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No Stopping Us Now: The Adventures of Older Women in American History
The beloved New York Times columnist "inspires women to embrace aging and look at it with a new sense of hope" in this lively, fascinating, eye-opening look at women and aging in America ( Parade Magazine ).
"You're not getting older, you're getting better," or so promised the famous 1970's ad -- for women's hair dye. Americans have always had a complicated relationship with embrace it, deny it, defer it -- and women have been on the front lines of the battle, willingly or not.
In her lively social history of American women and aging, acclaimed New York Times columnist Gail Collins illustrates the ways in which age is an arbitrary concept that has swung back and forth over the centuries. From Plymouth Rock (when a woman was considered marriageable if "civil and under fifty years of age"), to a few generations later, when they were quietly retired to elderdom once they had passed the optimum age for reproduction, to recent decades when freedom from striving in the workplace and caretaking at home is often celebrated, to the first female nominee for president, American attitudes towards age have been a moving target. Gail Collins gives women reason to expect the best of their golden years.
"You're not getting older, you're getting better," or so promised the famous 1970's ad -- for women's hair dye. Americans have always had a complicated relationship with embrace it, deny it, defer it -- and women have been on the front lines of the battle, willingly or not.
In her lively social history of American women and aging, acclaimed New York Times columnist Gail Collins illustrates the ways in which age is an arbitrary concept that has swung back and forth over the centuries. From Plymouth Rock (when a woman was considered marriageable if "civil and under fifty years of age"), to a few generations later, when they were quietly retired to elderdom once they had passed the optimum age for reproduction, to recent decades when freedom from striving in the workplace and caretaking at home is often celebrated, to the first female nominee for president, American attitudes towards age have been a moving target. Gail Collins gives women reason to expect the best of their golden years.
704 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2019
226 people are currently reading
4093 people want to read
About the author
Gail Collins
19 books198 followersGail Collins was the Editorial Page Editor of The New York Times from 2001 to January 1, 2007. She was the first woman Editorial Page Editor at the Times.
Born as Gail Gleason, Collins has a degree in journalism from Marquette University and an M.A. in government from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Beyond her work as a journalist, Collins has published several books; Scorpion Tongues: Gossip, Celebrity and American Politics, America's Woman: Four Hundred Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, and The Millennium Book which she co-authored with her husband Dan Collins.
She was also a journalism instructor at Southern Connecticut State University.
She is married to Dan Collins of CBS.
Born as Gail Gleason, Collins has a degree in journalism from Marquette University and an M.A. in government from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Beyond her work as a journalist, Collins has published several books; Scorpion Tongues: Gossip, Celebrity and American Politics, America's Woman: Four Hundred Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, and The Millennium Book which she co-authored with her husband Dan Collins.
She was also a journalism instructor at Southern Connecticut State University.
She is married to Dan Collins of CBS.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
September 21, 2019
Highly disappointed in this book in which I once heavily anticipated reading and enjoying. Not only was the writing somewhat of a cheap Wikipedia page, but the women selected to be represented in this book felt more of a political statement and standpoint than a well thought out, empowering book about older women representing generations throughout American history.
After finishing this book, I shouldn't know more about the author and where she stands on the political spectrum than about the women that were supposed to be represented and showcased.
There were hundreds of great women, leaders and activists that could have been showcased in this book. Patti Smith, Madonna, Ella Fitzgerald, I'd even go as far of a reach as Taylor Swift, but Gail Collins omitted any musical influence in the book. Furthermore, I fail to see how Michelle Obama's fitness classes have more of a cultural impact than those of say... Mary Shelley and her classic "Frankenstein," Anne Frank, Betsy Ross, even Chanel.
If you're going to throw Hillary Clinton in there as one of the most inspiring and influential women in America, toss in an article about Monica Lewinsky too, currently she's overseeing anti-bullying campaigns, that's influential, right?
Objectiveness was NOT on Gail Collins' radar while creating this book. I was highly disappointed with this book as I anticipated a broad range of women, empowering and influencing America. Not the single-minded opinions of an older women whom so desperately desires to make a political statement.
This was a Goodreads giveaway win, and I can honestly say, I'm happy it wasn't an ARC because now I can sell it to my used bookstore without having it rejected. Although, I wouldn't blame them if they still refused to take it.
After finishing this book, I shouldn't know more about the author and where she stands on the political spectrum than about the women that were supposed to be represented and showcased.
There were hundreds of great women, leaders and activists that could have been showcased in this book. Patti Smith, Madonna, Ella Fitzgerald, I'd even go as far of a reach as Taylor Swift, but Gail Collins omitted any musical influence in the book. Furthermore, I fail to see how Michelle Obama's fitness classes have more of a cultural impact than those of say... Mary Shelley and her classic "Frankenstein," Anne Frank, Betsy Ross, even Chanel.
If you're going to throw Hillary Clinton in there as one of the most inspiring and influential women in America, toss in an article about Monica Lewinsky too, currently she's overseeing anti-bullying campaigns, that's influential, right?
Objectiveness was NOT on Gail Collins' radar while creating this book. I was highly disappointed with this book as I anticipated a broad range of women, empowering and influencing America. Not the single-minded opinions of an older women whom so desperately desires to make a political statement.
This was a Goodreads giveaway win, and I can honestly say, I'm happy it wasn't an ARC because now I can sell it to my used bookstore without having it rejected. Although, I wouldn't blame them if they still refused to take it.
August 10, 2019
I was a Goodreads First- Reads Winner and I loved this book for so many reasons.
I recently turned 40 and I have become much more aware to the many ways in which my life has simultaneously become so much better and I've started to become ignored by general society. Olga Tokarczuk talked about us becoming invisible after 40, and I have been starting to believe her. This book helps to put a bit of context onto that point of view, with information related to women who (sometimes after the grand age of 30) went forth and became leaders at home and nationally.
This is an American-centric view of older women, so there are our early national feminine heroines to pull from; Abigail Adams, Sojourner Truth, Martha Washington, etc. though those in the cinema become more pronounced in later years (though perhaps that is a reflection of our cinema obsessed culture than a lake of contemporary heroines). I really appreciated the parts about how the economy at times created certain aspects of women's desirability (thinness/stockiness) instead of claims for "healthiness". I loved reading about how policy was changed by older women and ultimately how the realities of women have changed as a result of divorce, male frailty, and the family unit as a whole.
I'm going to get all my friends to read this as I enjoyed it so much.
I recently turned 40 and I have become much more aware to the many ways in which my life has simultaneously become so much better and I've started to become ignored by general society. Olga Tokarczuk talked about us becoming invisible after 40, and I have been starting to believe her. This book helps to put a bit of context onto that point of view, with information related to women who (sometimes after the grand age of 30) went forth and became leaders at home and nationally.
This is an American-centric view of older women, so there are our early national feminine heroines to pull from; Abigail Adams, Sojourner Truth, Martha Washington, etc. though those in the cinema become more pronounced in later years (though perhaps that is a reflection of our cinema obsessed culture than a lake of contemporary heroines). I really appreciated the parts about how the economy at times created certain aspects of women's desirability (thinness/stockiness) instead of claims for "healthiness". I loved reading about how policy was changed by older women and ultimately how the realities of women have changed as a result of divorce, male frailty, and the family unit as a whole.
I'm going to get all my friends to read this as I enjoyed it so much.
January 20, 2020
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
There have never been a ton of people looking to document the history and experience of women in America. Gail Collins has made writing about American women her niche, and this is her third full length book on the subject. I have read and enjoyed all of them. No Stopping Us Now spans the length of American history, from the colonies to the 21st Century, but it focuses on "older" women and how they contributed to and experienced America. What qualifies as older changes slightly over time as women live longer and as society begins to acknowledge that women exist after child bearing years, but she generally discussed women 40-50 years of age and older. Older women in America are contributing more now than ever, but as Ms. Collins informs us they have always been there. We just need to listen to them. The book is roughly broken down by decade after the turn of the 20th century. In each time period Ms. Collins has at least one section regarding the experience of African American women in that time period. There is a fair amount of subject cross-over with her book When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present, though I noticed more of a focus one women's health in this one. How medicine viewed and treated older women had a definite impact on how they interacted with society. All in all this is an excellent entry in to our meager catalog of women's history in America. The upside is that it look like the impact of women is only growing.
There have never been a ton of people looking to document the history and experience of women in America. Gail Collins has made writing about American women her niche, and this is her third full length book on the subject. I have read and enjoyed all of them. No Stopping Us Now spans the length of American history, from the colonies to the 21st Century, but it focuses on "older" women and how they contributed to and experienced America. What qualifies as older changes slightly over time as women live longer and as society begins to acknowledge that women exist after child bearing years, but she generally discussed women 40-50 years of age and older. Older women in America are contributing more now than ever, but as Ms. Collins informs us they have always been there. We just need to listen to them. The book is roughly broken down by decade after the turn of the 20th century. In each time period Ms. Collins has at least one section regarding the experience of African American women in that time period. There is a fair amount of subject cross-over with her book When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present, though I noticed more of a focus one women's health in this one. How medicine viewed and treated older women had a definite impact on how they interacted with society. All in all this is an excellent entry in to our meager catalog of women's history in America. The upside is that it look like the impact of women is only growing.
February 5, 2020
First, I should say I am not the target audience for this book. If I’m still alive to reach 60, I will then be, as someone quoted in this non-fiction history of older women, in my “old age infancy” and can really be inspired.
This book has a lot of what you’d expect:
+ A summary of things badass older women accomplished
+ An admission that the American suffragettes were racist as hell
+ An acknowledgement that women of color suffer much more in old age than white women
+ Rage-inducing stories about women’s employment woes of yesteryear
+ Sex
It also has a bit of what you don’t expect:
+ A history of the use of hair dye in America
+ Depression-era stories
+ Discussion of the term “cougar”
I did like this book and plan to recommend it to several women. But it didn’t make me as angry as I expected, overall. It was intended to be inspiration and that it was.
This book has a lot of what you’d expect:
+ A summary of things badass older women accomplished
+ An admission that the American suffragettes were racist as hell
+ An acknowledgement that women of color suffer much more in old age than white women
+ Rage-inducing stories about women’s employment woes of yesteryear
+ Sex
It also has a bit of what you don’t expect:
+ A history of the use of hair dye in America
+ Depression-era stories
+ Discussion of the term “cougar”
I did like this book and plan to recommend it to several women. But it didn’t make me as angry as I expected, overall. It was intended to be inspiration and that it was.
physical_to-read_stack
June 11, 2019I received my copy free through Goodreads Giveaways.
November 14, 2019
Engaging and inspiring. Recommended.
March 13, 2020
Anecdotal passages are a delightful review of women's lives from the nineteenth century to today through the experiences and words of specific historical women. Collins possesses a lively voice on the page and the book was a pleasant read, divided into chapters by decade, and each chapter divided by subheadings titled with direct quotes from someone of the period. She makes occasional course corrections—reminding readers that some of the options available to affluent elderly people are not within the reach of "some" (most) Americans.
A hundred years ago, when the elderly were no longer able to work, women were more likely to be welcomed into the homes of their adult children as child-minders and light-work domestics. Men were not so welcome. This is one reason retirement was harder for men than women. A couple of paragraphs remarked on how suicide rates among the elderly dropped abruptly as Social Security and Medicare systems came online. (I might have wished for more about this.)
The thesis for the book is that women are people capable of doing great things with their lives right up until shortly before they die. Collins provides abundant evidence through quotations, advertising, and the lives of real women. Many nineteenth and early twentieth century women continued to work for social and political justice—often into their 70s or even 80s—and were inspiring almost to the point of being depressing. I feel guilty for retiring at 66.
Despite the fussing about what is or is not "old" or "elderly" with statistics and experts and pop culture each given their contradictory opinions toward the end of this book, I will say I am "old." Pages of review of claims that 40 is the new 30 or 70 is the new 50, the shift from anecdote-centered reporting to statistics toward the end mearly cost this book a star here.
Rachel Carson was missing, and she is clearly a poster child for several of the issues Collins covers so effectively in this book: women who sacrifice their lives for the sake of family members (parents and later a nephew); women who are dismissed for gender, age, etc.; and women who take up a new cause/occupation after menopause. Carson had been a marine biologist working for the government and a creative nonfiction writer when she found a cause no one else was willing to undertake—exposing the egregious abuses of the chemical industry. Chemists told her they did not dare speak out because the corporations would ruin them. They ruined Carson instead.
Collins does a great job of unearthing ghastly pop wisdom. Here's one she might have missed: "The man chases her until she catches him" was a popular saying in my youth based on the assumption that only women benefitted from marriage. I would have hoped for some mention that in the last century men who were married lived longer and subjectively happier lives than their bachelor peers. The reverse was true for women.
However we define age, aging, and the aged, people should not allow others to limit their choices of action and advancement.
There is a limit to what one book can cover, even or perhaps especially one so meticulously documented as this one. This was a better overview of the decades around the turn of the last century than I have found in any textbook.
I received this book as a Giveaway, but would have bought it, and been grateful to have read it without that perk. I thank the publishers.
A hundred years ago, when the elderly were no longer able to work, women were more likely to be welcomed into the homes of their adult children as child-minders and light-work domestics. Men were not so welcome. This is one reason retirement was harder for men than women. A couple of paragraphs remarked on how suicide rates among the elderly dropped abruptly as Social Security and Medicare systems came online. (I might have wished for more about this.)
The thesis for the book is that women are people capable of doing great things with their lives right up until shortly before they die. Collins provides abundant evidence through quotations, advertising, and the lives of real women. Many nineteenth and early twentieth century women continued to work for social and political justice—often into their 70s or even 80s—and were inspiring almost to the point of being depressing. I feel guilty for retiring at 66.
Despite the fussing about what is or is not "old" or "elderly" with statistics and experts and pop culture each given their contradictory opinions toward the end of this book, I will say I am "old." Pages of review of claims that 40 is the new 30 or 70 is the new 50, the shift from anecdote-centered reporting to statistics toward the end mearly cost this book a star here.
Rachel Carson was missing, and she is clearly a poster child for several of the issues Collins covers so effectively in this book: women who sacrifice their lives for the sake of family members (parents and later a nephew); women who are dismissed for gender, age, etc.; and women who take up a new cause/occupation after menopause. Carson had been a marine biologist working for the government and a creative nonfiction writer when she found a cause no one else was willing to undertake—exposing the egregious abuses of the chemical industry. Chemists told her they did not dare speak out because the corporations would ruin them. They ruined Carson instead.
Collins does a great job of unearthing ghastly pop wisdom. Here's one she might have missed: "The man chases her until she catches him" was a popular saying in my youth based on the assumption that only women benefitted from marriage. I would have hoped for some mention that in the last century men who were married lived longer and subjectively happier lives than their bachelor peers. The reverse was true for women.
However we define age, aging, and the aged, people should not allow others to limit their choices of action and advancement.
There is a limit to what one book can cover, even or perhaps especially one so meticulously documented as this one. This was a better overview of the decades around the turn of the last century than I have found in any textbook.
I received this book as a Giveaway, but would have bought it, and been grateful to have read it without that perk. I thank the publishers.
October 17, 2019
Gail Collins is my favorite NYT op-ed columnist, bar none. Her columns are always smart, funny, and incisive. The same is true of her new book, a historical overview of the place of older women in American society. It's extremely well researched and I learned a lot, and Collins's wry sense of humor shines through.
At times it seems as though she wanted to make sure she inserted every interesting historical tidbit she found in her research, but by the end I appreciated the breadth of the tale told.
At times it seems as though she wanted to make sure she inserted every interesting historical tidbit she found in her research, but by the end I appreciated the breadth of the tale told.
January 18, 2021
No Stopping Us Now~~
Gail Collins has written a feisty tribute to the many American women of maturity who have been instrumental in America's development. From colonial times to Susan B. Anthony to Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Gloria Steinem to Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she doesn't miss many of the most memorable, high-achieving American women in No Stopping Us Now: the Adventures of Older Women Who Shaped America.
It's fairly obvious in hindsight that Collins is a Democrat who supports civil rights, equality, and the fight for justice. She discusses some Republican women like Martha Washington, Mamie Eisenhower, and Betty Ford, some of them in Congress, but they were from the distant past.
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was mentioned in a heartbreaking way. She resigned to take care of her husband who had Alzheimer's, but finally he didn't recognize her and went to live in a nursing home. He then fell in love with a resident even while O' Connor visited on the sidelines. Nancy Reagan also watched her husband Ronnie descend into Alzheimer's.
Something that outraged me was to find out that Eleanor Roosevelt was treated for anemia with steroids. Steroids! Was the early 1960s that incompetent about health? She would die from a disease caused by the steroids.
I've enjoyed many of Gloria Steinem's books, but while Collins discusses many influential authors of the female sex like Betty Friedan and Helen Gurly Brown, she discusses how Gloria celebrates her birthdays starting at 40. Her popular quote is “this is what 40 looks like.” Women never admitted their age and tried to look young. This has continued, but lately older models are the big thing and getting little facial augmentation is so common that no one cares if you've had help looking younger.
I found it interesting that make-up once was illegal because men felt tricked into marrying older, less fertile women. This remained in effect, it seems, until the 1920s, the decade when young women became bodacious flappers.
Let me also mention there could've been more colored women, but Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman were included. Truth you may have heard of, who declared “And ain't I a woman?”
Enjoyable book. There must be many more, diverse women included in the next women's salute!.
Gail Collins has written a feisty tribute to the many American women of maturity who have been instrumental in America's development. From colonial times to Susan B. Anthony to Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Gloria Steinem to Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she doesn't miss many of the most memorable, high-achieving American women in No Stopping Us Now: the Adventures of Older Women Who Shaped America.
It's fairly obvious in hindsight that Collins is a Democrat who supports civil rights, equality, and the fight for justice. She discusses some Republican women like Martha Washington, Mamie Eisenhower, and Betty Ford, some of them in Congress, but they were from the distant past.
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was mentioned in a heartbreaking way. She resigned to take care of her husband who had Alzheimer's, but finally he didn't recognize her and went to live in a nursing home. He then fell in love with a resident even while O' Connor visited on the sidelines. Nancy Reagan also watched her husband Ronnie descend into Alzheimer's.
Something that outraged me was to find out that Eleanor Roosevelt was treated for anemia with steroids. Steroids! Was the early 1960s that incompetent about health? She would die from a disease caused by the steroids.
I've enjoyed many of Gloria Steinem's books, but while Collins discusses many influential authors of the female sex like Betty Friedan and Helen Gurly Brown, she discusses how Gloria celebrates her birthdays starting at 40. Her popular quote is “this is what 40 looks like.” Women never admitted their age and tried to look young. This has continued, but lately older models are the big thing and getting little facial augmentation is so common that no one cares if you've had help looking younger.
I found it interesting that make-up once was illegal because men felt tricked into marrying older, less fertile women. This remained in effect, it seems, until the 1920s, the decade when young women became bodacious flappers.
Let me also mention there could've been more colored women, but Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman were included. Truth you may have heard of, who declared “And ain't I a woman?”
Enjoyable book. There must be many more, diverse women included in the next women's salute!.
January 2, 2020
There's a lot of good stuff in this book, and it would be great for young people (both women and men) to read, but I'm afraid the misleading title will scare them away.
Gail Collins' latest book is really a cultural history of adult women in America with the "older" theme forced onto it. "Older" in the book can mean anything from older than 25 to 65+ and many of the women mentioned in the book (maybe even most) were younger than 60 at the time of their exploits/comments. The actual title (not the one on Goodreads) is No Stopping Us Now: The Adventures of Older Women in American History, which I guess means somebody changed it because "adventures" sounded more exciting than "history."
The book is not so much about daring deeds as it is about changes in the way our culture has perceived and treated women. There is a lot of focus on women in movies and television, on beauty standards (especially hair dye and plastic surgery) and fashion. Gail Collins takes us from corsets to bloomers to pantsuits.
Did you know: When the Mary Tyler Moore Show came out, Mary was considered a "spinster" at 30.
A woman member first wore pants on the floor of the House of Representatives in 1969, but it wasn't until 1993 that it happened in the Senate. And a favorite: "When the '60s began, only about 7 percent of American women dyed their hair. Within a decade. the practice was so common the government stopped putting hair color on passports."
None of the women get really in-depth treatment in an overview like this, but there is enough to let us know why we should remember Eleanor Roosevelt and Margaret Chase Smith and be grateful for Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
Of course most of us who actually are older women remember a lot of the things mentioned in this book and don't necessarily need to be reminded.
Gail Collins' latest book is really a cultural history of adult women in America with the "older" theme forced onto it. "Older" in the book can mean anything from older than 25 to 65+ and many of the women mentioned in the book (maybe even most) were younger than 60 at the time of their exploits/comments. The actual title (not the one on Goodreads) is No Stopping Us Now: The Adventures of Older Women in American History, which I guess means somebody changed it because "adventures" sounded more exciting than "history."
The book is not so much about daring deeds as it is about changes in the way our culture has perceived and treated women. There is a lot of focus on women in movies and television, on beauty standards (especially hair dye and plastic surgery) and fashion. Gail Collins takes us from corsets to bloomers to pantsuits.
Did you know: When the Mary Tyler Moore Show came out, Mary was considered a "spinster" at 30.
A woman member first wore pants on the floor of the House of Representatives in 1969, but it wasn't until 1993 that it happened in the Senate. And a favorite: "When the '60s began, only about 7 percent of American women dyed their hair. Within a decade. the practice was so common the government stopped putting hair color on passports."
None of the women get really in-depth treatment in an overview like this, but there is enough to let us know why we should remember Eleanor Roosevelt and Margaret Chase Smith and be grateful for Ruth Bader Ginsberg.
Of course most of us who actually are older women remember a lot of the things mentioned in this book and don't necessarily need to be reminded.
February 24, 2024
Ended up DNFing. While there was some interesting information (old time medications. The hatred of cosmetics in post-Revolutionary America? Wow) I just felt like so much of the book tried to vilify young women instead of focusing on the tag line of the actual book “adventures of older women in America history.” More than not, the author would talk about a successful woman then add “but thankfully she wasn’t 29.” And then elaborate how “Yes this author was successful but other women were considered useless at 30.” Like why even bring up all these younger women?!?! I’d forgive one instance but this happened multiple times. Like one point like literally the moment I DNFed it, the author was like “But better tuck in all those grey hair under a restrictive scarf” Like get it, ageism is intense but then hiding it is also horrible like it’s too frustrating.
November 25, 2019
This may be more information than I want or need to know on the subject. Still undecided how I feel about the current moment for older women. Hard enough to decide how I feel on a given day about being an older woman.
December 1, 2019
This book had a really great message. It included much information with examples and documentation. It is a nonfiction read. However, it could have been much more enjoyable to read with a more engaging style.
January 10, 2020
A fun fast paced overview of lives of women in English colonies, and United States. I’m not sure if the history will stick but it’s a fun read. I’ve always been a fan if Gail Collins. I enjoyed reading it a lot. It’s chocked full of facts and stories.
October 27, 2019
Another great Gail Collins read. When Everything Changed is my favorite, but this one is a close second, especially since we have a 70 year old female presidential front runner. I forgot that Margaret Chase Smith lost her senate seat due to ageism and there are many anecdotal facts about women's lives I simply never read before. Another gem!
April 19, 2023
This is a great book. I love all the details of different women's lives over the history of our country.
February 11, 2021
Caveat: This is the sort of thing where you can read a few pages here and there and let it rest in between. Nothing in-depth, but more like a series of fun, sometimes surprising, older-female anecdotes in timeline form. It's very Gail Collins—so it's humorous. (Some sections were not 100% interesting to me, but easy enough to skip and move on.)
October 7, 2019
This is an much needed history that explores the role of women over time in the United States. It is well writtten and engaging.
September 13, 2019
I liked this book. I'm 41 so I dont really feel "older" just yet however I relate in the sense that I think in our society 20-30 year olds are often portrayed in movies & media as beauty standards. I felt this book was encouraging and inspiring. I liked that the author uses various famous women as examples of accomplished and yes, beautiful, women in society. There is definitely a lot to ponder and contemplate about gender, ageism etc. Well done.
I received this as a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
I received this as a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
March 12, 2020
Great book about the struggle for older women to survive in our culture. Ms. Collins hits the beginning of our colonies with older women being pegged as witches to the latest in our political stories of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Nancy Pelosi.
I was especially intrigued by the plight of women who once they were done with their child bearing years were allowed to either join women's clubs to get involved in politics or like Susan B. Anthony to go full out radical and ask for the right of women to vote.
I also liked hearing about the start of Social Security and how small it was and the fact that women were not recieving anything at first if they didn't work outside the home. Their were also exemptions for maids and other servants to not get anything.
As an older woman I see that priorities haven't changed much. Women of a certain age still find it freeing to not have to worry about child care and get more involved in pushing a political agenda. We've come a long way baby, but we aren't there yet!
I checked this book from my local library.
I was especially intrigued by the plight of women who once they were done with their child bearing years were allowed to either join women's clubs to get involved in politics or like Susan B. Anthony to go full out radical and ask for the right of women to vote.
I also liked hearing about the start of Social Security and how small it was and the fact that women were not recieving anything at first if they didn't work outside the home. Their were also exemptions for maids and other servants to not get anything.
As an older woman I see that priorities haven't changed much. Women of a certain age still find it freeing to not have to worry about child care and get more involved in pushing a political agenda. We've come a long way baby, but we aren't there yet!
I checked this book from my local library.
November 30, 2019
At 33, I do not believe I am the correct demographic for this book, but I do look forward to being an older woman in the future. In general, this is a collection of stories of "older" women. "Older" depends on the era- at some points in the book, it means women in their 30s and other times, it's 80s/90s. It ended up being a history of women in general in America, leaving out teens and 20-somethings. It leans liberal, but includes conservative women politicians. Collins tries to include non-white women and does better earlier in the book with that. It doesn't go particularly deep- it would be a good stepping stone of a book if you wanted to go and read more about a particular woman.
June 8, 2021
Can’t finish. Wouldn’t have expected this to be boring. Possibly the 20th century chapters get more interesting. The problem is there isn’t an organizing structure. A series of vignettes of different women, with greater or lesser autonomy and agency, depending on social standing, location, or other factors. So what is the lesson or point?
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November 17, 2020I really enjoyed reading this. Great information written in a most entertaining, readable way, and presented some facts I didn't know and others which, although I knew them, were presented in a fresh way.
November 1, 2021
Terrific. Goddamn I am learning SO MUCH. My reading of late has been so female focused, and it's making me realize how much I don't know. But this is exciting because I have so much more to learn!
March 24, 2020
I have loved all of Susan Collins' books on Women's History. I've read America's Women and When Everything Changed and bought them for my daughter and together, those books form a comprehensive history of women in the United States. The Women's History Library in the back of America's Women is my Bible- I've purchased and read about 75% of all the books on the various lists. I was delighted to find Collin's new book, especially because the demographic is mine- how "older women" have played a role in Women's history. Ironically, until very recently, "older" was often defined as over 30 or 40. I feel extremely lucky to live in a time when women are vibrant and working at many ages, although the pressure to "look young" is still a message sent by our culture. Not much new ground in this book- the women she profiled are well known for someone who loves women's history, but I enjoyed reading about them, and how older women in general, were viewed at every age of America's past, and present.
February 21, 2023
"If there's one ringing message in American history it's that if you're important economically, you're important." And that does really sum up most of this book. In periods where older women are a necessity for the economy, they are treated differently. Yet in some ways, their roles have not changed - they are just expected to do it all at once.
As a history buff, I found the earliest chapters interesting and wish those sections had been longer. I tried to picture my female ancestors living those lives.
You can also see many of the author's conclusions reflected in the census, showing the time periods when there were multigenerational households changing to the widows living alone. And just looking at photos of my mother when she was the same age I am now shows how the appearance of those over 60 has changed in that short time period.
The chapters on the 1960-1980's reminded me of many women I had forgotten about like Millicent Fenwick and the fictional Joanie Caucus
I'm almost finished with the "childhood of old age" and enjoying it while I can.
As a history buff, I found the earliest chapters interesting and wish those sections had been longer. I tried to picture my female ancestors living those lives.
You can also see many of the author's conclusions reflected in the census, showing the time periods when there were multigenerational households changing to the widows living alone. And just looking at photos of my mother when she was the same age I am now shows how the appearance of those over 60 has changed in that short time period.
The chapters on the 1960-1980's reminded me of many women I had forgotten about like Millicent Fenwick and the fictional Joanie Caucus
I'm almost finished with the "childhood of old age" and enjoying it while I can.
November 16, 2019
I loved Gail Collins' other books on women's roles throughout history, though it has been some years since I read them. I enjoyed this one for the most part, except that it was so, so focused on white women's experiences, particularly rich, white women's experiences. It was not universal at all. Also, even though it has been quite a while since I read America's Women and When Everything Changed, it felt to me like there was quite a bit of overlap. I get it, Margaret Chase Smith was amazing, but what about Shirley Chisolm? Or Dolores Huerta? Ida B. Wells? What about some LGBTQ rights activists? Or just working class or middle class women, who may not be famous? These women also did a lot of work (and got old), but they barely get a mention. I understand that this is a wide-ranging book that is more popular history than something very in-depth, but I very much felt the lack, and it did not feel like as full and robust a history as it could have been because is those misses.
March 12, 2022
In this book, journalist Gail Collins traces the treatment of and attitudes toward older women throughout American History. In the early colonial years, older women were appreciated and eligible marriage partners in part because there were so few women of any age around. But it was also recognized that they had learned valuable skills in their lifetime and were valued for those skills. Sadly, that is an attitude that has been lost due to ageism on the job in our modern world.
Collins tells her story for the most part through relatively short anecdotes that point up the attitudes toward older women and includes short bios of many women who overcame prejudices. From colonial days to the early days of the nation, through the Civil War and the industrial revolution, through the early 20th century and winning the vote and gaining just a bit more independence and freedom after each World War - it is quite a story.
Collins tells her story for the most part through relatively short anecdotes that point up the attitudes toward older women and includes short bios of many women who overcame prejudices. From colonial days to the early days of the nation, through the Civil War and the industrial revolution, through the early 20th century and winning the vote and gaining just a bit more independence and freedom after each World War - it is quite a story.
January 19, 2020
No Stopping Us Now: The Adventures of Older Women in American History is an American reading adventure. Collins’s wit and her research take us from the struggles of pioneer women, few of whom survived farm life into old age at 35, to the struggles of our American contemporaries, whose life expectancy has recently begun to decline, especially in rural areas. The way Collins tells it, the adventures of many mature women, from Annie Oakely at 37, to Betty White, now 98, are as engaging as those who made history for us all, the suffragists, the second wave, the female politicians who persist despite the sexist commentary that follows every woman in the public eye. Collins does not stop short of the Trump era, but arms the reader with plenty of heroines with whom to face the future.
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