A review by overlap
A Disability History of the United States by Kim E. Nielsen

3.75

I feel very conflicted about this book...it approaches things from a primarily legal perspective, almost exclusively related to labor. Although disabled individuals able to work certainly should have the right to, this book misses the stories of those of us who can't, no matter what, and I wish more attention was paid to the lack of marriage equality for the disabled community in the US (although this was published even before gay marriage equality tbf). I also wish that there was more of a focus on disability culture and its emergence in the US, as well as intersectionality beyond mentions of a few instances in history when seemingly disparate movements worked together, as well as of the history of disability empowerment. Lastly, I also wish that critical disability theory was more present in this book as a way of drawing together the examples given by the author and providing context for shifting norms over history rather than just particular events or the passing of time. Overall, though, I think this is a solid introduction to key events in history and their impacts for someone less informed on the topic, and could be used as a textbook with significant supplementations.