Carol McPhee (1)

I have found myself drifting towards delving into books that I can see a practical classroom application for this semester. This is such a book. I love quotes as a basis for discussion, and as a basis for writing. One can take a statement such as... chosen at random, “...if it is justifiable to fight for common ordinary equal justice, then women have ample justification, nay, have greater justification, for revolution and rebellion, than men have ever had in the whole history of the human race” -Emmeline Pankhurst, 1914 (164). This quote, framed properly, could be used in any discussion of women's suffrage, abortion rights, domestic violence, or pretty much any issue that women face or have faced historically. The standpoints expressed throughout the book range from what we now consider common sense to revolutionary - even today. My main complaints against this volume are that a) It shows its age and b) it is, literally, just a list of quotes with no embellishment or breaks. The publication date is no fault of the author, but, in order to use this book in my classroom I would feel the need to supplement it with wisdom from feminist figures who have been active over the last three and a half decades. The second complaint is simply that the book is exactly what it advertises to be. It is a list of quotes – no more or less. With these factors in mind, the book is not so much something one could give to one's students and expect any sort of long terms interest, but, rather, would be excellent as a teaching tool - as mentioned above.… (més)