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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
With all the Wonder Woman hubbub going on, I decided I should probably read this. That way I can be a step above all my friends with knowledge and hipster the hell out of everyone about everything. Alas, this was way more about William Moulton Marston than Wonder Woman herself, so there’s not much I learned about her while reading this.
Although I did find the story of her creation to be quite interesting. It’s especially something to keep an open mind about, because she was first published in the early 1940s, and was controlled by many men. Men that were still ignorant to the fact that they’re sexist disgusting pigs, btw. But that’s a rant that doesn’t need to be made within this review.
I did find it fascinating how much resistance came to Wonder Woman actually being a legit super hero. Although it was dumb as shit the reasons for the resistance, but again - this started in the 1940s. I also never noticed how much bondage type of situations she went through, and I’ve gone through her old issues in anthology catalogues. But apparently that was a bit thing.
The big thing I think people are supposed to take from this is that the creator was in a polygamous relationship. But honestly, I don’t GAF. It seemed like a functioning household and they all raised children successfully. So, good on them. Sorry they lived in a society that was full of a bunch of ignorant asshats.
Oh, and Marston’s invention of the lie-detector is also a big part of this story. I mean, good on him for that. He was pretty smart and I think, especially for the time, he was a decent person. But the lie-detector is mostly bullshit. So, there’s that opinion of mine.
I think the most important thing to take away from this is how seriously the author took the history of this comic. This wasn’t a bunch of fluff and drivel. Instead we’re given a whole bunch of information about the creator and then what happened to the comic after his death. And how it suffered at the hands of people who are sexist pigs… because that’s especially important. If you haven’t yet noticed how much that pissed me off… because I keep saying it.
Interesting story. Not what I was expecting. It’s something for more die-hard fans to check out.
Although I did find the story of her creation to be quite interesting. It’s especially something to keep an open mind about, because she was first published in the early 1940s, and was controlled by many men. Men that were still ignorant to the fact that they’re sexist disgusting pigs, btw. But that’s a rant that doesn’t need to be made within this review.
I did find it fascinating how much resistance came to Wonder Woman actually being a legit super hero. Although it was dumb as shit the reasons for the resistance, but again - this started in the 1940s. I also never noticed how much bondage type of situations she went through, and I’ve gone through her old issues in anthology catalogues. But apparently that was a bit thing.
The big thing I think people are supposed to take from this is that the creator was in a polygamous relationship. But honestly, I don’t GAF. It seemed like a functioning household and they all raised children successfully. So, good on them. Sorry they lived in a society that was full of a bunch of ignorant asshats.
Oh, and Marston’s invention of the lie-detector is also a big part of this story. I mean, good on him for that. He was pretty smart and I think, especially for the time, he was a decent person. But the lie-detector is mostly bullshit. So, there’s that opinion of mine.
I think the most important thing to take away from this is how seriously the author took the history of this comic. This wasn’t a bunch of fluff and drivel. Instead we’re given a whole bunch of information about the creator and then what happened to the comic after his death. And how it suffered at the hands of people who are sexist pigs… because that’s especially important. If you haven’t yet noticed how much that pissed me off… because I keep saying it.
Interesting story. Not what I was expecting. It’s something for more die-hard fans to check out.
The history told here, in and of itself, is fascinating: the historical figures involved, the family dynamics, and the political struggles played out in the lives of the subjects. That said, given that this a book for general readers by an academic, the tone can feel a bit stilted and the interpersonal stories are sometimes lacking. Additionally, I occasionally felt that the author was working too hard to impress us with her research and deduction skills, which came off as unprofessional regardless of the magnitude of the connections made.
https://emryal.wordpress.com/2017/07/12/the-secret-history-of-wonder-woman/
This was disappointing in the least. I did not look to learn about Wonder Woman's creator, Marston as I was looking to learn about Wonder Woman in the whole. It did not start with Wonder Woman, it started with Marston's birth.
The entire book read funny as well. Maybe it was too clinical for me. It didn't seem like Lepore liked what she was writing. It felt, to me, like an emotionless thesis paper.
The entire book read funny as well. Maybe it was too clinical for me. It didn't seem like Lepore liked what she was writing. It felt, to me, like an emotionless thesis paper.
This is less a history of Wonder Woman and much more a history of her creator and the nexus of influences that led to her creation. I really enjoyed this book--William Moulton Marston's secret poly family, kinkster influences, his work as a psychologist and inventor of the lie detector test, and heavy early feminist ideologies were fascinating. I appreciate that the author gives a lot of background and context to the women in Marston's life--his 'secret' wife Olive was the niece of Margaret Sanger, and Lepore devotes a lot of time to Sanger's life and influences on the Marston household. I was expecting more content recapping early Wonder Woman storylines, but found myself more fascinated by the women in Marston's life and the contexts of the comic itself. Very interesting portrait of not just a man, but a family and of a moment in history. I like that Lepore's prose was unsentimental about Marston, too. He may have been ahead of his time in terms of feminism but he was also possessed of an enormous ego and had a lot of lingering sexist ideas. That said, the work he did still fascinates us today, and Wonder Woman as an unabashed feminist icon has an even greater place in my current personal pantheon. I recommend this book--I found it fascinating and very engaging.
If you have any interest in Wonder Woman (obviously), comics (again, duh), feminism history, the birth control movement, sex and gender politics, women's history... you should read this book. I can't remember the last time I read something that was able to encapsulate such a complex human being, showing both sides without trying to sway the audience who they really are. Marston (the creator of WW) certainly could be easily idealized or villainized depending on who read this book... And there are details and stories that we'll never know that might've filled in the picture.
The history of Wonder Woman is problematic and very interesting, and I feel like I learned a lot from this book. I can't say I loved it simply because the people profiled in this book are difficult to understand and to sympathize with.
While the information was interesting, and the author did examine how Wonder Woman connected with feminism, ultimately, I wish I had a sense of what drew Jill Lepore to write a whole book about this in the first place, because after I finished this, I felt like a man as self-aggrandizing and arrogant as Marston didn't merit an entire book.
Furthermore, I felt like she spent more time on the lurid and sensational details of Marston's life, and less time on the social implications of Wonder Woman, especially in feminism. Usually, I don't critique books for this, because an author should focus on what they are interested in. However, with a title like "The Secret History of Wonder Woman", I think Wonder Woman's role in history deserved to be highlighted more.
For people already familiar with the Wonder Woman comics of the 1940s, or comics in general, this is probably fascinating. As someone who has never read superhero comics, I found this book did a great job of presenting the facts, but a lackluster job of analyzing them and offering up any sort of synthesis.
While the information was interesting, and the author did examine how Wonder Woman connected with feminism, ultimately, I wish I had a sense of what drew Jill Lepore to write a whole book about this in the first place, because after I finished this, I felt like a man as self-aggrandizing and arrogant as Marston didn't merit an entire book.
Furthermore, I felt like she spent more time on the lurid and sensational details of Marston's life, and less time on the social implications of Wonder Woman, especially in feminism. Usually, I don't critique books for this, because an author should focus on what they are interested in. However, with a title like "The Secret History of Wonder Woman", I think Wonder Woman's role in history deserved to be highlighted more.
For people already familiar with the Wonder Woman comics of the 1940s, or comics in general, this is probably fascinating. As someone who has never read superhero comics, I found this book did a great job of presenting the facts, but a lackluster job of analyzing them and offering up any sort of synthesis.
I didn't really enjoy the writing in this book - it felt very disjointed. Some of the material could have been left out and more could have been expanded upon. However, it did spark some great discussion in my book club!
A fascinating book that I only picked up because of my interest in comics, particularly DC comics, the publisher of Wonder Woman.
I can't help but feel, though, that putting comicdom's First Heroine in the title is just a little misleading as the book is more a biography of William Moulton Marston (her creator) and the people around him, than a study of Wonder Woman herself. In fact, it is only after page 200 (of a 320 page book, with a further eighty-pages of notes and references) that Wonder Woman comes onto the scene. The rest is a history of the psychologist and student of emotions and sex, the inventor of the lie-detector and, for a time, at least, Hollywood "employee". It's also a history of Women's Lib and birth control in the U.S. and a portrait of, arguably, the strangest family this side of Adams...
Secrets, lies and love are at the heart of the family that inspired the creation on Wonder Woman and the author delves into them in great detail, at the same time producing a tome that is a much easier read than it is academical. Much of the book probably wouldn't have interested me if not for the link to comics, but reading it ended up being not only interesting, but joyful.
There probably remains to be written a book about Wonder Woman along the same lines of Larry Tye's history of Superman in print and on screen, but this will certainly do for a start.
I can't help but feel, though, that putting comicdom's First Heroine in the title is just a little misleading as the book is more a biography of William Moulton Marston (her creator) and the people around him, than a study of Wonder Woman herself. In fact, it is only after page 200 (of a 320 page book, with a further eighty-pages of notes and references) that Wonder Woman comes onto the scene. The rest is a history of the psychologist and student of emotions and sex, the inventor of the lie-detector and, for a time, at least, Hollywood "employee". It's also a history of Women's Lib and birth control in the U.S. and a portrait of, arguably, the strangest family this side of Adams...
Secrets, lies and love are at the heart of the family that inspired the creation on Wonder Woman and the author delves into them in great detail, at the same time producing a tome that is a much easier read than it is academical. Much of the book probably wouldn't have interested me if not for the link to comics, but reading it ended up being not only interesting, but joyful.
There probably remains to be written a book about Wonder Woman along the same lines of Larry Tye's history of Superman in print and on screen, but this will certainly do for a start.