Margaret Sanger: Her Life in Her Words [Hardcover]

Miriam Reed (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2003

This book includes Sanger's writings on marriage and children, the labor movement, socialism, prison reform, pacifism, eugenics and sex education.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sanger, the controversial fighter for legalized birth control and a key player in the development of Planned Parenthood, has been the subject of numerous biographies and, in 1938, penned an autobiography. Now actress Reed, who writes one-woman performances, has assembled a broad selection of Sanger's letters, articles and speeches to present a historical and personal look at the influential 20th century woman. Reed divides the book into three sections: "The Rebel," in which she introduces Sanger and presents information on early sex education and the first birth control clinic; "The Reformer," which includes Sanger's writings from the 1920s and '30s on birth control in China and Japan and her thoughts on meeting Gandhi in 1935; and "The Conservative Radical," a compact portion covering the advent of the birth control pill and Sanger's 1960 letter to the New York Times on overpopulation. The book deftly showcases Sanger's grit and determination and will be a welcome addition to feminist literature. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Sanger became committed to sex education and birth control (a term she coined) after watching her mother die at age 50 after enduring 18 pregnancies and witnessing the suffering of poor women and children as a nurse on New York's Lower East Side. A radical first, then a reformer and mother of three, Sanger devoted herself to helping women take charge of their bodies and their lives in the hope that every child would then be wanted and cared for. She fought courageously against the Comstock laws, which made it illegal to talk openly about contraception, then launched an international family planning campaign. Sanger is, in short, a great but overlooked hero. Reed, a creator of one-woman performances, including one based on Sanger's life, seeks to revitalize our appreciation for Sanger in this invaluable collection of her seminal, intelligent, and compassionate writings, which are accompanied by Reed's vibrant and illuminating commentary and a charming introduction by Sanger's granddaughter, Margaret Sanger Lampe, who remembers her red-haired, "small and soft-spoken" grandmother as an animated and giving woman who loved champagne, parties, and life itself. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Barricade Books (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569802556
• ISBN-13: 978-1569802557
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,671,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sanger's Life NOT in Her Own Words, March 24, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Margaret Sanger: Her Life in Her Words (Paperback)

This poorly written book offers more of the words of the author, Miriam Reed, than Sanger's. There is no doubt that Margaret Sanger was and is one of the most unforgettable and fascinating figures in American history, but this book (I don't know how to define it) does not do her justice. Snippets of Sanger's words arescattered throughout undermining the author's intent, the documents are badly introduced and oddly over-interpreted. If the author wanted to write a biography she should have. If readers want to read Sanger's own words, check out her Autobiography. This one just doesn't do it. I, for one, am extremely disappointed.

9 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vivid account of the incredible courage of Margaret Sanger, September 11, 2003

By 

Launa Huffines (Ashland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Margaret Sanger: Her Life in Her Words (Hardcover)

Miriam Reed's biography of Margaret Sanger is a book that is hard to lay aside until the last page and hard to forget. Reed details the most dramatic episodes of Margaret Sanger which are enriched by private papers from Sanger's family. How I would love to see author/actress Reed on stage in a monologue as Margaret Sanger!

This is an honest and inspiring biography of a woman who literally changed the attitude of the world toward planning a family, inspired research, and established centers. Perhaps this book could help clear up the emotional reactions of current religious and political forces against planned births.

Reed presents Margaret Sanger's life in "her own words" using letters and other papers revealing the passion with which Sanger attempted to give birth control information to desperate American wives and mothers. Such mothers as those who had up to 15 children, half of whom were still living, begged Mrs. Sanger for help. M. Sanger was sent to prison over and over for demanding the right to discuss birth control at a time when the Dutch had had birth control clinics for 30 years and the French enjoyed the most modern birth control methods.

I highly recommend this biography for anyone who is even vaguely aware of the pathetic situation of thousands upon thousands of home abortions so common before Sanger's work, many of which resulted in death. This practice is still widespread in countries without the funds for planned parenthood clinics.

7 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All the truth, painful or not, April 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Margaret Sanger: Her Life in Her Words (Paperback)

First, I'm a Margaret Sanger fan. Her work did as much to ultimately liberate women as did the right to vote and the attempted passage of the ERA. I love this book because Dr. Reed has read every single piece of primary research available on Sanger, and then overlaid it with her own (Reed's) summations and conclusions. It is deeply researched, has the blessings of the Sanger family, and provides a non-biased look at a woman, though changing the world, who still had personal flaws and failings. It's arranged chronologically and also contains short biographies of each soul mentioned in the book, an in-depth section of footnotes, a thorough bibliography, and a complete index. This was not Dr. Reed's disseratation -- but it certainly could have been.