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OverviewMen dominate history because they write it. This book offers a reappraisal which aims to re-establish women's importance at the centre of the worldwide history of revolution, empire, war and peace. As well as looking at the influence of ordinary women, it looks at those who have shaped history. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Rosalind MilesPublisher: HarperCollins Publishers Imprint: HarperCollins Dimensions: Width: 12.90cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 19.80cm Weight: 0.230kg ISBN: 9780586088869ISBN 10: 0586088865 Pages: 352 Publication Date: 09 November 1989 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Manufactured on demand We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier. Table of ContentsReviewsMiles (Women and Power, 1986) doesn't really attempt to cover the whole world here, or to catalog the record of women's achievements and daily lives throughout history - but rather concentrates on the question of how men succeeded in enforcing the subordination of women. Much of the material will be overly familiar to readers versed in feminist history, but the broad range of sources guarantees that most readers will learn something new. In Miles' version of evolutionary history, women's biology (and not male hunting and aggression) forms the basis of human culture: observations of menstrual cycles (and comparisons with lunar cycles) led to abstract thinking ability; child care led to speech; etc. She recounts the historical passage from goddess worship to patriarchal religion (with more discussion of the islamic world than is customary), and historic events that set back the cause of equality - including the Industrial Revolution (which broke up the economic partnership of husband and wife, and led to the exploitation of women and children and the devaluation of women's labor); the French Revolution (women leaders went to the guillotine during the Terror; the Napoleonic Code that later expanded the basic rights of men - and was copied by many nations - took away legal rights that women had enjoyed for years); scientific advances (including Freudian psychology) that trumpeted women's biological flaws, reinforcing insecurity and subjection. A useful and well-written introduction to women's history, and an engaging, though selective and polemic, overview. (Kirkus Reviews) Author InformationRos Coward is the author of Female Desire and Our Treacherous Hearts. She writes a weekly column in the Guardian. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |