It's a Jungle Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide to Politically Inhospitable Environments

by Amanda Marcotte

Book Overview

For all of you humming 'I Will Survive' while watching the political debacles gracing the evening news, when getting an earful from your Limbaugh-loving brother-in-law, or as you're ducking into the bathroom to avoid the date espousing the wisdom of those Mars versus Venus books, this book is for you. It's a Jungle Out There gives all you smart, independent women out there the funny pranks, witty comebacks, and stalwart sources of strength you need...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580052266
• ISBN13: 9781580052269
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Seal Press (CA)
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Smashing success.

It seems a bit easy to tag Marcotte as "the new Molly Ivins"; they are, after all, both smart feisty women from Texas. However, you if enjoy reading smart, funny writers, you couldn't do much better than Amanda. Marcotte takes a somewhat jaundiced eye towards the patriarchy, and the book comprises less a treatise against the institution, and more of an attempt to stay sane. You're not going to find great arguments; you will find some great pranks. Know that going in and you'll have a blast.

Smart, funny, readable

This book is very much worth it and provides a great introduction to the hierarchical systems of dominance and oppression that drive so much of our stupid culture. If you already know about the insidious and wide-ranging effects of racism and patriarchy, you'll get a good laugh out of the way Ms. Marcotte shows us these effects. If you're still naive enough to believe that America is a place where everyone has equal opportunity, this will open your eyes. It's a perfect gift for your clever high-school or college-aged niece or nephew: it will help them become aware of just how rigged the system really is.

As someone who actually read the book...

I thought it was hilarious (in a good way), and I don't see how any reasonable person could find a flaw with Amanda's premise -- that misogyny is bad, and humor has a large part to play in how we maintain our sanity. The book cleverly attacks other oppressions besides sexism (racism, homophobia, etc.) and manages to get in a plug for vegetarianism too (two pages that were highly amusing to me because I am a vegetarian). No, it's not a political treatise. If you want that, buy another book. This book is much more fun than your average political treatise.

Laughing all the way to the post-patriarchy.

I ordered Amanda's book as soon as I knew it was out, and I was not disappointed. Well, I was a little disappointed--my husband took off with it and read it cover to cover before I even got my first peek! I had to listen to him snort and cackle, and keep myself from asking what the joke was. I finally got it back from him, though, and "It's a Jungle Out There" is hilarious, irreverent and wickedly clever. If you're looking for a dose of levity to take along while you're fighting the patriarchy, look no further.

Thought provocative and laugh-out-loud funny

I was aware at some point that this book was in the works. Imagine my surprise at finding a brand new copy of it in the back of a taxi this weekend. "Keep it," the cabby told me as he dropped me off for my appointment. I started reading it right away in the crowded but quiet lobby of my "specialist." I must have looked like a fool, trying and failing desperately not to giggle and laugh out loud as I read. Thank god I was called in to my appointment before completely humiliating myself in front of the rest of the other people in the waiting room. Once at home I could laugh out loud all I wanted. Marcotte is clever and whip-smart. She's fair and her analysis is spot on. Googling her turned up a cornucopia of other material she's written, all of it in a hip feminist voice that succeeds not just because she elucidates with humor, but because she speaks with compassion and care. Highly recommended.