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bahoulie's review against another edition
3.0
There was plenty good about this book - and I did read most of it, but finally I decided I'd had enough. The author is not the best writer and I began to get bored, both with the minutiae of the story and with the author needing to remind me every few pages that Sanger was likely making up at least some part of the current story. We get it, Sanger had a habit of incorporating other people's deeds into her own stories, but really, enough already. I almost got the feeling that the author was trying to discredit her. Anyway, I know how the story ends, so I have put it down.
dana_in_denver's review against another edition
1.0
I had a very hard time getting in to this book and ended up not finishing it.
evilyn's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
Argues that Sanger is a eugenist without being racist which is a hot take to say the least. While I didn't agree with this interpretation, it was useful to my investigation of Sanger's relationship to eugenics and the eugenics movement with accessable writing.
asae324's review against another edition
3.0
The book is at its' best when it is placing Sanger's stories and experiences within a broader context of other social movements or when tracing the arc of court decisions and legislation. Informative and clear.
The book is at its' worst when it tries to address without really delving into the issue - questions of whether Sanger was a "good" mother, whether her motives were driven by ambition etc. My guess is the author has a lot of messy, complicated, ambivalent feelings about Sanger and knows that those are the topic for another book but cannot quite make peace with how to mention them within her genre. Another example of an issue that peppers the book throughout but that the author never really illuminates is those who criticize Sanger for placing birth control within the province of the medical establishment, especially male doctors. I am guessing that this was a first wave feminist critique of Sanger but have no idea if I'm right because Baker never spells out just who is criticizing Sanger for that and what alternatives her critics believe may have existed through which birth control might have not fallen with the province of the medical establishment and/or men.
The book is at its' worst when it tries to address without really delving into the issue - questions of whether Sanger was a "good" mother, whether her motives were driven by ambition etc. My guess is the author has a lot of messy, complicated, ambivalent feelings about Sanger and knows that those are the topic for another book but cannot quite make peace with how to mention them within her genre. Another example of an issue that peppers the book throughout but that the author never really illuminates is those who criticize Sanger for placing birth control within the province of the medical establishment, especially male doctors. I am guessing that this was a first wave feminist critique of Sanger but have no idea if I'm right because Baker never spells out just who is criticizing Sanger for that and what alternatives her critics believe may have existed through which birth control might have not fallen with the province of the medical establishment and/or men.
ejdecoster's review against another edition
3.0
Good, but didn't necessarily knock my socks off. It was interesting to read about how difficult a subject Sanger must have been to biographize, given her persistent misinformation campaign about her age and obfuscating of other personal details. There were also a few points where the chronology felt a bit muddled (Baker would be discussing the 1930s, and then mention a conference from 1925, for example) so I advise readers to pay close attention to dates. Given Baker's discussions of Sanger's relationship with eugenics, the African-American community, the development of the birth control pill, and the terminology surrounding "birth control" vs "family planning", this book feels very timely and more relevant than it might have just a few years ago. This book isn't going to change your life, but if you're interested in women's reproductive rights and the history of the movement, this would be a good place to start. (Though I'm open to more recommendations, friends!)
kimveach's review against another edition
2.0
Just couldn't finish it - could barely start it. There is so much history of all the elements around her that it didn't feel like I'd ever get to her story. Too much like a dissertation.
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