Book Review: When Everything Changed by Gail Collins

Book: When Everything Changed by Gail Collins
Genre: Non-Fiction
Published: October 2009
How I Got the Book: required reading for class


Synopsis (from b&n.com): When Everything Changed begins in 1960, when most American women had to get their husbands' permission to apply for a credit card. It ends in 2008 with Hillary Clinton's historic presidential campaign. This was a time of cataclysmic change, when, after four hundred years, expectations about the lives of American women were smashed in just a generation.

A comprehensive mix of oral history and Gail Collins's keen research--covering politics, fashion, popular culture, economics, sex, families, and work--When Everything Changed is the definitive book on five crucial decades of progress. The enormous strides made since 1960 include the advent of the birth control pill, the end of "Help Wanted--Male" and "Help Wanted--Female" ads, and the lifting of quotas for women in admission to medical and law schools. Gail Collins describes what has happened in every realm of women's lives, partly through the testimonies of both those who made history and those who simply made their way.



My Thoughts: I am so proud to be a woman! But let me tell you...I would not want to live in any era earlier than the one I am in. I am also no history buff, but this book is very comprehensible. Some of the the stories outraged me while others were triumphant. Too many people have a stereotypical view of feminism (butch, man hating, etc...) but with those stereotypes also comes ignorance of the woman's movement. This is a must read for all women. It's informative and entertaining. There is such a wide range of history touched on divided into small segments that it is not a chore to read. It was a long hard road that we as women are still battling and this book let's you know where we were and how much we need still need to do.

Characters: No true characters in this book just real people telling their incredible stories =)



Cover Art: Simple and the lettering stands out well


Overall: ★★★★