The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine F. Weiss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Selected by the book club hosted by my library, we were supposed to have read and discussed this during Women’s History Month which also occurs the same year as the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage. Unfortunately, covid-19 interrupted those plans. I decided to continue reading on my own because of the content and quality of this book.
I didn’t know a lot of the details regarding the passage of the 19th amendment. I vaguely remember that Tennessee was the 36th state but couldn’t have told you who the major players were. This book does an incredible job of introducing each interval figure from the Suffragists to the Antis.
Historical non-fiction is not my go-to choice in reading. Partly it’s because of some dry, mind-numbing reads in the past. And also because they usually clock-in at 200+ pages. This read was very different. Yes, it’s got a lot of pages, but the actual narrative reads like a novel. Elaine Weiss’s style is such that she doesn’t sacrifice factual integrity for narrative nor vice-verses. I appreciated that she incorporates the main figures’s biographies in the narrative rather than in a long resume format.
Another thing I typically avoid is audiobooks. I prefer to read rather than be read to. However, being stuck at home doing teaching via the Internet, this audio book helped me keep my sanity. The narrator does an amazing job at giving character’s distinct voices and bringing the text to life.
This is an important read and one that’s worth the effort. Whether for book clubs or individuals I highly recommend this book.
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