Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America

By Ellen Chesler

Book Overview

This illuminating biography of Margaret Sanger--the woman who fought for birth control in America--describes her childhood, her private life, her relationships with Emma Goldman and John Reed, her public role, and more.

Margaret Sanger went to jail in 1917 for distributing contraceptives to immigrant women in a makeshift clinic in Brooklyn. She died a half-century later, just after the Supreme Court guaranteed constitutional protection for the use of contraceptives. Now, Ellen Chesler provides an authoritative and widely acclaimed biography of this great emancipator, whose lifelong struggle helped women gain control over their own bodies.

An idealist who mastered practical politics, Sanger seized on contraception as the key to redistributing power to women in the bedroom, the home, and the community. For fifty years, she battled formidable opponents ranging from the US Government to the Catholic Church. Her crusade was both passionate and paradoxical. She was an advocate of female solidarity who often preferred the company of men; an adoring mother who abandoned her children; a socialist who became a registered Republican; a sexual adventurer who remained an incurable romantic. Her comrades-in-arms included Emma Goldman and John Reed; her lovers, Havelock Ellis and H.G. Wells.

Drawing on new information from archives and interviews, Chesler illuminates Sanger's turbulent personal story as well as the history of the birth control movement. An intimate biography of a visionary rebel, Woman of Valor is also an epic story that extends from the radical movements of pre-World War I to the family planning initiatives of the Great Society. At a time when women's reproductive and sexual autonomy is once again under attack, this landmark biography is indispensable reading for the generations in debt to Sanger for the freedoms they take for granted.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416540768
• ISBN13: 9781416540762
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 672 Pages
• Weight: 1.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Thorough Exploration of Sanger's Life

It's a long biography, thoroughly researched. For that I'm grateful. I know I can rely on the information here. But, it does get to be a bit tedious of a read. Fortunately, the drive, dedication and determination of Ms. Sanger comes through all the minutia. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but seldom indifferent, we pretty much find out who this woman was. Certainly she was a product of her times, as are we all, but also a champion of a most basic human right, to be free to control our own reproductive lives. I'm so glad to know Margaret Sanger and to have developed a deeper understanding of how precious reproductive freedom is.

A great biography of an amazing woman

This was a great biography of an amazing woman whose life saw and shaped the evolution of the birth control movement. The book was well researched, and the addition of so many pictures brought the book to life. The book is fairly long so it took me awhile to read but it was worth it. The whole life of Margaret Sanger was covered. Both her personal and public life was explained and shown. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the birth control movement or Margaret Sanger. The book offers a great deal of information about both.

Fascinating, in-depth look at a remarkable woman

I've just finished reading this book for a women's history class. I found it hard to put down. It's a shame that it is out of print, as Margaret Sanger's life story, and her struggle for the reproductive rights of women and female autonomy, make for enlightening reading. Ellen Chesler put in an enormous amount of work, documenting every detail, and weaving the whole into a very readable book. I would definitely recommend this to any reader, not only those interested in the empowerment of women, but also those NOT interested in it, since it might change their minds! Definitely an important work, and an important woman, for gaining an understanding of how the 20th century has been shaped.