Rating: 4 Stars
Source: NetGalley
Description: Behind every great man there is a woman is the saying but unfortunately these women get lost in history. In Behind Every Man, Marlene Wagman-Geller shines the light on these women and shows the personal sacrifice, patience, work and other qualities of these women.
Genre: NonFiction
Why I Picked This Book: Biographies always interest me and I love biographies about lesser know historical figures.
My Impression:
Pro: The length of the chapters was really perfect. It was just long enough to give us a good understanding of where each woman came from, how she met her famous (or infamous) husband, and what her life was like as a married woman. There was enough to get a sense of the woman without getting overly bogged down in detail. I thought her choices of women was terrific as they were all the wives of people I was familiar with but almost all the names were new to me. I know nothing about Einstein's first wife, or General MacArthur's wife and even less about Ghandi's wife. And poor poor Mrs. Oscar Wilde. The mix of women is fascinating. Some are tragic, some are heartbreaking-ly patient, some are crazy (Gala Dali comes to mind), but they are all passionate women who sacrificed so much to support their husband. Wagman-Geller's voice comes through and you get touches of her opinion on some of the men and dashes of humor which keep the book interesting but still a light read.
Con: If you're looking for an in-depth look on any of these women this isn't the book to go too. Also, if you're expecting to read about more famous Women behind the Men (like Abigail Adams or Marie Antoinette) this isn't the book for that. This is a book of women that truly were lost to history. Neither of these were negatives for me at all though.
Overall: The chapters in the book were addicting. Each time I came to a new chapter I thought "well I want to learn about her. I'll just read one more." I thoroughly enjoyed getting a look at the women behind (or propping up) the famous men!
Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Definitely! I'll be looking for future books from her.
Would I Recommend this Book?: Actually, I've already recommended it to several people and I keep telling my husband little tidbits I picked up!
Challenges Met? Alphabet Soup (B),
We often forget that many famous men were only able to do what they did because of the women who supported and encouraged them. All wives, though? I thought sometimes it was mothers.
ReplyDeleteNot all wives - some are girlfriends or mistresses. There isn't too much mention of mothers. It mostly focused on the women who lived with the men in their adulthood.
DeleteThis sounds like a good intro to the subject with just enough info given to whet your appetite and encourage a reader to seek out more information.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely have google up because you'll be wanting to see more about these women!
DeleteThis sounds like something I would really like, not just to read but to have on my bookshelf for my daughter when she's older.
ReplyDeleteThis would be fantastic for that because it's so readable. I think young adults would enjoy this but some of the subjects would be a bit dark for kids.
DeleteTo me this is the perfect bedside/guest room or coffee table book. You can pick it up read about a chapter here and there. I always look at the women who stand next to powerful and influential men since I know we as women tend to bend their ear and influence in subtle ways.
ReplyDeleteThis would be a perfect guest room book! It's definitely great to pick up to read a little here a little there. I'm setting up a guest room soon so I'll have to buy a print copy for the book shelf!
DeleteI'm not sure this is a book I'd like but it sounds like it has possibility.
ReplyDeleteThis would be a great travel or rut buster book if you ever need one!
DeleteWhat a great idea for a book, brilliant thought to explore the women 'behind the scenes', I think it would make me want to go off and read more about them too.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really interesting! I think finding out about these women would be so interesting.
ReplyDelete