Rating: 
Summary: Exciting, disturbing, well-presented history/biography!
Review: This book is huge at 560 pgs; of course, i guess that's nothing compared to these past couple Harry Potters so perhaps i should just say, "substantial." It covers literally Woodhull's entire life (and a good deal of her sister's, Tennessee Claflin), as well as offering am in-depth view of the political and social climate at the time. It devotes a particular amount of time to the changing nuances of her "free love" doctrine and other participants in that movement (one which was, most certainly, ahead of its time--we don't generally think of Victorian times and Free Love in the same boat these days), and the Beecher-Tilton adultery trial. I found the book to be facinating from a suffrage-history POV, contrasting events depicted/documented within with my memories of the "women's movement" from history classes. Goldsmith isn't afraid to throw stones (mostly by quoting their own less than tolerant words) at suffrage icons Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B Anthony, and others, in the course of depicting an unbiased view of the debate that raged for both women's and black men's suffrage at the time. She is both sympathetic to Victoria and Tennessee (she does a very good job in depicting the bizarre, abusive, nomadic carnival-like nature of their childhoods and family life while growing up), and willing to point out their flaws and transgressions (both women engaged in prostitution, blackmail, and other acts of "questionable ethics"). There's not as much focus on the Spiritualism movement, though the overview is thorough and the author depicts in great detail the ways in which Victoria and Tennessee were involved in it as trance speakers and predictors of the future, both from a very young age. She presents the oracles and visions and claims of spiritualists without passing judgement on them, though it's hard not to do so onesself as a modern skeptic reader--the descriptions of Victoria's frequent "possession" by spirit guides, particularly when speaking in public and in other stressful situations, coupled with her traumatic childhood, are reminiscent of depictions of modern dissociative identity disorders. To read the book as a modern woman is somewhat horrific; one can't help but think along the lines of "what would I have done back then," when Anthony Comstock was arresting people for even discussing contraception and women were considered the property of their husbands. Goldsmith investigates a lot of related issues, giving brief synopses of cases of abortionists, midwives, spinsters-by-choice, servant-class mothers of illegitimate children who were imprisoned for "infanticide" when their babies died in childbirth...ugh. Horrible reading, but important. All in all a facinating overview of activism, alternative spirituality, and the tumultuous political climate of post-civil-war America, centered around the life story of the country's first female Presidential candidate.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting, disturbing, well-presented history/biography!
Review: This book is huge at 560 pgs; of course, i guess that's nothing compared to these past couple Harry Potters so perhaps i should just say, "substantial." It covers literally Woodhull's entire life (and a good deal of her sister's, Tennessee Claflin), as well as offering am in-depth view of the political and social climate at the time. It devotes a particular amount of time to the changing nuances of her "free love" doctrine and other participants in that movement (one which was, most certainly, ahead of its time--we don't generally think of Victorian times and Free Love in the same boat these days), and the Beecher-Tilton adultery trial. I found the book to be facinating from a suffrage-history POV, contrasting events depicted/documented within with my memories of the "women's movement" from history classes. Goldsmith isn't afraid to throw stones (mostly by quoting their own less than tolerant words) at suffrage icons Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B Anthony, and others, in the course of depicting an unbiased view of the debate that raged for both women's and black men's suffrage at the time. She is both sympathetic to Victoria and Tennessee (she does a very good job in depicting the bizarre, abusive, nomadic carnival-like nature of their childhoods and family life while growing up), and willing to point out their flaws and transgressions (both women engaged in prostitution, blackmail, and other acts of "questionable ethics"). There's not as much focus on the Spiritualism movement, though the overview is thorough and the author depicts in great detail the ways in which Victoria and Tennessee were involved in it as trance speakers and predictors of the future, both from a very young age. She presents the oracles and visions and claims of spiritualists without passing judgement on them, though it's hard not to do so onesself as a modern skeptic reader--the descriptions of Victoria's frequent "possession" by spirit guides, particularly when speaking in public and in other stressful situations, coupled with her traumatic childhood, are reminiscent of depictions of modern dissociative identity disorders. To read the book as a modern woman is somewhat horrific; one can't help but think along the lines of "what would I have done back then," when Anthony Comstock was arresting people for even discussing contraception and women were considered the property of their husbands. Goldsmith investigates a lot of related issues, giving brief synopses of cases of abortionists, midwives, spinsters-by-choice, servant-class mothers of illegitimate children who were imprisoned for "infanticide" when their babies died in childbirth...ugh. Horrible reading, but important. All in all a facinating overview of activism, alternative spirituality, and the tumultuous political climate of post-civil-war America, centered around the life story of the country's first female Presidential candidate.
Rating: 
Summary: America's First Female Presidential Candidate
Review: This book was first recommended to me by a Church of Christ pastor who was into history. He said,"You've got to read this book! You'll love it!" He was right! As a Spiritualist, I had heard of Victoria Woodhull, but that was about it. This is a complete, researched biography that goes beyond biography. It gives a picture of an age of searching, inquiry and intellectual activity that most Americans are not aware of. Victoria Woodhull is a fascinating character, emerging from very poor beginnings to become involved in the feminist movement, being a spiritual medium, a part-time hooker and eventually becoming involved in politics. She ends up being in a very conventional marriage to an Englishman and leading a very respectable life. No, she never won the presidency, but the reader will learn a lot about the cultural development of America in the 19th century from reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Eye opening book
Review: This is a terrific read -- fast paced, racy, with an unbelievable cast of actual historical characters dealing with issues like free love and marriage. Meticulously researched, it provides a more complete picture of the lives of both ordinary and leading women and the strictures of 19th century polite and not-so-polite society than most historical books I've read. I have found it very difficult to put down. It has provided me with a picture of the 1800's, women's lives and the struggle for women's rights that I was very ignorant about before. I wasn't really interested in the topic of women's issues until I started to read this book, but it has opened my eyes to how far we have come, where some of our society's problems are rooted, and how far we have to go.
Rating:
Summary: Eye opening book
Review: This is a terrific read -- fast paced, racy, with an unbelievable cast of actual historical characters dealing with issues like free love and marriage. Meticulously researched, it provides a more complete picture of the lives of both ordinary and leading women and the strictures of 19th century polite and not-so-polite society than most historical books I've read. I have found it very difficult to put down. It has provided me with a picture of the 1800's, women's lives and the struggle for women's rights that I was very ignorant about before. I wasn't really interested in the topic of women's issues until I started to read this book, but it has opened my eyes to how far we have come, where some of our society's problems are rooted, and how far we have to go.
Rating:
Summary: absorbing, thought-provoking history lesson
Review: this is an amazing social history lesson - don't pass it up
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating melange of historical names and events.
Review: What an absolute joy of a book. Goldsmith seems to have found the perfect centerof the femininist storm in Victoria Woodhull, an outspoken advocate of women's rights, free love, and spiritualism. The telling of her tale (and this book reads like a plotted novel) involves the inclusion of tales and talk from Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Henry Ward Beecher, President Ulysses S. Grant, Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, and cameo appearances from a host of others (including the prudish New York City "in"fighter, Anthony Comstock). Much of the telling involves the infamous Tilton-Beecher scandal, a story whose recitation touches on much of the post-Civil War atmosphere of spiritualism,financial skullduggery, the new religious practices of revised Calvinism, and, of course, equal rights for women. This is a fascinating read and wonderfully written. You don't need to be a history buff to pick this up.
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful, exciting book!!!!
Review: When I chose to read this book, I had expected to read a biography of Victoria Woodhull. That is exactly what I got, with all the excitement, history and debauchery that was the Victorian Era. Ms. Woodhull was involved in some of the most scandalous events of that era (e.g. The Beecher-Tilton Scandal) and Barbara Goldsmith did a wonderful job of presenting the facts. I learned more about that time in history from Ms. Goldsmith's book than I have from any history book. I can't wait for more!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful look at the issues of the time
Review: Yes, the book centers around Woodhull and Suffrage, but that's not its real power. Many historical books stick narrowly to their subjects and don't give you a picture of the times. Other Powers is fantastic because it ties the Suffrage movement into much of what was going on in the U.S. at that moment of history. From Black equality to Wall Street, Goldsmith shows how the relationships between many issues, people and influences worked in concert to create a major part of U.S. history.
Rating:
Summary: what a great read!
Review: You couldn't make this stuff up. I was mesmerized.
|
