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See Jane Win: The Inspiring Story of the Women Changing American Politics
*A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Editor's Choice Pick*
From an award-winning journalist covering gender and politics comes an inside look at the female candidates fighting back and winning elections in the crucial 2018 midterms.
After November 8, 2016, first came the sadness; then came the rage, the activism, and the protests; and, finally, for thousands of women, the next step was to run for office—many of them for the first time. More women campaigned for local or national office in the 2018 election cycle than at any other time in US history, challenging accepted notions about who seeks power and who gets it.
Journalist Caitlin Moscatello reported on this wave of female candidates for New York magazine’s The Cut , Glamour , and Elle . And in See Jane Win , she further documents this pivotal time in women’s history. Closely following four candidates throughout the entire process, from the decision to run through Election Day, See Jane Win takes readers inside their exciting, winning campaigns and the sometimes thrilling, sometimes brutal realities of running for office while female.
MEET THE
Abigail Spanberger, a mom of three young girls and a former CIA operative, running for Congress in Virginia to unseat Freedom Caucus member Dave Brat.
Catalina Cruz, a Colombian-born attorney whose state assembly bid could make her the first Dreamer elected in New York and only the third in the country.
Anna Eskamani, an Iranian-American woman running for state office in Florida, with a campaign motivated by her mother’s health-care struggles and the Pulse Nightclub shootings.
London Lamar, a Memphis native looking to become the youngest female representative in the Tennessee state house, running in one of the only Democratic and Black-majority areas of a largely conservative state.
Beyond the 2018 victories, Moscatello speaks with researchers, strategists, and the leaders of organizations that helped women win. What she discovers is that the candidates who triumphed in 2018 emphasized authenticity and passion instead of conforming to the stereotype of what a candidate should look or sound like, a formula that will be more relevant than ever as we approach the 2020 presidential election.
From an award-winning journalist covering gender and politics comes an inside look at the female candidates fighting back and winning elections in the crucial 2018 midterms.
After November 8, 2016, first came the sadness; then came the rage, the activism, and the protests; and, finally, for thousands of women, the next step was to run for office—many of them for the first time. More women campaigned for local or national office in the 2018 election cycle than at any other time in US history, challenging accepted notions about who seeks power and who gets it.
Journalist Caitlin Moscatello reported on this wave of female candidates for New York magazine’s The Cut , Glamour , and Elle . And in See Jane Win , she further documents this pivotal time in women’s history. Closely following four candidates throughout the entire process, from the decision to run through Election Day, See Jane Win takes readers inside their exciting, winning campaigns and the sometimes thrilling, sometimes brutal realities of running for office while female.
MEET THE
Abigail Spanberger, a mom of three young girls and a former CIA operative, running for Congress in Virginia to unseat Freedom Caucus member Dave Brat.
Catalina Cruz, a Colombian-born attorney whose state assembly bid could make her the first Dreamer elected in New York and only the third in the country.
Anna Eskamani, an Iranian-American woman running for state office in Florida, with a campaign motivated by her mother’s health-care struggles and the Pulse Nightclub shootings.
London Lamar, a Memphis native looking to become the youngest female representative in the Tennessee state house, running in one of the only Democratic and Black-majority areas of a largely conservative state.
Beyond the 2018 victories, Moscatello speaks with researchers, strategists, and the leaders of organizations that helped women win. What she discovers is that the candidates who triumphed in 2018 emphasized authenticity and passion instead of conforming to the stereotype of what a candidate should look or sound like, a formula that will be more relevant than ever as we approach the 2020 presidential election.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published August 27, 2019
35 people are currently reading
1434 people want to read
About the author
Caitlin Moscatello
2 books23 followersCaitlin Moscatello, author of SEE JANE WIN, is a journalist and writer covering gender, reproductive rights, and politics. In recent years, she has been nominated for a National Magazine Award; received a Front Page Award and Planned Parenthood's Media Excellence Award; and has been a United Nations Press Fellow reporting on women's health issues. She's also the founder of REPRO, a newsletter about reproductive rights legislation. Moscatello's writing has appeared in outlets such as The Cut, Elle, Medium, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Glamour, Refinery29, Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, Sports Illustrated, Fast Company, and O: The Oprah Magazine. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and son.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
August 28, 2019
In American politics, the 2018 midterms constituted a blue wave with Democratic candidates sweeping into elected office across the country, including taking control of the United State House of Representatives. This was due in massive part to an unprecedented number of women running, many of them as first time candidates. Journalist Caitlin Moscatello explores the state of American politics that led to this shift by focusing on four women and their historic campaigns: Abigail Spanberger, Anna Eskamani, London Lamar, and Catalina Cruz.
Candidates run for office for any number of reasons, but Moscatello’s expert reporting suggests 2018 was different than usual. After a feeling of relative safety for Democrats heading into the 2016 presidential election, there was pure panic after the loss of Hillary Clinton and the rise of Donald Trump. Yet from this adrenalin-fueled alarm rose a sense of urgency— something that’s obvious in any of the number of compelling interviews with politicians, activists, and political operatives highlighted by Moscatello.
But choosing to become involved is just the first hurdle in a long process. Fortunately for readers, Moscatello’s backstage access seems unparalleled. By taking a broad political movement and focusing on a cast of four, she’s able to weave a throughline, from jumping into the race all the way through election night, while also highlighting other candidates, like Stacey Abrams and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, anecdotally. It’s a thorough framework, made even more engrossing by Moscatello emphasizing both federal and state house races, from Abigail Spanberger and the U.S. House of Representatives to Catalina Cruz and the New York State Assembly.
Beyond the interviews that consider everything from canvassing to juggling personal lives with political, Moscatello analyzes the historical context for the current influx of female candidates. After all, 2016 might have signified a breaking point for many, but it wasn’t the starting point. Refreshing when compared to other authors in this realm, Moscatello has such a clear style when expressing complicated points, like tracing political engagement leading to this period.
Above all, there’s a level of optimism that permeates each campaign— not just for their own success, but also for the future. These campaigns are difficult, and often frustrating, but there’s always a hopeful look to the future of politics.
Note: I received a free ARC of this book through NetGalley.
Review also posted at https://pluckedfromthestacks.wordpres...
Candidates run for office for any number of reasons, but Moscatello’s expert reporting suggests 2018 was different than usual. After a feeling of relative safety for Democrats heading into the 2016 presidential election, there was pure panic after the loss of Hillary Clinton and the rise of Donald Trump. Yet from this adrenalin-fueled alarm rose a sense of urgency— something that’s obvious in any of the number of compelling interviews with politicians, activists, and political operatives highlighted by Moscatello.
But choosing to become involved is just the first hurdle in a long process. Fortunately for readers, Moscatello’s backstage access seems unparalleled. By taking a broad political movement and focusing on a cast of four, she’s able to weave a throughline, from jumping into the race all the way through election night, while also highlighting other candidates, like Stacey Abrams and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, anecdotally. It’s a thorough framework, made even more engrossing by Moscatello emphasizing both federal and state house races, from Abigail Spanberger and the U.S. House of Representatives to Catalina Cruz and the New York State Assembly.
Beyond the interviews that consider everything from canvassing to juggling personal lives with political, Moscatello analyzes the historical context for the current influx of female candidates. After all, 2016 might have signified a breaking point for many, but it wasn’t the starting point. Refreshing when compared to other authors in this realm, Moscatello has such a clear style when expressing complicated points, like tracing political engagement leading to this period.
Above all, there’s a level of optimism that permeates each campaign— not just for their own success, but also for the future. These campaigns are difficult, and often frustrating, but there’s always a hopeful look to the future of politics.
Note: I received a free ARC of this book through NetGalley.
Review also posted at https://pluckedfromthestacks.wordpres...
September 15, 2019
Alright, this truly tested my patience.
Yes, women running for Congress and standing up to the patriarchy is vital for future equality and success. But YIKES, this book was so slow and dry in the beginning (and I get that this is a nonfictional book and life isn't always as interesting as creative stories). The author repeated the same facts over and over. Also, something else that kicked this book down a star for me was how she did not check her facts. Moscatello did an amazing job talking about the necessity and effectiveness of the #MeToo movement, but she was obviously so biased that she couldn't see what was in front of her. Al Franken, former Senator, called on to resign after Leeann Tweeden accused him of sexual misconduct due to photos circulating around and claims that he forcefully kissed her (years earlier, Franken admitted that that was a skit that he and Tweeden had been rehearsing). No questions were asked about Franken's situation; he was simply pushed into resigning.
After looking into this, I discovered that Tweeden was an avid Trump supporter and Franken was one of the most effective challengers to the Trump administration. He was also considered, at one point, to run in opposition to Trump in 2020. This story was so full of holes, and Moscatello used it as supporting information! Check your facts! This really ruined her credibility for me and just killed the rest of the book. If you are a journalist, do not let your own biases interfere with objective research. It may be an admirable cause, but I really have to disregard everything in this book because it was clear that she follows the latest trends, not the most specific facts.
Yes, women running for Congress and standing up to the patriarchy is vital for future equality and success. But YIKES, this book was so slow and dry in the beginning (and I get that this is a nonfictional book and life isn't always as interesting as creative stories). The author repeated the same facts over and over. Also, something else that kicked this book down a star for me was how she did not check her facts. Moscatello did an amazing job talking about the necessity and effectiveness of the #MeToo movement, but she was obviously so biased that she couldn't see what was in front of her. Al Franken, former Senator, called on to resign after Leeann Tweeden accused him of sexual misconduct due to photos circulating around and claims that he forcefully kissed her (years earlier, Franken admitted that that was a skit that he and Tweeden had been rehearsing). No questions were asked about Franken's situation; he was simply pushed into resigning.
After looking into this, I discovered that Tweeden was an avid Trump supporter and Franken was one of the most effective challengers to the Trump administration. He was also considered, at one point, to run in opposition to Trump in 2020. This story was so full of holes, and Moscatello used it as supporting information! Check your facts! This really ruined her credibility for me and just killed the rest of the book. If you are a journalist, do not let your own biases interfere with objective research. It may be an admirable cause, but I really have to disregard everything in this book because it was clear that she follows the latest trends, not the most specific facts.
March 6, 2020
“Most of the Democratic women who ran in 2018 didn’t run as anti-Trump candidates, even if they disapproved of him (which they did). Instead, they ran as get-shit-done candidates.”
At a time where we all live with the daily lies and degrading comments of POTUS and other grey haired men in politics who vote in their personal self-interests (including $), it’s encouraging that the future of our country is well on the way to being more in the hands of progressive, forward-thinking women who put their constituency first.
Caitlin Moscatello presents brilliant and detailed research to tell of the success stories (and even of those women who ran but didn’t win) of political races of different levels across the country.
At a time where we all live with the daily lies and degrading comments of POTUS and other grey haired men in politics who vote in their personal self-interests (including $), it’s encouraging that the future of our country is well on the way to being more in the hands of progressive, forward-thinking women who put their constituency first.
Caitlin Moscatello presents brilliant and detailed research to tell of the success stories (and even of those women who ran but didn’t win) of political races of different levels across the country.
October 13, 2019
See Jane Win is a great, sometimes compelling, piece of journalism, but I occasionally felt that in the rush to get the book out to the masses, it suffered from not having been adequately edited. Sometimes, it feels like it was a series of longreads that got rewritten and mushed together to create a cohesive story. Good journalism still needs to be massaged into book form.
The book starts by looking at a handful of important campaigns: Abigail Spanerger, London Lamar, Anna Eskamani, and Catalina Cruz. These aren't the only campaigns she examines, and we do get a good peek at Amy McGrath, but Stacey Abrams and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pretty much have only cameo appearances in the book.
Through the perspective of these campaigns, we see candidate training efforts (fascinating), and we examine the difficult, complex issues: fundraising, media coverage (of which, more later), candidates of color, the public perception of campaigning and motherhood (including breastfeeding), and the very real troubles of trolls, attack ads, and the damnable lies.
Obviously, the first part of the book, with the candidate introductions, was necessary to set the stage for analyses of these important issues. Moscatello got into the nitty gritty on academic research as well as first-person research, and we were treated to statistics, and some framing notes like:
One analysis shortly before the 2018 election found that when a woman in office was described with feminine adjectives, men and women were more likely to question her competence. The flip side was that when female politicians were described with masculine language, they were perceived as more qualified. Word choice made a difference, even when the adjectives used reflected positive traits.
But the beginning of the book is slow and can be draggy; there were parts that were so repetitive that I wondered whether Moscatello's editor had been fired mid-job. I started reading before a two-week trip to the UK, and didn't think twice about jettisoning it to read Michelle Obama's Becoming when my library hold came in. Once we got passed the introductions and got into the election-related issues, the individual candidates became more three-dimensional and it was easier to appreciate the compelling personal tales and the trends that bubbled under the momentum of women candidacies in 2018.
By the time the final third of the book is presented, and we get to read about the victories (and what came next), the book has pulled the reader in. You want to hear more about these leaders, and what their wins (and others' losses) and the decisions they made (about campaigning, about parenting, about their hair and makeup, about their debate prep, and more) meant for them, and what they might mean for women going forward.
Understandably, especially in the aftermath of the 2016 election and the #MeToo zeitgeist of 2018, the narrative focused mainly on Democratic candidates. If you can't fathom the appeal of left-of-center candidates (people who would be considered dead-center, or even right-of-center in most of the industrialized world), this book isn't you. If you're the kind of person who pays no attention to inequities between men and women, between white people and people of color, between the wealthy and those of lesser financial means, then this book probably won't captivate you. But if the 2018 election gave you hope that 2016 didn't guarantee a Handmaid's Tale future, if election night in 2018 felt like the first time you took a breath that didn't feel uneasy in two full years, and if you believe that women deserve power commensurate with their abilities, I think See Jane Win is worth your time.
The book starts by looking at a handful of important campaigns: Abigail Spanerger, London Lamar, Anna Eskamani, and Catalina Cruz. These aren't the only campaigns she examines, and we do get a good peek at Amy McGrath, but Stacey Abrams and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pretty much have only cameo appearances in the book.
Through the perspective of these campaigns, we see candidate training efforts (fascinating), and we examine the difficult, complex issues: fundraising, media coverage (of which, more later), candidates of color, the public perception of campaigning and motherhood (including breastfeeding), and the very real troubles of trolls, attack ads, and the damnable lies.
Obviously, the first part of the book, with the candidate introductions, was necessary to set the stage for analyses of these important issues. Moscatello got into the nitty gritty on academic research as well as first-person research, and we were treated to statistics, and some framing notes like:
One analysis shortly before the 2018 election found that when a woman in office was described with feminine adjectives, men and women were more likely to question her competence. The flip side was that when female politicians were described with masculine language, they were perceived as more qualified. Word choice made a difference, even when the adjectives used reflected positive traits.
But the beginning of the book is slow and can be draggy; there were parts that were so repetitive that I wondered whether Moscatello's editor had been fired mid-job. I started reading before a two-week trip to the UK, and didn't think twice about jettisoning it to read Michelle Obama's Becoming when my library hold came in. Once we got passed the introductions and got into the election-related issues, the individual candidates became more three-dimensional and it was easier to appreciate the compelling personal tales and the trends that bubbled under the momentum of women candidacies in 2018.
By the time the final third of the book is presented, and we get to read about the victories (and what came next), the book has pulled the reader in. You want to hear more about these leaders, and what their wins (and others' losses) and the decisions they made (about campaigning, about parenting, about their hair and makeup, about their debate prep, and more) meant for them, and what they might mean for women going forward.
Understandably, especially in the aftermath of the 2016 election and the #MeToo zeitgeist of 2018, the narrative focused mainly on Democratic candidates. If you can't fathom the appeal of left-of-center candidates (people who would be considered dead-center, or even right-of-center in most of the industrialized world), this book isn't you. If you're the kind of person who pays no attention to inequities between men and women, between white people and people of color, between the wealthy and those of lesser financial means, then this book probably won't captivate you. But if the 2018 election gave you hope that 2016 didn't guarantee a Handmaid's Tale future, if election night in 2018 felt like the first time you took a breath that didn't feel uneasy in two full years, and if you believe that women deserve power commensurate with their abilities, I think See Jane Win is worth your time.
April 21, 2020
3.5/5
Now-U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood was one of my "classmates" in a Vote Run Lead workshop in 2017, so it was fun to hear her story again and to read VRL's Erin Vilardi's contributions to the book.
Overall, it's a good overview and assessment of the swell in women candidates in the past few years.
Now-U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood was one of my "classmates" in a Vote Run Lead workshop in 2017, so it was fun to hear her story again and to read VRL's Erin Vilardi's contributions to the book.
Overall, it's a good overview and assessment of the swell in women candidates in the past few years.
September 26, 2019
As someone who followed a lot of these races as they were happening, there's not a lot of new info here for me, but it was still an interesting read.
October 21, 2019
This book is a great overview of the challenges women have faced, and recent unprecedented success of women who ran for office in 2018. I feel like I learned a lot but in the same way I learned a lot at every training I’ve done for young women who want to run for office - you hear the same points about overcoming a fear of fundraising, the same stats about women in Congress or state legislatures, the same advice about being authentic (in a way that’s not threatening to voters). This book is certainly inspirational but to a point of repetition, and I wish that it had been able to follow the 4 candidates it profiles more closely, without going so frequently into the same big-picture stats and issues. By the end, I don’t think I learned anything new about running for office, nor did I learn anything new about why women should run for office - but I have (as always) much appreciation & admiration for the women who do step up to the plate. I don’t have an issue with the premise or the idea that more women should run for office (obviously!), just with the repetitiveness of the book & the points it makes - I feel like I just read 10 of the same Politico/New York Times/Washington Post features in a row.
February 6, 2021
I received an advanced review copy but this did not in any way affect my review.
A quick and interesting read; See Jane Win gives some insights into a few of the women who decided to run for office in the 2018 Blue Wave. Interestingly, many of the figures mentioned in the book pop up again (now VPOTUS Kamala Harris, for one; Jon Ossof, one of two newly elected GA senators; Stacy Abrams who made Ossof's victory possible; and The Squad members AOC and Ayanna Pressley) as big winners in 2020.
Moscatello chooses interestingly diverse candidates: a former CIA operative and mom of 3, a Dreamer turned attorney, and two activists. The book is organized and gives insight into initiatives that have been fostering female leaders, as well as shedding light on a very difficult process that no one likes to talk about: fundraising.
This would be a great book for a book club or anyone seeking to learn a little bit about the process of running for election and its various challenges for women.
A quick and interesting read; See Jane Win gives some insights into a few of the women who decided to run for office in the 2018 Blue Wave. Interestingly, many of the figures mentioned in the book pop up again (now VPOTUS Kamala Harris, for one; Jon Ossof, one of two newly elected GA senators; Stacy Abrams who made Ossof's victory possible; and The Squad members AOC and Ayanna Pressley) as big winners in 2020.
Moscatello chooses interestingly diverse candidates: a former CIA operative and mom of 3, a Dreamer turned attorney, and two activists. The book is organized and gives insight into initiatives that have been fostering female leaders, as well as shedding light on a very difficult process that no one likes to talk about: fundraising.
This would be a great book for a book club or anyone seeking to learn a little bit about the process of running for election and its various challenges for women.
April 22, 2020
3.5 more realistically.
I got this as a birthday gift last month and it is a very fitting gift for me. I have always been interested in politics and as I've grown older I especially like reading about women in politics and their journeys. Journalist Caitlin Moscatello did a really wonderful job of following these women during their campaigns and elections, she gave them depth and didn't shy away from things that could be a little sticky. I also really liked the way she talked about organizations that help women run for offices and prepare them for what a grueling race it can be. It was very inspiring to see these women and their passion and care about the united states and what they could do for it.
I got this as a birthday gift last month and it is a very fitting gift for me. I have always been interested in politics and as I've grown older I especially like reading about women in politics and their journeys. Journalist Caitlin Moscatello did a really wonderful job of following these women during their campaigns and elections, she gave them depth and didn't shy away from things that could be a little sticky. I also really liked the way she talked about organizations that help women run for offices and prepare them for what a grueling race it can be. It was very inspiring to see these women and their passion and care about the united states and what they could do for it.
August 3, 2020
Women also might simply be better at governing. Female lawmakers have shown themselves to be more collaborative, as well as more effective at getting laws passed. Despite making up a small fraction of Congress, women in office have had more bills enacted on average than their male counterparts, and also bring more federal funds back to their districts. And they're not in it for the show...As men ran for office to be something, women ran to do something.
4.5 stars
I'm pretty sure I was the exact target demographic for this book--a young, Democratic, politically minded woman interested in supporting efforts to get more women in office. While not all of those are necessary characteristics to enjoy this book, you'd need to be a left-leaning individual who supports women in office, as that is the crux of this book. In it, Moscatello shares the stories of four women running for races from state house to Congress in 2018 and the challenges each faced along her way. It's inspiring, it's motivating, it's a perfect reminder that the personal is political and that women belong in all the places that laws are being made. Now, your mileage may vary if you're not in that target group for this book.
And here is my favorite example of how the personal is political:
On the other hand, Spanberger's six-year-old daughter, Charlotte, was excited about her mom being a candidate--she even pinned a campaign button to her backpack, happy to break a "no politics" rule that had been implemented by her school during the 2016 election. "She said, 'It's not politics, it's my last name,'" Spanberger said.
4.5 stars
I'm pretty sure I was the exact target demographic for this book--a young, Democratic, politically minded woman interested in supporting efforts to get more women in office. While not all of those are necessary characteristics to enjoy this book, you'd need to be a left-leaning individual who supports women in office, as that is the crux of this book. In it, Moscatello shares the stories of four women running for races from state house to Congress in 2018 and the challenges each faced along her way. It's inspiring, it's motivating, it's a perfect reminder that the personal is political and that women belong in all the places that laws are being made. Now, your mileage may vary if you're not in that target group for this book.
And here is my favorite example of how the personal is political:
On the other hand, Spanberger's six-year-old daughter, Charlotte, was excited about her mom being a candidate--she even pinned a campaign button to her backpack, happy to break a "no politics" rule that had been implemented by her school during the 2016 election. "She said, 'It's not politics, it's my last name,'" Spanberger said.
September 28, 2019
It's a good book that looks at the surge of women running for office since 2016. Moscatello focuses on a few cases, a DREAMer running in New York, an Iranian-American in Florida, a black woman in Tennessee, and an ex-CIA worker in Virginia. But it's less the story of those individuals and more using them to explore how the influx of women have affected politics. The most interesting parts focus on grounds like Emerge America which serve as recruitment centers & boot camps for female candidates.
It's good, but it can be a bit repetitive at times. I mean that literally as a few times Moscatello repeats the same information a few pages after saying it the first time.
It's good, but it can be a bit repetitive at times. I mean that literally as a few times Moscatello repeats the same information a few pages after saying it the first time.
August 1, 2021
The four women spotlighted in this book - Anna Eskamani, London Lamar, Catalina Cruz, and Abigail Spanberger (among the others given a few pages or paragraphs) are amazing and inspiring and truly reflect the communities they represent and the new American electorate. I adored learning more about their journeys to elected office.
For a politico like myself, this book was my version of a beach read. I wouldn’t expect it to be relevant and engaging to everyone. I would recommend (skipping the book and) googling Anna Eskamani, London Lamar, Catalina Cruz, and Lauren Underwood & reading an article or two about them. Because they are absolutely worth spending the time to get to know.
For a politico like myself, this book was my version of a beach read. I wouldn’t expect it to be relevant and engaging to everyone. I would recommend (skipping the book and) googling Anna Eskamani, London Lamar, Catalina Cruz, and Lauren Underwood & reading an article or two about them. Because they are absolutely worth spending the time to get to know.
May 1, 2019
An in-depth, up-close and personal, thoroughly real look at the new wave of women running for office in record numbers after Trump’s election. It’s a phenomenon that has been documented in magazines and online articles, but this portrait goes so much further, particularly into the lives of four incredibly special and inspiring candidates across the country. I got goosebumps multiple times reading their stories!, which are told with tremendous heart and a ton of skilled reporting. See Jane Win shows that women CAN win - and best of all, they can do it as their authentic selves.
October 21, 2019
I cried reading the intro to this book. It’s clear the author has a point of view and she’s up front about that. I loved getting to see inside the campaigns, and the author had what seems like really unique access to the women she covered. The book is more emotional than I expected (in a good way) and I was really rooting for the women even though I knew they won in the end. There’s so much packed in here, I can see where some people might like some chapters and not others. But overall it’s a powerful and comprehensive view of running for office and what women accomplished.
October 22, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. I literally laughed and cried. The author did a great job of weaving the inspiring stories of these four women into a thrilling narrative that also taught me a lot about what it means to run for office as a woman in this country and the different challenges women face vs men. It also really captures and breaks down the women's movement that started in 2016, and shows how it all culminated in the historic 2018 election cycle. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in politics, women's issues, or what this all means for the women running in 2020.
May 22, 2021
I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since it came out, and it made me wanna light things on fire, but in a good way I think? Really enjoyed this a lot, and liked the structure of this. I’m a huge fan of this type of reporting and I flew through this book. I remember reading about most of these races when they happened, and I was *still* anxious about the results of Abigail Spanberger’s race!!!
I also liked how the book highlighted some local/state races as well — I learned a lot, and it was so great!
I also liked how the book highlighted some local/state races as well — I learned a lot, and it was so great!
September 7, 2019
I received a free copy of this book in a giveaway in return for a fair and honest review. This book is an inspiring look at some of the women who ran for political office in 2018. The author focuses on three women, all first time candidates and follows them from their decision to run, primaries and finally the general election. The author focuses in on the fact that these women are just like you and me. “They are, to put it simply, the women bold enough to ask, if not me, then who?”
August 12, 2020
Follows the stories of several women running for office following the 2016 election of Donald Trump. This book is unapologetically liberal and feminist, but is a great read for all readers across the political spectrum. We cannot understand other people’s struggles and concerns if we do not hear their stories. This books offers insight into an often overlooked and under-represented group of American Female politicians. It also excites and calls women to run for office in races large and small.
January 31, 2021
Reading Women Challenge 2021 #17 About a Woman in Politics
This was a mostly upbeat book about the wave of women who ran for office in 2018. While the myriad of political frustrations were discussed, hearing how many of these women pushed the bar on the expectations of women in politics was refreshing and encouraging. I hope over time that our elected officials continue to move in the direction of looking like the people they represent.
This was a mostly upbeat book about the wave of women who ran for office in 2018. While the myriad of political frustrations were discussed, hearing how many of these women pushed the bar on the expectations of women in politics was refreshing and encouraging. I hope over time that our elected officials continue to move in the direction of looking like the people they represent.
March 10, 2021
I loved this inside look at what it took to move 4 specific women to run for office, told in the context of the 2018 reaction of many, many women to Donald Trump's election. Granular information about the obstacles that keep many women from even considering political involvement, and a closer look at 4 quite dissimilar women who got into the fray and succeeded.
June 14, 2022
It was an interesting book about women entering politics. The only thing bad about it was the fact that it seemed to favor democrats. Everyone knows that democrats are ruining the country right now and they want to eliminate anyone who doesn't agree with their agenda. They seem to favor making american worse again (MAWA).
February 17, 2020
If you aren't already excited for the 2020 elections, read (or listen) to this book. The women that Caitlin Moscatello writes about truly are inspiring. So many of them worked hard (often balancing full-time work and/or school) to run for office and to change their communities for the better.
August 26, 2020
Inside look at campaigns of women running for office.
Really wonderful inside look at campaigns of women running for office and how they did it! A must read for women considering a run for political office. Inspiring stories and good suggestions of how to actually get started.
Really wonderful inside look at campaigns of women running for office and how they did it! A must read for women considering a run for political office. Inspiring stories and good suggestions of how to actually get started.
December 11, 2022
Informative look at how challenging it is to run for office. Sadly, they couldn’t imagine the future and the damage that judicial appointments and events in 2020 would damage our democracy. It is more important than ever to have strong candidates.
February 25, 2024
It started out strong as a 5... Then it fizzled out. The stories got repetitive and slow... Also its hard reading about politics that was published in 2019 after living through the Trump years and the assault on womens rights that the courts are doing.
August 10, 2019
It was a good read.
September 17, 2019
3.5/5 stars
November 30, 2019
Such a powerful and necessary story to be told
December 10, 2019
Good reporting by Caitlin, though I still felt like substance was lacking in parts—especially when it came toward the policies women were and are pushing for.
January 22, 2020
The title says it all: "The inspiring story of the women changing American Politics. Very, very interesting.
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