The American Women's Almanac

Covers a wide range of historical figures and issues not reserved "just for women". I got a real kick out of reading this book. It covers both the utterly important and the perfectly charming. A great book for everyone.

Louise Bernikow has written a light, inclusive history of the women's movement in American. She organizes her history under broad topics like Media, The Female Body, Politics, Work and Artists and Writers. She briefly tells the true stories some women we've all heard of (Eleanor Roosevelt,Sojourner Truth, and Mae West) and some that I hadn't (Barbara Seamon, Anita Loos, and Anna Mae Wong) and places them in the context of their time. The book also contains sections called Good Guys -- where Ms. Bernikow talks about men like William Lloyd Garrison who made significant contributions to the women's movement. I've had the book for about a week, and I've enjoyed thumbing through it. It's not one of those books that you read from cover to cover. I've discovered things that I didn't know about familiar women (Eleanor Roosevelt insisted the reporters who covered her be female and therefor forced major publications to hire women reporters) and learned about events left out my history books (Suffragists on hunger strikes were force fed in prison). This book is for anyone (male or female) who wants to learn about what women of all colors have contributed to this country. Like any almanac, it doesn't cover any one topic in depth. It is designed to spark interest in the reader and includes a bibliography for those who want to learn more. I think it would make an ideal Mother's Day gift or a gift for any strong woman. It contains some sexual material, but its handled with sophistication. Anyone over the age of twelve could handle it, I think.