Share <Embed>

147 used & new from $1.50

See All Buying Options

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

The Feminine Mystique Paperback – September 17, 2001

by Betty Friedan (Author), Anna Quindlen (Introduction)

229 customer reviews

See all 57 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$9.94

—

Hardcover, Special Edition

"Please retry"

$19.66

$17.01

$6.98

Paperback

"Please retry"

$14.36

$11.97

$4.77

Paperback, September 17, 2001

—

$3.25

$0.99

Audible, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Mass Market Paperback

"Please retry"

$680.86

$54.77

$2.70

MP3 CD, Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$9.99

$7.01

$7.21

Unknown Binding

"Please retry"

$900.00

$6.00

There is a newer edition of this item:

The Feminine Mystique (50th Anniversary Edition)
$14.36
(229)
In Stock.

The book that changed the consciousness of a country―and the world.

Landmark, groundbreaking, classic―these adjectives barely describe the earthshaking and long-lasting effects of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. This is the book that defined "the problem that has no name," that launched the Second Wave of the feminist movement, and has been awakening women and men with its insights into social relations, which still remain fresh, ever since. A national bestseller, with over 1 million copies sold.

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Simone de Beauvoir

164

Paperback
$15.55
Naomi Wolf

170

Paperback
$15.29
bell hooks

40

Paperback
$24.80
Angela Y. Davis

66

Paperback
$13.56
Sigmund Freud

232

Paperback
$12.70
Chimamanda Ngozi…

1,085

in African Politics
Paperback
$6.39

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Chimamanda Ngozi…

1,085

in African Politics
Paperback
$6.39
Naomi Wolf

170

Paperback
$15.29
Simone de Beauvoir

164

Paperback
$15.55
Rebecca Solnit

355

Paperback
$10.48
Marilyn Wann

103

Paperback
$11.08
Elizabeth Whitaker
Paperback
$8.95

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[A] bridge between conservative and radical elements in feminism, an ardent advocate of harmony and human values.”
- Marilyn French, Esquire

“The book that pulled the trigger on history.”
- Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock

“One of those rare books we are endowed with only once in several decades.”
- Amitai Etzioni, author of The Spirit of Community: The Reinvention of American Society

“[The Feminine Mystique] now feels both revolutionary and utterly contemporary. . . . Four decades later, millions of individual transformations later, there is still so much to learn from this book. . . . Those who think of it as solely a feminist manifesto ought to revisit its pages to get a sense of the magnitude of the research and reporting Friedan undertook.”
- Anna Quindlen

About the Author

Betty Friedan (1921–2006), a transformational leader of the women’s movement, founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) and authored many works, including The Second Stage, The Fountain of Age, and Life So Far.

Paperback: 592 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (September 17, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393322572
ISBN-13: 978-0393322576
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
Average Customer Review: 229 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #271 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Gender Studies > General
- #284 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Women's Studies > Feminist Theory
- #680 in Books > History > World > Women in History

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Customer Reviews

Write a customer review

See all 229 customer reviews

Read reviews that mention

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Nicholas Watson

Mind Shiftingly Revelatory

September 3, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I've read many books in the area of history. And certainly, I've been conscious of the substantial difference between women's lives then when compared with now. But the depth and pervasiveness of this silent emotional suffering is something I lacked the consciousness to feel. The sensation of my eyes being opened to an emotional existence I was unaware of, is the same feeling I felt when in high school I read the Diary of Anne Frank. It's overwhelmingly sad to realize that the human condition was made to endure these feelings, as an institution. This book provoked a childhood memory which I never understood. Now, more than 20 years later, in light of the insights this book has gifted me, I finally understand that night.

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

Amazon Customer

The Book that Rescued Women

March 4, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

In the Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan put a spotlight on the hidden, yet immense problems women faced during the 1950’s. Her work propelled the stagnant women’s rights movement into its second wave and helped women reclaim some equality. Despite focusing on the seemingly small problems of middle class white women, the legacy of the book has paved the way for more universal movements towards equality. Readers interested in the history of women’s rights and the progress that has been made should pick up a copy.

Friedan does a great job explaining the context of her writing to contemporary and modern readers. She makes a compelling case that the status of women initially improved during World War II, but then reverted as men returned from the fight. Her perspective is quite unique. As a magazine writer she’s able to show the changing opinion of society vocalized through the media. By counting the number of magazine articles that portray women as empowered individuals, Friedan is able to quantify this ideological shift.

In this context Friedan pointed out that something was wrong. She recognized that women lived in a tiny sphere of influence and led unfulfilling lives. She argued that “we can no longer ignore that voice within women that says: ‘I want something more than my husband and my children and my home’”. After the book’s release in 1963 it spent 6 weeks on the New York Time’s best seller list and sold 1.4 million copies. This goes to show how much her message resonated. The book also made me think about the experience of my grandparents in a new way.

While the book is progressive in one area, readers should beware of its regrettable comments about homosexuals, mental disease, and concentration camps. Friedan argues that house-wives smother their children with love, preventing them from growing up. This leads to promiscuity and homosexuality, which “is spreading like a murky smog over the American scene”. As well, she brazenly makes the comparison that women “are in as much danger as the millions who walked to their own death in the concentration camps”. This argument only made me contrast the relatively small plight of women with the immense inhumanity of the holocaust. Finally, she implies that schizophrenia and autism in children are the result of mothers over accommodating their kids. These passages are not worth reading.

Despite the book’s flaws and age, it’s still significant today. Women’s equality has advanced greatly in the last half century, yet they still face similar challenges. Jobs with the highest proportion of female workers are still nurses, school teachers, social workers and other traditional roles according to U.S. DOL 2010 figures. The arguments of the Feminist Mystique are still valid. Buy this book if you’d like to better understand how the role of women has evolved and continues to change.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

EZimm

As important today as it was over 50 years ago

February 14, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I read it because two of our daughters are Women's Studies majors and I figured eventually they'll be reading this book as well, and it can give us something to talk about. Before reading, I first looked at this book as a "historical" perspective of the women's movement; how wrong I was. The information is vitally relevant even today. Women still do not have equality in the workplace and earn much less than their male colleagues. The Equal Rights Amendment never passed at the State level. While many doors have opened, we are still not equal and do not have legal protections for us in place. While this book opened up my 55-year-old eyes (at long last), I also gained a better understanding of my mother and my mother-in-law and why they are the ardent consumers they are. If my daughters don't have to read this book as required reading, I will make them read it!

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

Barbara Duehn

Do we still want to be housewives?

February 27, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I had read this book when it first came out and it was interesting to compare my earlier thoughts with this 50 year edition. It is amazing how much of it is relevant today. The problem which had no name became the feminine mystique. Why are so many housewives unhappy? Their goal was to marry well, have children and live in a nice house in the suburbs but having achieved that they realized that their identity was only as wife and mother. The book offers ways to change.

8 people found this helpful

Comment

January 23, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

As someone who was raised in a family and subculture that was extremely conservative and idealized the concept of the perfect 1950's housewife and family, all I can say is that this book changed my life. Whether or not you come from a similar background, this is a very interesting read that will help you understand where we've come from as a society and maybe formulate some thoughts about what we still need to fix with regards to women in this country. If you're a fan of the show Mad Men: Betty Draper is the personification of the feminine mystique.

This edition is very nice as well! I gave it as a gift to someone because I have a tattered, marked up copy from the original printing, but one of these I'm going to have to update my own copy and will be buying this edition.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

Josef Erik

Good reading, whether you're a male OR female. Still relevant today in my opinion.

September 16, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

A well informed, well read friend suggested this book to me. I've been skimming through it, but haven't read the entire thing yet. It's a hefty book, pretty thick, but from what I've read thus far, I'm looking forward to reading the rest. I don't think the subject of feminism is something that is limited to any one gender. The book is dated, yes, but the subject matter is just as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. It's a nice book, and it arrived promptly and in good condition. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject matter. It seems to me to be one of the more relevant books on this subject.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment