Battered Woman (Paperback)

by Lenore E. Walker (Author) "The battering of women, like other crimes of violence against women, has been shrouded in myths..." (more)
Key Phrases: social battering, acute battering incident, minor battering incidents, New York City, United States, Del Martin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
A classic, early work that defined "the cycle of violence" and "learned helplessness" theories that are now debated by some in the field. Walker is best known for her "battered woman syndrome" defense of women who kill their abusers.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A major contribution to this subject. She is thorough, practical, compassionate, and authoritative. It is a reading must." -- Phyllis CheslerA

"A sensible, cpmpassionate, feminist book." -- --New York Times

"A sensible, cpmpassionate, feminist book." -- New York Times

"Adroitly describes and documents the behavior syndrome that glues together a charming but violence-prone man and a loving woman in a guilt-ridden cycle." -- Los Angeles Times

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (April 30, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060907428
• ISBN-13: 978-0060907426
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #322,162 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Would serve as ideal "awareness" literature., November 24, 1997

By	[e-mail] (New York) - See all my reviews

The book, "Battered Women" by Lenore Walker offered a unique insight into the horrifying conditions that battered women had to endure in abusive relationships. Plenty of statistics, facts and figures were provided, but references and citations were almost non-existent. Worse still, there was no bibliography and this reader was left to "figure out" where the statistics came from.

Readers should not draw generalizations from the book either, since all information in the book regarding battered women were taken from a selected group and was therefore not representative of a random sample from which unbiased, objective generalizations could be made.

The book would make ideal "awareness" literature, but given its shortcomings, the book should not be used as "scholarly" reference.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reading it is a cathartic experience, April 28, 1999

By A Customer

I agree with both previous reviewers in that the book does lack extensive references. The point, though, is that this was a seminal work when it was published in 1979. The cycle theory of violence had not been clearly articulated prior to this book. Walker also worked on developing the idea of learned helplessnes in victims of domestic violence. Both theories are important and although psychologists and DV advocates have since expanded on both and developed new ideas, Walker's ideas still have a place in the history of the development of an understanding of battered women's lives and experiences. I would recommend it as a good starting point in a reader's search for an understanding of domestic violence. Since then, more authoritative texts based on more extensive and better-documented research have been published, but The Battered Woman serves it's instructive purpose well. It provides the shock value and pain that a reader must experience in order to begin to understand the full impact of DV upon its victims.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An important beginning...., June 3, 2000

By	Craig Chalquist, PhD, author of TERRAPSYCHOLO... (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

...especially since even now the leading cause of women going to emergency rooms in the U.S. is domestic violence. Having worked as a counselor in the DV field for some years, I've seen the damage done and know it to be vastly underestimated, statistically and otherwise, even now. Walker led the charge against the kind of denial and victim-blaming that would claim the entire mess--which amounts to nothing less than terrorism in the home--is some kind of mistake, miscommunication, family problem, or lie.