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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
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.
This book was so educational and eye opening. Would give 5/5 but it really started off with a bang, and ended in a whimper.
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Racial slurs, Xenophobia
Humanity seems to continually misplace or outright hide its history. The various waves of women's movements during the 19th and 20th century seems to be unearthed repeatedly by later generations. Both this, the lives of the people involved, and the evolution of Wonder Woman were very interesting.
The audiobook performance has a news reel/comic book tone which seems to obscure the great content. It was a reasonable choice and I'd have preferred a flatter read. Still, it's the content that matters and it was unexpected and excellent.
The audiobook performance has a news reel/comic book tone which seems to obscure the great content. It was a reasonable choice and I'd have preferred a flatter read. Still, it's the content that matters and it was unexpected and excellent.
I have only really recently become interested in Wonder Woman, mostly due to the new movie. And I was given this book in a surprisingly nice interaction with a Barnes and Nobles employee, who spotted me with a WW T-shirt and handed me the book. "I think you would like this." And she was right.
I struggled initially to keep names straight, as the players were all so intertwined in each other's lives and the story started before Marston, Bryne and Halloway started their life together and Wonder Woman became a thing. But none the less, it was a fascinating look at the suffurage movement, the rise of birth control, and how Wonder Woman developed out of that level of feminism and how often her stories did not maintain those themes because of TPTB. And the poly relationship between Marston, Byrne, Halloway and occasionally Huntly was extremely interesting, with how much was preached about its forward thinking and feminism, but how often there were power imbalances. Life reflecting life and all that. Also, it was very interesting to learn about the ideas and origins of a lot of the iconic elements of Wonder Woman - the lasso of truth, the bracelets, her red white and blue color scheme. All in all a very good read.
I struggled initially to keep names straight, as the players were all so intertwined in each other's lives and the story started before Marston, Bryne and Halloway started their life together and Wonder Woman became a thing. But none the less, it was a fascinating look at the suffurage movement, the rise of birth control, and how Wonder Woman developed out of that level of feminism and how often her stories did not maintain those themes because of TPTB. And the poly relationship between Marston, Byrne, Halloway and occasionally Huntly was extremely interesting, with how much was preached about its forward thinking and feminism, but how often there were power imbalances. Life reflecting life and all that. Also, it was very interesting to learn about the ideas and origins of a lot of the iconic elements of Wonder Woman - the lasso of truth, the bracelets, her red white and blue color scheme. All in all a very good read.
informative
slow-paced
I was really excited to read this book, that excitement did not last through he entire book however. At first the overwhelming amounts of background information was fun to read about. The problem I had was that I was lead to believe that this book was about Wonder Woman. I read two sections, over 50% of the book, with no mention of her. It was in the last 100 pages that we finally got to hear about how she came to be. Even then it was over shadowed by information about the family that created her. This book could have easily just been the last section of the book, with very light background information of the people who created her, and it would have been a much more enjoyable book. It really should have had a title more like " The Feminist Movement, and how it lead to the Birth of Wonder Woman".
I never would have picked this book up, but it was given to me in November and I finally got around to reading it. It is an entirely different book than I thought it would be. It covers the feminist movement EXTREMELY thoroughly, and it’s not just for context. Marston, the man who created Wonder Woman, has a life story so vast and varied that comics were just the tip of the iceberg. He was an academic at the birth of psychology, when it was still an offshoot of the philosophy dept. He created the lie detector test. He used his psychology expertise to talk his way into Hollywood at the birth of motion pictures, where he served as a consultant to studios to make sure they were evoking healthy emotions. He got fired from more jobs and declared bankruptcy on more businesses then anyone I’ve ever heard of, but despite all that, his private life was STILL the most complex part of his life. He lived in a poly household with three women, one of which financially supported the whole household, and the other (the niece of Margaret Sanger), did all the childcare (4 half-siblings living together).
I know. It’s A LOT. I’m blown away.
Also, the birth of Planned Parenthood is in here! (Refer back to the Cecile Richards book that I just finished).
I know. It’s A LOT. I’m blown away.
Also, the birth of Planned Parenthood is in here! (Refer back to the Cecile Richards book that I just finished).
One of my favorite books I've read this year. Wonder Woman is amazing enough by herself, but getting to learn not only about the history surrounding her, but the feminist movements of her time was amazing. William Marsden was a fascinating man, and I was truly astonished by all that happened in his life. Honestly, any person who loves this fantastic heroine, is a strong feminist, or just wants an informative and entertaining read, I'd highly recommend this book.