It is an amazingly organized and coherent book about an amazingly explosive time and place. And therefore a precious resorce - where probably was x when y was organizing in Nebraska. And is full of useful reminders of what the world beyond New York was really like through the experiences her subjects brought back with them from trips outside. But it fail to convey to me the hope or the horror of the times. Though the author herself felt them as evidenced by the title. Maybe she simply has to cover to much given a broad audience. There is enough in every page, sometimes every paragraph for a life and times books and a novel on the size of Dickens or Balzac not to mention having to give constant background on the Haymarket riots and presidental elections and on and on .

I admire her for being able to handle all this. But I was looking , because of the title , for something else. If you know about say labor history or some of her subjects then you can imagine, or just have your mind boggled by their conjuntion in one place and time. But I don`t think the book alone succeeds in conveying it. If you want to feel about the period as the author obviously does feel, then you should read her along with books about say Mother Jones and Mable Dodge and a book of Sloan paintings. And then perhaps the authors purpose will be fullfilled.It is a time worth thinking about.

To Be Young Was Very Heaven is both a beautiful and an apt title for this entertaining and inspiring book by Sandra Adickes. It tells the story of a number of left leaning, idealistic, young, and adventurous women who emerged in New York around the turn of the century and grew in prominence and significance larger than than this one town in this one time. Among the more famous women are Margaret Sanger, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Dorothy Day, and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (a personal favourite). This book is not a dry, academic look at the reasons behind the rise of some women at this time, nor is it an examination of the lives of the women in general in New York at this time. This book, instead, explodes with the joy of being in the right place and the right time and having the courage and idealism to believe you can change things. Ms. Adickes takes the reader to the beating heart of New York when it truly had one and brings this time alive and shows us some true heroes in their prime. A pleasure to read.