Bushwomen: Tales of a Cynical Species

by Laura Flanders

Book Overview

From the workplace to the war zone, the Bush administration has wrapped female-friendly rhetoric around some of the most hard-core policy since Ronald Reagan. Some well-placed women have helped to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1859845878
• ISBN13: 9781859845875
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Verso
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.6" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Interesting point of view

This is one of the best researched books I've read so far this year. It is well-written, thought-provoking and a challenge to the reader, no matter what the political views are, in what Flanders had to say about the women in this current President's administration. This is a more behind-the-scenes look into the women who hold the nation's top jobs. It is a refreshing look into politics as well. It isn't a book that spouts out fire and mudslinging against the current administration. It is a well-researched look into what the average person don't read about in the newspapers or hear in the television news channels. Flanders also points out inconsistencies among those women in what they say and what they are really backing. She also points out when the media don't point out the inconsistencies among these women and the current administration. It's very interesting to read because this is not your typical news-source. This is also perhaps one of the most readable books I've read recently. Flanders doesn't bog the reader down with too much details. She just writes matter-of-factly and leaves the opinions to the reader to derive from her research. It's very interesting and like I said, very well-written. I have never heard of Laura Flanders before but I am now intrigued enough to read her other books to see if they are concise and knowledgable as this one is.7-7-04

A high-priority read for this election year

Laura Flanders takes no prisoners in her well-written, extensively documented profile of some of the women who attempt to "soften" the hard edges of George W. Bush's pResidency.Did you groan when adviser Karen Hughes allegedly went back to Texas "to spend more time with [her] family"--one teenager son still at home? Did you wonder what else was going on? Flanders will tell you. She neatly defuzzes Ann Veneman's warm 'n fuzzy image as the daughter of a peach farmer; unpeeled, she has been a strong advocate for agribusiness over smaller farmers, and has had a hand in steamrolling labor and environmental reforms hard-fought since long before Cesar Chavez made us reconsider putting grapes in our shopping carts.My only quibble is that I would have loved for "Bushwomen" to be twice as long and included more of the Grand Old Party-gals, but no matter. This is a fast and infuriating read. It shouldn't be the only book on your nightstand in this election year (if you only have time for one, pick up "The Book on Bush," by Eric Alterman and Mark Green). However, if "Bushwomen" is all you can fit in, you'll learn to your chagrin that in the Bush camp, sisterhood isn't powerful, it's truckling to the big white guys. Condoleeza Rice, Karen Hughes, Ann Veneman, Gale Norton, Christine Todd Whitman, and Lynne Cheney should be ashamed of themselves. But evidently, since they are not, we can be ashamed of them, and pack their petticoats back to wherever they came from.Highly recommended.

indispensable, funny, tragic, true

Laura Flanders is a terrific journalist who can always be counted on for solid research livened with insight and wit. Here she looks into the careers of some prominent women of the Bush Administration, with devastating results. We underrate these women at our peril. As Flanders suggests, "George W. Bush might never have snagged the White House if one woman had been laughed at less: Katherine Harris." The media made fun of her makeup and ditzy-dictatorial manner, and missed the fact that in Florida Harris was well-known as a powerful, shrewd, and ambitious politician. Bushwomen is perfect reading for the upcoming election season-- a great book club selection, too.

Funny, Smart, Timely, Sharp,

How refreshing to read a political book with real voice. Flanders is great on the radio, and just as alive and amusing on the page. She's got strong views, backed up by solid research. A treat to read. After so many books on George, finally a bigger picture. BUSHWOMEN offers a good refresher course on the last twenty years of US history too, and how the Right rose to power. Highly recommended.

A Different Kind of Bush Book

This book is different from other books on Bush. For one thing, it's solidly researched, for another, it is really fun to read. Flanders isn't catty, instead she sounds genuinely curious -- who on earth are these women in high office -- and are they anything like the image that's been created by the White House pr machine? Along the way, she finds some interesting documents -- I was suprised to learn that Condoleezza Rice's father spoke out against the Vietnam War -- and she illustrates just how much our political process suffers when stories about women emphasize the personal and play down the political. I read a lot of political books, but so far this is definitely my favorite this year. I bought it for my Republican mother and even she enjoyed a lot of it! I'll certainly be recommending it to my friends this year. Flanders predicts we'll be seeing more of the Bushwomen as the election heats up, and she makes a convincing case that we shouldn't rely on the media to tell us who they are!