I bought this book suspecting I should have been born in the 1950's so I could participate in the second wave of feminism. After reading the thoughfull essays in this anthology, I came away even more convinced that I was right.

As depressing as some of the circumstances seem by todays standards, these women surmounted impossible odds, and for that, I am profoundly gratefull and only wish I could have been there to help out. Having been born in 1979, I cannot imagine how exhillarating this movement was.

From fighting to legalize abortion and contraceptive information, to the women's health movement to debates over sexuality and equal rights, the modern feminist movement (matched only by the civil rights movement for breadth and impact) has had the most imediate impact on American society.

The fact that most people (women and men) support these goals and take their victory for granted shows both how successful feminists have been in the battle, and how much we still need to do to preserve our ground while working on new areas.

Because women's history remains largely unsung in public schools, we need more books like this to educate (and hopefully) inspire the next generation of feminist activists.

Though many feel that women in the feminist movement have done their good deed and now they can just go away, I FEEL a book of this caliber is just what we need to remember! Why is it that in school we are forced to drool over war heros, blood and the lifes lost to senseless wars like Vietnam and when it comes to the womens peaceful movement (which could be accountable for the mass shift UP in overall economics, women working is a good thing) we are not allowed to remember! Read this book and discover truth. side note: I grew up in the 70's 80's and feel I may be the only woman of my generation who feels so strongly with such a thirst for these essays. Am I alone out here?

I cannot help but suspect that the person who wrote the above review did not, in fact, read anything by Rachel Blau DuPlessis. To compare DuPlessis to Adrienne Rich or Katha Pollitt (Katha Pollitt! are you serious?) is just absurd. I think that reviewer missed the point of Duplessis' work entirely. Her work is original, exciting, experimental, & challenging. There's nothing easy about it-- & I suspect that was the problem for the above reviewer.

Having read the poet's study of HD, I was interested to discover that she has a book of poems in print as well. My impression is that she trying to fit herself into the Katha Pollitt mainstream variety of poems, with nods to Adrienne Rich's influence. But Duplessis' poems are surprisingly drab, with a fumbling sense of poetic ambiguity; these seem simply ad hoc and overall, perhaps not terribly original. There are too many Katha Pollitt types writing today, in my opinion, although her book, which won the National Poetry award was a worthy choice of models. I suppose Rachel Blau Duplessis falls rather under the heading of prominent critics who don't yet have an edge to their work. Rich remains the greatest poet, but she needn't be imitated or suffer having her shadow fall upon minor poet's efforts. Overall, I'm really not sufficiently intrigued to read Duplessis' other poetry, but I will be glad to wait on the reviews, especially if she does eventually discover a less predictable diction and imagery.