Synopses & Reviews
In her comic, scathing essay Men Explain Things to Me,” Rebecca Solnit takes on what often goes wrong in conversations between men and women. She writes about men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women dont, about why this arises, and how this aspect of the gender wars works, airing some of her own hilariously awful encounters.
She ends on a serious note because the ultimate problem is the silencing of women who have something to say, including those saying things like, Hes trying to kill me!”
The updated edition of this national bestseller features two new essays, including Solnit's recent essay on the remarkable feminist conversation that arose in the wake of the 2014 Isla Vista killings.
"This slim book hums with power and wit."
Boston Globe
"The Antidote to Mansplaining."
The Stranger
"Feminist, frequently funny, unflinchingly honest and often scathing in its conclusions."
Salon
"Solnit tackles big themes of gender and power in these accessible essays. Honest and full of wit, this is an integral read that furthers the conversation on feminism and contemporary society."
San Francisco Chronicle Top Shelf
"Solnit [is] the perfect writer to tackle the subject: Her prose style is so clear and cool."
The New Republic
Writer, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit is the author of fourteen books, most recently The Faraway Nearby. She is a Harper's Magazine contributing editor.
Review
This slim book seven essays, punctuated by enigmatic, haunting paintings by Ana Teresa Fernandez hums with power and wit."
Boston Globe
"The Antidote to Mansplaining."
The Stranger
"Feminist, frequently funny, unflinchingly honest and often scathing in its conclusions."
Salon
"Solnit tackles big themes of gender and power in these accessible essays. Honest and full of wit, this is an integral read that furthers the conversation on feminism and contemporary society."
San Francisco Chronicle Top Shelf
"Solnit [is] the perfect writer to tackle the subject: Her prose style is so clear and cool."
The New Republic
"The terrain has always felt familiar, but Men Explain Things To Me is a tool that we all need in order to find something that was almost lost."
National Post
"Where opponents would argue that feminism is humorless and superfluous, Men Explain Things to Me is a compelling argument for the movement's necessary presence in contemporary society. It approaches the subject with candor and openness, furthering the conversation and opening a new Pandora's box that's apt to change the way we talk about women's rights."
Shelf Awareness
"Solnits intimate understanding of how the twin bulwarks of language and silence fuel political agendas is only part of what makes her writing so exciting. The other essays in the collection complement the first (some are even stronger), but theirs is the poetic correlation of masterful storytelling. Ultimately Solnits interdisciplinary, patchwork narratives are drawn together by a single theme: hope."
The Baffler
"An engaging primer on the realities of mansplaining."
Bitch Magazine
"Solnits pull-no-punches observations... make this a valuable contribution to feminist theory."
The Indypendent
"A riveting collection of feminist essays."
Chicagoist
"A necessary read in these fraught times. Starting with the title essay, which went viral and inspired the ever-useful term mansplaining,” Solnit writes powerfully about the ways in which power is wielded in todays society, and brings awareness to the staggering inequalities that we wrestle with on a daily basis."
FlavorWire
"A brilliant, varied, and thoroughly enjoyable readand definitely an addition to my list of feminist faves."
Lip Magazine
"Sharp-witted and bold... quintessential Solnit."
Publishers Weekly
"Sharp narratives that illuminate and challenge the status quo of women's roles in the world. Slim in scope, but yet another good book by Solnit."
Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
A landmark essay that went viral, inspired the word mansplaining,” and prompted fierce arguments.
Synopsis
In "Men Explain Things to Me,” Rebecca Solnit took on the conversations between men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women dont. The ultimate problem, as she showed in her comic, scathing essay, is female self-doubt and the silencing of women. In this short book she elaborates and uncovers why men still explain things to her.
About the Author
Rebecca Solnit: Rebecca Solnit is the author of 13 books, including A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disasters and Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas. She is, from kindergarten to graduate school, a product of the California public education system now being decimated.