A well-written and solidly researched exploration of the 19th-century women’s rights movement.
A debut history book examines American women’s fight for the vote.
In this first installment of a series, Bennett covers the early decades of the women’s rights movement, concluding shortly after the Civil War. Drawing heavily on letters and published writings, the author shows the collaborative and often contentious nature of 19th-century activism and places it in the context of the present-day, ongoing struggle for equality. The narrative is organized by theme as much as by chronology, with each chapter presenting a question (“What is men’s role in a feminist movement?”; “How do we define our priorities?”) that is answered by the historical figures and events within it. While famous movement leaders like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucy Stone all feature prominently, the volume skillfully tells the stories of lesser-known activists (Julia Ward Howe, Angelina Grimke, Prudence Crandall) and gives full attention to the efforts of black women advocating for both suffrage and equality (Maria Stewart, Sojourner Truth, Frances Watkins). Bennett weaves together the many quotations from historical letters, speeches, and newspapers (a full list of citations appears at the end) with a narration that is both casual and of the moment. Stewart stepped back from the cause because “she wasn’t volunteering to be her community’s personal therapist”; Catharine Beecher supported women speaking “almost never, hardly anywhere and not by any means that might possibly effect policy change”; women in one utopian community “organized conventions, gave speeches, and, um, did the dishes.” The result is a highly readable and engaging work of firmly constructed history that serves as an excellent introduction to the topic. Although the book does not break any new ground in historical research or analysis, it does an excellent job of synthesizing and presenting a wide range of sources and details, keeping the many historical figures distinct and offering a narrative that is easy for readers to follow.
A well-written and solidly researched exploration of the 19th-century women’s rights movement.Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73382-390-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Brown Blackwell Books
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A real-life Frank Capra tale, just as corny, sentimental and inspiring as It's a Wonderful Life.
Hokey but charming memoir, reminiscent of an afternoon spent flipping through the pages of an antique photo album.
Although an autobiography, Coleman chronicles his life in the third person with a dispassion and modesty remarkable for a novice writer. It is perhaps the era that speaks through his prose—not a child of the "Me Decade," Coleman reminds us that the past was, indeed, more difficult than the present. And people certainly tended to whine a good deal less back then. The account begins chronologically, with his birth in 1902 to pioneer parents, their eighth child. By the time he was nine, the family had moved to their own homestead in Myrtle Creek, Ore. That summer he contracted polio and lost the use of his legs. Overcoming his crippled condition occupied a good portion of his youth, admirably marked by self-reliance and invention. He whittled his own crutches, made violins and, at 19, attempting to find a trade that would accommodate his physical condition, paid a jeweler $25 per month in order to serve as an apprentice to the watchmaker. As a young man in the '20s, he married and became a father, then established himself as sole proprietor of a jewelry store. The narrative is interspersed with photographs, newspaper clippings, Coleman's poems (an unfortunate weakness), musical scores (also not very solid), jewelry designs and the Coleman family tree. At a glance, Coleman’s history, aside from his disability, is not unusual. He becomes one of the leading merchants of a small town, state archery champion, and president of the Lion's Club. His would seem to be the unremarkable chronicle of a small-town success of interest to no one outside his family. Even so, it's his banality that is oddly compelling. Following the ups and downs of the Coleman jewelry store through the Depression, World War II, and the post-war era up until Coleman's death in 1972, is an enjoyable journey through the low-key strength and integrity that sustains middle-American lives. Coleman's son, John Coleman, today runs Coleman's Jewelers, the jewelry store founded by the author, in Corvallis, Ore. (Proceeds from the sale of this book, which has an endorsement from former senator Bob Dole, will go to Rotary International's "effort to eradicate polio" and to the Austin Family Business Program at Oregon State University.)
A real-life Frank Capra tale, just as corny, sentimental and inspiring as It's a Wonderful Life.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 0-9754140-0-3
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Meet Norma Hazelton, connoisseur and collector of swizzle sticks. If you're not impressed by a plastic Jackie Gleason long since separated from its maraschino cherry, take a look at Robert Cade, inventor of Gatorade and a collector of Studebakers (re the carmaker's Dictator line of the 1930s, he says: ``Dictator was a good name until Hitler and Mussolini and Stalin. They dropped the Dictator line in 1937 because of them''). Among the 20 collections that Tuchman and photographer Brenner cast their eyes on are caches of Civil War memorabilia (a banjo, a musket, a toothbrush); aquarium furniture (a lot of mermaids); and representations of the Last Supper (a clock, a saltshaker, a funeral-home fan). Tuchman's text, mostly a pastiche of comments from the collectors themselves, is informative—and just glib enough to keep the whole book from feeling like a spooky visit to your mad Aunt Mabel's attic.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-8118-0360-0
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
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