Men Explain Things to Me: And Other Essays - Hardcover

Solnit, Rebecca

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1783780797 ISBN 13: 9781783780792

Publisher: Granta Books, 2014

Synopsis

Rebecca Solnit's essay 'Men Explain Things to Me' has become a touchstone of the feminist movement, inspired the term 'mansplaining', and established Solnit as one of the leading feminist thinkers of our time - one who has inspired everyone from radical activists to Beyonce Knowles. Collected here in print for the first time is the essay itself, along with the best of Solnit's feminist writings. From rape culture to mansplaining, from French sex scandals to marriage and the nuclear family, from Virginia Woolf to colonialism, these essays are a fierce and incisive exploration of the issues that a patriarchal culture will not necessarily acknowledge as 'issues' at all. With grace and energy, and in the most exquisite and inviting of prose, Rebecca Solnit proves herself a vital leading figure of the feminist movement and a radical, humane thinker.

About this title

Review

'I judge my feminist books by how many under-linings they inspire; Men Explain Things To Me does not disappoint on that front. From rape threats to the shooting of schoolgirls, Solnit powerfully makes the case for sweating the seemingly small stuff. Solnit's book does what the best feminist writing does: it makes me angry. And it makes me believe we can, and we must, fight for change' --Caroline Criado-Perez, feminist activist and author of Do It Like a Woman

'Feminist, frequently funny, unflinchingly honest and often scathing in its conclusions' --Salon

'Her triumphant essay, 'Men Explain Things to Me' is credited with starting the global explosion of the term 'mansplaining', and influenced both radical feminists and Beyoncé. Anything she writes is a must-read for me' --Preview, Bookseller

'Solnit is an environmentalist, a feminist and a brilliant essayist. Some of these essays make for uncomfortable reading, but they are really important and often funny. This is a highly enjoyable and thought-provoking read' --'Booksellers' Choice' chosen by Patrick Neale, Bookseller

'Her triumphant essay, 'Men Explain Things to Me' is credited with starting the global explosion of the term 'mansplaining', and influenced both radical feminists and Beyoncé. Anything she writes is a must-read for me' --Preview, Bookseller

'Slim but trenchant collection of essays... As a collection it is an eloquent reminder that we still have some way to go when it comes to speaking of the issues she raises. She writes forcefully about the case of Domonique Strauss-Kahn. And yet this is not a gloomy book' --Erica Wagner, Financial Times

'In stark and powerful prose she lists many of the heinous crimes committed against our sex. Solnit is a compelling writer with a glorious turn of phrase who never wastes a word. When I finished the book, I was left hoping Solnit would explain some more' --Evening Standard

'This is a book review, not a call to arms, and what has always impressed me in Solnit's writing is the simple cadence and timbre of a sentence, a paragraph, the way a whole essay lilts and skips. She is not one of the most important female essayists of her generation. She is one of the most important essayists of her generation. This pamphlet-esque book has all the qualities of a great pamphlet - it is incendiary, it is indignant, and it is true' --Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday

'Exceptional... The feminist debate has once again exploded into the mainstream over the last few years, and this collection marks Solnit out as among the most thoughtful of many energetic writers leading it' --Prospect

'The essays fiercely confront crime against women. Solnit has a voice of fearless and provocative asperity; she launches a quiverful of aphoristic arrows' --Independent

'Exceptional... The feminist debate has once again exploded into the mainstream over the last few years, and this collection marks Solnit out as among the most thoughtful of many energetic writers leading it' --Prospect

'The most clarifying, soothing and socially aware document I've read on the topic this year. Not to mention funny' --'Book of the year' chosen by Lena Dunham, Wall Street Journal

'Exceptional... The feminist debate has once again exploded into the mainstream over the last few years, and this collection marks Solnit out as among the most thoughtful of many energetic writers leading it' --Prospect

'Invigorating and well-argued... Her work feels both timeless and timely and is essential reading. Solnit is very convincing and takes equality as a starting point. She argues persuasively, is often funny and is articulate to a fault. Solnit's writing is its own victory and revolt. An incendiary, inquiring and important work' --Irish Times

'Wide-ranging, incisive and outspoken.' -- selected by Audrey Niffenegger in the Independent --Independent

About the Author

REBECCA SOLNIT is author of, among other books, Wanderlust, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, the NBCC award-winning River of Shadows and A Paradise Built in Hell. A contributing editor to Harper's, she writes regularly for the London Review of Books and the Los Angeles Times. She lives in San Francisco.

About this edition

• Publisher: Granta Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1783780797
• ISBN 13: 9781783780792
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144