Why Women Should Rule the World [Hardcover]

Dee Dee Myers (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 26, 2008

When President Bill Clinton was elected, Dee Dee Myers was told she would act as his Press Secretary, but only for the transition. There was no guarantee she would keep the position after his inauguration. Only 31 at the time, Myers was too intoxicated by victory to realize she was being shortchanged. But in January of 1993, Myers did become Press Secretary in spite of the odds. She was the youngest person ever and the only woman in the history of the country to hold the position. As she writes in this poignant new book, 'I wasn't the first woman to be the first woman, of course. I stand on the shoulders of the countless others who stuck their necks out - and sometimes got their heads knocked off - for going where no woman had gone before. Not all of them were trying to advance the interests of the sisterhood. Still, because of them, those of us who followed have had more, different, and better opportunities. I know I have.'Told through the prism of her own life, this book explores the trials woman have boldly faced throughout history to achieve opportunities in places where their presence was once denied. Filled with anecdotes from her tenure in the white house, Myers provides a fresh take on the achievements woman have made in all aspects of public life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Just like Dee Dee Myers herself this jewel of a book is sober minded, funny, and most certainly timely. . . . Myers makes a spirited case that “women power” is the most neglected political recourse in our arid times.” (Douglas Brinkley, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Deluge )

About the Author

Margaret Jane Myers, was spokeswoman for President Clinton's 1992 campaign and from January 20, 1993 to December 22, 1994 she served as President Clinton's Press Secretary in the White House. Myers holds the distinction of being the first and only woman to serve as White House Press Secretary. She later worked as a consultant and contributor to the television show The West Wing throughout its run.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper; First Edition edition (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061140406
• ISBN-13: 978-0061140402
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #848,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( C ) > Clinton, Bill

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Meh... March 12, 2009

By D. E. Schnell

Format:Hardcover

I'll be honest, around page 190 I stopped reading. Not because the book was terrible, but because it seemed to repeat the same stories over and over (just in different situations); women empowerment.

I'm all for equality between the sexes, but when I picked up this book I thought the reader would get a woman's perspective on curing some of the ills of the world. Instead, Mrs. Myers' audience gets that standard female pep talk you hear all over the place these days - "Woman can do anything a man can do; often differently and sometimes better."

It's not the worst read I've ever expierenced, but I know I won't be going out of my way to read any future contributions she makes to literature so take that for what it's worth.

41 of 60 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars The other 50% of the population will find it crass April 6, 2008

By Windust

Format:Hardcover

"Why women should rule the world" is a book where men get made fun at, poked, insulted, challenged and disrespected. In the beginning I had high hopes with this book, having heard NPR reviews and even on the Colbert Report, where Dee Dee pushed forward the argument of shared responsibility (both men and women ruling the world), but after reading the first 15 pages disillusionment set in.

While exhalting women's different virtues, which includes the ability to read people's emotions and levels of comfort, she seems to have forgo that same rule herself when applying to the "other" gender that might read her book and instead launched forward a series of deep-end attacks on the male constituency, doing very little to remedy what Dee Dee is trying to fix. At others I don't think Dee Dee delves enough into her arguments to convince certain readers, her conclusions, while not quite invalid are so far-removed from the premises that it needs more explanation than one sentence.

At other parts, her reading feels confused. On one end (pg 69) Dee Dee creates the premise that there isn't that much difference in intelligence between men and women, but by the end of the chapter she's quoting Brizendine which says that women have "outstanding verbal agility, the ability to connect depply in friendship, and nearly psychic capacity to read faces and tone of voice for emotions and states of mind, the ability to defuse conflict..."

At other her book shows a nice cautionary tale of what is to be the First Women Press Secretary. The book feels is carrying a developing story on her memoirs as press secretary that need to be nurtured out....

In all, after reading Dee Dee's book as a "man" , is a wonder that I can walk straight, read, be socially adept, and actually attract someone from the opposite sex. My main issue is that even though her intentions are good, and she is definitively right in that there is a lot of injustice being done to women, her tone and prose leaves the "male" readership alienated. My guess is that Dee Dee's tone encourages women to stand together, but that same tone deepens the divisions she's trying to overcome. Read more ›

71 of 105 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You go girl! February 26, 2008

By Julie Neal TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The last century been "the bloodiest in human history; a tale of war, terrorism, religious extremism, abject poverty and disease." Of course this isn't all men's fault, but the world is certainly run by them. What would happen if women were in charge? That's the intriguing premise behind this book. I found it hard to put down, and the message is inspiring.

The book is divided into three sections: Why Women Don't Rule the World, Why Women Should Rule the World and How Women Can Rule the World.

Myers uncaps her pen by discussing her experience as press secretary to President Clinton. She was the first woman chosen for the job, and the president and senior staff made the job less important than it had been. Myers didn't get a raise that was owed to her; the money went to a man because "he has a family." Over and over Myers tells stories about women that have more responsibility than authority, and that are judged by appearance first and accomplishments later. Frustration spills from the pages.

Why should women rule the world? In a word, empathy. Myers points out that women have experience in having children, which is a primary way to think of someone else before yourself. This skill alone, she argues, would be invaluable in world leaders. Another skill women bring to the table is practicality. Myers received a hand towel from a friend that read: "If the three wise men had been women, they would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, brought practical gifts, and there would be Peace on Earth."

The last part of the book discusses how women can -- perish the thought! -- actually take control.... Myers argues that women can break down the barriers they have faced throughout history by helping each other out, and by teaching their children to recognize differences while embracing equalities.

As Myers makes clear, this book isn't an attack on men, or an attempt to demean or marginalize them. It's a look at how the world would be different if girls were as valued as boys.

It is a compelling read. Read more ›

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars rough beginning but gets better June 8, 2008

By goneswimn

Format:Hardcover

I enjoyed this book. The beginning starts out a bit angry but she quickly moves into a compelling, interesting, and balanced book about the role of women in helping to change the world. Myers does not disparage men in this book, but rather offers a balanced look at the contributions women have made.

Myers offers a number of eye opening examples of womens positive influence in business, politics, education etc. She speaks to the importance of educating women around the globe. One paragraph reads, "When Larry Summers was chief economist at World Bank, he argued that educating girls probably produced better returns than any other investment in the developed world....If fact, when women's incomes go up, child survival rates improve by an astonishing twenty times more than if a mans income increases by a similar amount....And children's weight measures improve eightfold."

Myers addresses the role of women in the corporate arena. She writes "Women make the vast majority of consumer decisions in this country - by many accounts, more than 80 percent. But we still don't have enough influence at the top of corporations that make and sell those goods and services. True, women now fill about half of all managerial positions, but among Fortune 500 companies, women account for only 16% of corporate officers, 5% of top earners - and an anemic 2% of CEOs".

Myers uses Revlon as an example to illustrate her point. The company is known for making womens products and yet "all of the company's senior managers and all but 3 members of its board were men".