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Reviews
Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color by Jessica Spring, Chandler O'Leary, Jill Lepore
bibliobrandie's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it! Loved the art work, the brief bios, the process... I hope to own one of their broadsides someday!
labunnywtf's review against another edition
3.0
Received via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
I love reading book about historical feminists. ESPECIALLY ones I've never heard of. It's easy to know a little about a lot, but with feminism, you tend to know a lot about a very few. I'm always seeking out books with stories about women in history who made a major difference, but who never really get talked about.
And that's what this book should have been. With maybe four or five exceptions, I really knew very few women featured in here. And I was absolutely 100% ready to soak up all this knowledge about them.
What I got instead was a lot of information on how to make Broadsides. While these broadsides were absolutely beautiful, and full of Deep Meaning, that's...that's not what I wanted. So, maybe the error was on my part in thinking this was a book about the feminists as opposed to a book about the authors and their artistic process.
There is definitely an audience for this book, but it's certainly not me. I felt really let down by the blips we got on women who were bad asses of history.
Points for including Elizabeth Zimmerman, though. Knitting power.
I love reading book about historical feminists. ESPECIALLY ones I've never heard of. It's easy to know a little about a lot, but with feminism, you tend to know a lot about a very few. I'm always seeking out books with stories about women in history who made a major difference, but who never really get talked about.
And that's what this book should have been. With maybe four or five exceptions, I really knew very few women featured in here. And I was absolutely 100% ready to soak up all this knowledge about them.
What I got instead was a lot of information on how to make Broadsides. While these broadsides were absolutely beautiful, and full of Deep Meaning, that's...that's not what I wanted. So, maybe the error was on my part in thinking this was a book about the feminists as opposed to a book about the authors and their artistic process.
There is definitely an audience for this book, but it's certainly not me. I felt really let down by the blips we got on women who were bad asses of history.
Points for including Elizabeth Zimmerman, though. Knitting power.
zosia33's review against another edition
5.0
I think this book is incredible. History is definitely not a favourite subject of mine but this book was so interesting and it’s amazing to hear about women in history for once. In history books everything’s about the male leader and shit like that but women are never accredited for what they do, so many incredible women in this book who in most cases I’d never heard of because of male dominance. Bloody loved it, would 100% recommend. ☺️
pocketvolcano's review against another edition
5.0
This book is absolutely gorgeous. I had no idea about the Dead Feminist broadsides so to see them collected here along with the makers’ processes and thoughts behind them was wonderful. I will be keeping my eye out for any new broadsides they choose to make and I highly recommend this book to anyone interest in women’s history, broadsides, arts and crafts - it can appeal to different people for different reasons.
zimnotutaj's review against another edition
3.0
Beautiful and informative. It raises important issues and handles them perfectly. The artwork is amazing. My only wish is that I had received a print copy - this doesn't work so well as an ebook.
ashleympeacock's review against another edition
5.0
Such a neat anthology of awesome women with a beautiful selection of art! Would love to own one of their original broadsides.
misajane79's review against another edition
5.0
Love this collection of art and feminist stories. More thoughts here: https://redevelopinghistory.com/2016/12/24/a-letter-to-my-nieces/
taffy_sea's review against another edition
3.0
If you know what you're getting into, you'll love it.
1. The broadsides are absolutely gorgeous. The authors are wonderful artists and the book is incredibly visually appealing.
2. There's a good variety of women here, from all different subjects, eras, and even different countries (though understandably US-centric, as the authors are from the US). The women in this book are remarkable, and the work they did deserves to be remembered and honored in this way.
3. I got this book to read about the different women, not knowing anything about the broadside project that the book is about. At first I didn't like the book, because it was more focused on creating the broadsides than on the women themselves, and the bios are very slim & selective. But I kept reading because the book covers women I'd never even heard of, and I thought it'd be a good jumping off point. I'm glad I went on with the book. As I said, the broadsides are well done and a joy to look at. Once I realized how the book was framed- that first the authors came up with a cause, then a quote, then a woman, THEN researched her bio for the broadsides- I felt a lot better reading it, and less like they co-opted these women to fit their causes. The images in the book are really great, but they seldom relate to their captions. It's as if the authors had extra content to write and images they really wanted to use, and just cobbled them together.
4. What I'm saying is: Don't read it for comprehensive bios of feminists - read it for an overview of some of these interesting, active women through the perspective of the -again, really beautiful- broadsides project. Enjoy the images & broadsides, and if you're interested in any of these women, do your own reading into their lives. I'm glad I read it & I'd recommend the book for enjoyable reading, whether you just love the topic or printing, or you're looking to get started learning about some fascinating, well-known women. 3.8 out of 5 stars.
1. The broadsides are absolutely gorgeous. The authors are wonderful artists and the book is incredibly visually appealing.
2. There's a good variety of women here, from all different subjects, eras, and even different countries (though understandably US-centric, as the authors are from the US). The women in this book are remarkable, and the work they did deserves to be remembered and honored in this way.
3. I got this book to read about the different women, not knowing anything about the broadside project that the book is about. At first I didn't like the book, because it was more focused on creating the broadsides than on the women themselves, and the bios are very slim & selective. But I kept reading because the book covers women I'd never even heard of, and I thought it'd be a good jumping off point. I'm glad I went on with the book. As I said, the broadsides are well done and a joy to look at. Once I realized how the book was framed- that first the authors came up with a cause, then a quote, then a woman, THEN researched her bio for the broadsides- I felt a lot better reading it, and less like they co-opted these women to fit their causes. The images in the book are really great, but they seldom relate to their captions. It's as if the authors had extra content to write and images they really wanted to use, and just cobbled them together.
4. What I'm saying is: Don't read it for comprehensive bios of feminists - read it for an overview of some of these interesting, active women through the perspective of the -again, really beautiful- broadsides project. Enjoy the images & broadsides, and if you're interested in any of these women, do your own reading into their lives. I'm glad I read it & I'd recommend the book for enjoyable reading, whether you just love the topic or printing, or you're looking to get started learning about some fascinating, well-known women. 3.8 out of 5 stars.