This is a very important book; scholarly, informative and full of useful references, it offers a piercing critique of old mythologies about new media. It is essential reading for students and teachers of mass communications and all those who wish to understand the real impact of new media on our society.

This book's title suggests that it is a history of feminism. This is not true. Feminism is a social movment, but this book contains no analysis of the means by which women were able to achieve greater rights in the political and economic system. Rather, it is an overview of the times and places in which women obtained various rights. There is no mention of what strategies women employed in order to organize and demand these rights. Reading Freedman's book, it seems as if these rights were granted by a benevolent state or court system, not that they were the outcomes of organized efforts by women. This book is completely descriptive and contains no analysis whatsoever.