -

In this anthology edited by Patricia Foster, twenty women writers examine their relationship to their bodies with such topics as obesity, breast cancer, pregnancy and hair frosting. In "A Weight That Women Carry," Sallie Tisdale describes how she's started "to break the scale's spell," and accept her weight. In "Mirrors," Lucy Grealy describes her childhood battle with jaw cancer that left her face disfigured. In "Beauty and the Beast," Connie Porter relates her youthful battles to fit into Levis. The tones range from tart to rueful. Women readers will identify all too well.

The Mommy Myth-

Does Martha Stewart make you feel like you never do enough for your kids? Do "celebrity mom" profiles leave you feeling lumpen and inadequate? That's because they're supposed to, say Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels, authors of The Mommy Myth and self-professed "mothers with an attitude." Both scathing and self-deprecating, their pop-culture critique takes on "the new momism," the media's obsession with motherhood and the impossible standards which that obsession promotes. Today's ideal mom makes June Cleaver seem like a layabout: she may work outside the home, but never too much, always looks at the world through her children's eyes, makes sure to buy only educational, age-appropriate toys, and includes a loving note with each hand-prepared lunch. Meanwhile, the news media hype stories about child abduction, politicians excoriate so-called "welfare queens," and parenting experts advocate wearing your child in a sling until he moves out on his own. Romanticized, commercialized, sensationalized, and demonized by turns, today's mothers are damned if they work and damned if they don't; what’s more, the idea that the government might do something to help their plight has come to seem almost quaint. As a history of motherhood in the media from 1970 to the present, The Mommy Myth makes a fun and thought-provoking read. Yet close readings of episodes of thirtysomething don't create quite the call to arms the authors seem to have in mind; no woman likes to think of herself as a media dupe, particularly the kind of woman who will be reading this book. Straightforward policy critiques like their chilling chapter on childcare fare much better, illuminating a culture that seems to have forgotten public institutions' power to correct social ills. --Mary Park

Unveiled-

In 1997, during the Taliban's repressive rule, award-winning photographer Harriet Logan went to Afghanistan and encountered a group of extraordinary women whose strong characters and dreams for the future made an indelible impression on her. Despite the peril to her life and theirs, she captured their lives in a series of striking photographs. The women risked their safety by speaking to and being photographed by her because they felt that the outside world needed to know what was happening to them. The images of women from 1997 contrast sharply with those from the 1970s, when they were free to dress as they wished, speak up for their rights, and pursue their educations alongside men.

Waking up American-

Includes original work by women who are either American-born of at least one foreign-born parent or who immigrated to the United States during childhood. The writers explore what it means to feel caught between two worlds—neither wholly American nor wholly a part of another heritage. Cultures represented include the Philippines, Germany, India, Mexico, China, Iran, Nicaragua, Japan, Russia, and Panama, among others, and are often juxtaposed with a bicultural reality, having been raised by parents who simultaneously embrace and question American values. Essays trace themes of rebellion and conformity, pride and uncertainty, sexuality and sense of self, and a heightened awareness of what it means to be "other." These narratives examine the part cultural identity plays in creating strong, independent, hyphenated American women whose experiences are part of what makes the United States the intriguing cultural amalgamation that so many diverse peoples are proud to call home.

What Makes a Man-

In this literate essay collection, Walker (Black, White and Jewish) brings together male and female writers to ponder the male figure in its various poses: ill, robust, young, aged, confident, emotionally spent. The result is a book that portrays masculinity as a fluid mosaic, giving added resonance to contributor Caitríona Reed’s claim that "the Navajo have at least forty-nine gender designations." Elsewhere humor writer Bruce Stockler, in "No Means No," uses agile diction to portray the frenetic schedule and social stigma attached to being a stay-at-home dad—for four children, including triplets. And Meri Nana-Ama Danquah, in an essay that uses narrative twists to surprise readers with thoughtful analysis, ambivalently describes Ghana, a country where men link pinkies while chatting in bars because Ghanaian society accepts the display of physical affection between male friends. Almost half of the writers are African American (two others are gay men), and a recurring theme involves the shedding of machismo associated with that culture. Most of the essays are well crafted—an exception being Michael Moore’s hollow rant "The End of Men"—and a number of them chronicle a personal transformation from a limited view of masculinity to one imbued with nuance and so-called femininity.

Women in the Wild-

Women in the Wild is a collection of striking stories of women who sought adventure in the extremes of nature and their own inner worlds. Some women are wild by nature; others discover their wildness by going into nature. The women in these tales delve into the wilderness, explore remote jungle rivers, climb Mt. Everest, and even survive a shark attack. Such adventures take them away from modern life and the distractions of domesticity, and into their own "wildness-in-waiting." Meet women with stories of high adventure in the wild - rafting a river in Borneo, diving in Mexican cenotes, and hiking the Appalachians alone. Here too are stories of women exploring the wildness in their own nature - the affinity a mother-to-be feels with skunks, bears, and mice; a woman who confronts her hunter's instincts while fishing for mackerel in Ireland; another who becomes strangely attuned to her own sexuality after witnessing a Sicilian tuna slaughter.

Women who Run-

Women run for all kinds of reasons. We run for health, to ease tension, for strength, to challenge ourselves, to be social with friends, as professional athletes or the dream of being one, to turn our minds on, and to turn them off. Whether running a marathon, taking a quick jog around the neighborhood, or trying to reach the top of Pikes Peak, women of all ages and abilities have discovered running. In Women Who Run a wide range of women, including Olympians, marathoners, ultra runners, young track phenoms, and recreational runners, talk about why they run, what drives them, and what continues to spark their interest in the sport.

Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now-

Angelou ( I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ) is leery of people who give up too easily, whiners, complainers, men seeking an "earth mother" and vulgar entertainers. In this collection of short essays, many only two to three pages in length, she discusses the value of charity and her faith in God. She rages with eloquence at the deaths of loved ones, and shares her thoughts on discovering an authentic personal style, the insidious effects of racism, and pregnancy as an experience to be shared by a woman and her mate. Angelou includes reminiscences of her childhood in Stamps, Ark., on being a single mother and on dancing in a professional duo with Alvin Ailey. These quietly inspirational pieces convey her sense of life as an ongoing adventure.