[.ca] World Split Open (ISBN 0140097198)

From Amazon.com:
For anyone who wants a thorough introduction to the modern American women's movement, this is it: a rousing story of the revolution by a history professor who participated in its struggles. Ruth Rosen introduces her book by reminding readers of discriminatory practices that were common in pre-1960s America: "Harvard's Lamont Library was off-limits to women for fear they would distract male students. Newspaper ads separated jobs by sex; bars often refused to serve women; some states even excluded women from jury duty; no women ran big corporations or universities, worked as firefighters or police officers." She then proceeds to delineate the changes that make such discrimination seem unthinkable today. Her research takes in popular books, magazines, newspaper articles and television, the details of politics and law, and the individual liberation stories of not only famous feminists and thinkers but many lesser-known women as well. By the end of the 1970s, there are not only legal abortions, Title IX, and more women than men at American universities but letters like the following submitted to Ms. magazine: "One day last week, I pulled up to a four-way stop in my taxi," writes Jill Wood. "At one of the stop signs sat a police officer in a cruiser, and at the third, a telephone installer in a van. What made the occasion memorable was the fact that all three of us were women. We celebrated with much joyful laughter." Yet, says Rosen, this is only the beginning of the struggle for human rights. The World Split Open should serve to galvanize the energies of a new generation of women and men. --Maria Dolan

Wonderful read!:
This book explores the history of the women's movement in the 20th century. Although many books have been written on the first wave of feminism, this book deals with the second wave--written by a real pioneer in the field of women's history. The World Split Open shows how rights possessed by women today were almost non-existent less than fifty years ago. Although women gained the right to vote in the early part of the twentieth century, this book shows how far women still had (and still do have) to go. Ruth Rosen is an amazing person (I was a student in her women's history course at UC Davis last year), and I highly recomend this book to those interested in the study of not only women, but the American family as a whole. Further, I challenge anyone who sees "feminists" in a negative light to read this book and thus have their assumptions proven false.

Very interesting read:
This was a very enjoyable and interesting read. Although I was an adolescent in the 1960's, it gave me tremendous insight into many of the privileges these courageous women fought for that many of us now take for granted. It was a fascinating eye- opener for me.

The World Did Split Open When I read this book:
I lived through this era, but I was a young man and had no idea of the amazing changes the women's movement caused. Now I understand the women in my life much better. I recommend this book to all men who want to understand how the world has changed and how they fit into it.

Professor Rosen Documents American Women's Movement:
With great insight in text and pictures, this book is a must read for every woman in our world today. The American women's movement shows how rights were won for women in a democracy. This book is a guide for others who seek these same rights. America has come so far and women need to know of the sacrifices that were made by many women (and men) to achieve this freedom for their lives. Professor Rosen makes sure all who read this book will know, and be given the opportunity to return something for this wonderful gift American women have been given.

A Real Achievement:
Finally, we have a book to make the women's movement make sense for those too young, too unaware, or too biased to appreciate its enormous impact on America. Rosen's style is approachable without losing its analytical rigor. Her research brilliantly documents the movement's factions, "leaders," victories, failures,and issues. While _Split Open_ is a tour-de-force through the 1970s, I found its treatment of the anti-feminist backlash too superficial - although, unlike one reviewer here, I would not chracterize this as bias, so much as a decision to remain focused on the movement rather than its detractors.