The mother of all questions: further reports from the feminist revolutions

A collection of feminist essays steeped in “Solnit’s unapologetically observant and truth-speaking voice on toxic, violent masculinity” (The Los Angeles Review).“There’s a new feminist revolution—open to people of all genders—brewing right now and Rebecca Solnit is one of its most powerful, not to mention beguiling, voices.” - Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Natural CausesIn a timely and incisive follow-up to her national bestseller Men Explain Things To Me, offers sharp commentary on women who refuse to be silenced, misogynistic violence, the fragile masculinity of the literary canon, the gender binary, the recent history of rape jokes, and much more. In characteristic style, “Solnit draw[s] anecdotes of female indignity or male aggression from history, social media, literature, popular culture, and the news... The main essay in the book is about the various ways that women are silenced, and Solnit focuses upon the power of storytelling - the way that who gets to speak, and about what, shapes how a society understands itself and what it expects from its members. The Mother of All Questions poses the thesis that telling women’s stories to the world will change the way that the world treats women, and it sets out to tell as many of those stories as possible” (The New Yorker). Praise for Men Explain Things to Me: "It's a fraught time to be female in America (or should I say fraught-er), and Rebecca Solnit's Men Explain Things to Me is the most clarifying, soothing, and socially aware document I've read on the topic this year."--Lena Dunham, Wall Street Journal "The Antidote to Mansplaining."--The Stranger "Feminist, frequently funny, unflinchingly honest, and often scathing in its conclusions."--Salon In a timely and incisive follow-up to her national bestseller Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit offers sharp commentary on women who refuse to be silenced, misogynistic violence, the fragile masculinity of the literary canon, the gender binary, the recent history of rape jokes, and much more. In characteristic style, Solnit mixes humor, keen analysis, and sharp insight in these eleven essays. Writer, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit is the author of eighteen or so books on feminism, western and indigenous history, popular power, social change and insurrection, wandering and walking, hope and disaster, including the books Men Explain Things to Me and Hope in the Dark, both also with Haymarket; a trilogy of atlases of American cities; The Faraway Nearby; A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster; A Field Guide to Getting Lost; Wanderlust: A History of Walking; and River of Shadows, Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West (for which she received a Guggenheim, the National Book Critics Circle Award in criticism, and the Lannan Literary Award). A product of the California public education system from kindergarten to graduate school, she is a columnist at Harper's and a regular contributor to the Guardian A collection of feminist essays steeped in "Solnit's unapologetically observant and truth-speaking voice on toxic, violent masculinity" ( The Los Angeles Review ). In a timely and incisive follow-up to her national bestseller Men Explain Things to Me , Rebecca Solnit offers sharp commentary on women who refuse to be silenced, misogynistic violence, the fragile masculinity of the literary canon, the gender binary, the recent history of rape jokes, and much more. In characteristic style, "Solnit draw[s] anecdotes of female indignity or male aggression from history, social media, literature, popular culture, and the news . . . The main essay in the book is about the various ways that women are silenced, and Solnit focuses upon the power of storytelling—the way that who gets to speak, and about what, shapes how a society understands itself and what it expects from its members. The Mother of All Questions poses the thesis that telling women's stories to the world will change the way that the world treats women, and it sets out to tell as many of those stories as possible" ( The New Yorker). "There's a new feminist revolution—open to people of all genders—brewing right now and Rebecca Solnit is one of its most powerful, not to mention beguiling, voices."—Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times –bestselling author of Natural Causes "Short, incisive essays that pack a powerful punch." — Publishers Weekly "A keen and timely commentary on gender and feminism. Solnit's voice is calm, clear, and unapologetic; each essay balances a warm wit with confident, thoughtful analysis, resulting in a collection that is as enjoyable and accessible as it is incisive." — Booklist In This Collection Of Essays, Solnit Offers A Timely Commentary On Gender And Feminism. Her Subjects Include Women Who Refuse To Be Silenced, Misogynistic Violence, The Fragile Masculinity Of The Literary Canon, The Recent History Of Rape Jokes, And Much More. Introduction -- The Mother Of All Questions -- Silence Is Broken. A Short History Of Silence ; An Insurrectionary Year ; Feminism: The Men Arrive ; One Year After Seven Deaths ; The Short Happy Recent History Of The Rape Joke -- Breaking The Story. Escape From The Five-million-year-old Suburb ; The Pigeonholes When The Doves Have Flown ; 80 Books No Woman Should Read ; Men Explain Lolita To Me ; The Case Of The Missing Perpetrator ; Giantess. Rebecca Solnit ; Images By Paz De La Calzada. "Following on from the success of Men Explain Things to Me comes a new collection of essays in which Rebecca Solnit opens up a feminism for all of us: one that doesn't stigmatize women's lives, whether they include spouses and children or not; that brings empathy to the silences in men's lives as well as the silencing of women's lives; celebrates the ways feminism has shifted in recent years to reclaim rape jokes, revise canons, and rethink our everyday lives."--Publisher's description Introduction The Mother of All Questions 1. SILENCE IS BROKEN A Short History of Silence An Insurrectionary Year Feminism: The Men Arrive One Year after Seven Deaths The Short Happy Recent History of the Rape Joke 2. BREAKING THE STORY Escape from the Five-Million-Year-Old Suburb The Pigeonholes When the Doves Have Flown 80 Books No Woman Should Read Men Explain Lolita to Me The Case of the Missing Perpetrator Giantess "In a timely follow-up to her national bestseller, Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit offers indispensable commentary on women who refuse to be silenced, misogynistic violence, the fragile masculinity of the literary canon, the gender binary, the recent history of rape jokes, and much more. In characteristic style, Solnit mixes humor, keen analysis, and powerful insight in these essays."--Page 4 of cover A new collection of 'further feminisms' - searing, smart and provocative essays from one of the most important public intellectuals writing today.