The Autobiography of Margaret Sanger (Dover Value Editions) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A pioneer in the battle to establish birth control as a basic human right and a founder of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Sanger — a nurse who witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of unwanted pregancy

— triumphed over arrest, indictment, and exile. Her autobiography is a classic of women's studies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (May 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486434923
• ISBN-13: 978-0486434926
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #312,903 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exhaustively detailed autobiography, January 22, 2009

By	R. A. Rooney (Wrangell, AK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Margaret Sanger's autobiography is a long, detailed account of the woman's life told from her own perspective. In her lifetime, Sanger encountered countless women, burdened by poverty and many mouths to feed, begging to hear the "secret" method to prevent pregnancy. Sanger's campaign took her across the nation and the continents, often times running a step ahead of church and legal authorities.

I learned a great deal about the fight for birth control than I had ever thought possible. I learned that Sanger abhorred abortion while embracing contraception as a means to prevent conception. Ironically, I think this would exclude her from both of today's pro-life and pro-choice sides. An interesting autobiography of a remarkable woman and an important document on the public health struggles at the turn of the twentieth century.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As much as religious conservatives want to villify Sanger, February 7, 2006

By	mbz "mbz" (New England) - See all my reviews

...the reality is that she fought hard to make access to BASIC contraceptive information available to ALL families--wealthy, middle-class, poor, immigrant, WASP, African-American, etc.

Her battle against Anthony Comstock's puritanical Comstock Law--which made it illegal to give a pamphlet to a woman explaining basic menstruation--is legendary. Her article "Comstockery in America," written in 1915 and discussed in this book, highlighted the campaign by government officials to keep basic information out of the hands of the average person.

Special interest groups have created a campaign over the past 20 years to smear Sanger as a eugenicist, writing books that are published by biased publishing companies as part of a clear agenda. This autobiography stands on its own as one woman's story about her work to spread basic information to families who asked for it.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars know your history, October 16, 2007

By	ggt (usa) - See all my reviews

It is difficult for women of today to understand a time when knowledge of basic biology was denied them. We don't know the fear of producing children which we are not healthy enough to produce or care for.

Before you it in judgement of Margaret Sanger or any feminist, read your history. Learn how laws were written and interpreted 100 years ago and realize how much things have changed because of such women.