Lifting a Ton of Feathers: A Woman's Guide to Surviving in the Academic World

by Paula J. Caplan

Book Overview

Lifting a Ton of Feathers is not only a survival guide, it is also a destroyer of academic myths about women's career chances in the university, and a revelation of the catch-22 positions in which women find themselves. Caplan demonstrates that while many women believe that when they fail it is their fault, their fate is more likely to be sealed by their encounter with the male environment, and by the manner in which they are tossed about by it. She...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802074111
• ISBN13: 9780802074119
• Release Date: December 1993
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Realistic advice for women in academia.

What impressed me the most about this book was the way Caplan integrated real life stories and anecdotes into her book. Not to say that there isn't a lot of research to back her points up as well, on the contrary! But if a picture is worth a thousand words an anecdote is worth a thousand more. Despite the sometimes depressing state of academic life for women, Caplan indulges neither in recrimination or despair. She includes a great deal of helpful advice for women, organized for easy reference by your career stage (from student through full professor). I regularly reread my copy. I find that there's always something new and relevant to be gleaned from this book.

A must for every woman in academia

I throughly enjoyed this handbook. As a senior ready to embark into the unknown and scary land of graduate school, I'm glad I'll have this book to hold on to. Caplan doesn't just complain, she gives us ideas on how to fight back and plain keep our spirits up. I'd recommend this book even for women who have never experienced any angst over being a woman. I never have and I still love this book. It's not a downer, it's an up-lifting book that gives those who may have lost hope, hope and those of us who haven't experierenced any negative comments a fair warning. A must for every womans home/office library