“An insightful exploration of how college women in the 1940s and 1950s struggled to reconcile their intellectual and sexual drives with the gender constraints of that era. Beautifully researched.”
— Stephanie Coontz, author of A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique
“This original and fascinating study provides an intimate glimpse into the minds, emotions, hopes, and decisions of 1940s and 1950s college women. Faehmel skillfully shows how young women adhered to and challenged dominant gender norms . . . a lively read!”
— Susan Hartman, author of The Other Feminists: Activists in the Liberal Establishment
"Faehmel challenges Betty Friedan's famous description of young women from liberal arts colleges as dupable consumers who made little use of their education. Faehmel's prose is lively, and her summation of an era that is often ignored in accounts of women's history makes this into a useful book for college classrooms. Undergraduates are particularly likely to connect with the diarists as they ruminate about identity, sexuality, and the life ahead of them. Recommended."
— Choice
"An important contribution to the literature on the history of women's higher education."
— Journal of American History
"An important contribution to the literature on the history of women's higher education."
— Journal of American History
“This original and fascinating study provides an intimate glimpse into the minds, emotions, hopes, and decisions of 1940s and 1950s college women. Faehmel skillfully shows how young women adhered to and challenged dominant gender norms . . . a lively read!”
— Susan Hartman, author of The Other Feminists: Activists in the Liberal Establishment
"Faehmel challenges Betty Friedan's famous description of young women from liberal arts colleges as dupable consumers who made little use of their education. Faehmel's prose is lively, and her summation of an era that is often ignored in accounts of women's history makes this into a useful book for college classrooms. Undergraduates are particularly likely to connect with the diarists as they ruminate about identity, sexuality, and the life ahead of them. Recommended."
— Choice
“An insightful exploration of how college women in the 1940s and 1950s struggled to reconcile their intellectual and sexual drives with the gender constraints of that era. Beautifully researched.”
— Stephanie Coontz, author of A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique