Pearl S. Buck has been a household name for decades, and with good reason. Her writing is exceptional. This book explores men and women from the perspective of a Chinese woman who came to the US during the 1930s and who studied the differences of men and women in America. As is expected, her writing is amazing, and her style is different from most. The book is short, only 200 pages, and definitely worth reading.

A really interesting (if rather dated) examination of male-female dynamics in the United States. What makes this book extra interesting is that Buck grew up outside of the States, despite being American herself, and therefore forged quite different ideas of interpersonal relationships. An interesting read.

I was looking forward to this book, but I find it hard to continue to read. Maybe reading Pearl S. Buck's other books this would have been more interesting, but I gave up after a few pages.

Less a gender debate and more of a lesson in two very different (and opposing) cultures.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

A woman who spent many years in China, on her return to the United States Pearl S. Buck found so many contrary characteristics amongst both men and women in their attitudes and in the cultural differences that existed that she wrote this short book of nine chapters with the idea of founding an idea of living in peace and harmony provided equality existed between the sexes.

One of our earliest women activists I would not agree on all of Ms. Buck's views especially today. Though a short book it covers a wide array of topics from polygamy to monogamy, women and war, women and family life which will hold anyone's interest as the subjects were so varied.

Quite philosophical, taken in a small doses like this one book, it was a good read. You did not necessarily have to agree with Ms. Buck at all.

Goodreads and Amazon reviews posted on 17/1/2018,

I have loved Pearl Buck as an author for years but felt like this non-fiction musing on the difference between men and women and Chinese versus American men and women missed the mark. Although this is a recent release, the ideas are dated.

Pearl Buck is best known for her novels, but here she turns her thoughts to the relationship between men and women, their respective roles in society, and gender and power in general. When she returned to the US in 1941 she was struck by the many differences between the roles of women in the two countries and decided to examine those cultural differences. Overall the book feels somewhat dated, and is really more of a literary curiosity than something that has much relevance to today’s women, but surprisingly some of what she observes and comments on does still resonate. It’s an easy but considered read, of definite historical interest and also an insight into her own philosophy of life. Still worth reading all these years later.

I received this ARC from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

This book was originally published in 1941 with an afterward written by Buck in 1971, she spent most of her life in China and then moved to the U.S. Here, she is opining on the differences between men and women from China and the U.S. "Men and women can face anything, endure anything, if they are sure of each other's loyalty and liking."

This offers a good view into societies from vastly different cultures. It must have been quite a shock for Buck to adapt from one to the other.

3☆

This book was not only a comparison of cultures, but with it now being almost seventy years since it was published, a comparison of then and now. My less than stellar rating comes from the fact that this collection of essays does not, in my judgement, stand the test of time as so many of Buck's other works have. The ideas in the book about the feelings of the Chinese women, especially, were a bit too shallow and off hand for modern readers in general. I see it having a very small appreciative audience.

Pearl S. Buck was a phenomenal writer and contributed greatly to our understanding about peasant life in China. Her fiction novel The Good Earth is required reading for many students. In Of Men and Women, she attempts an epic feat within a non-fiction text when telling about relationships between men and women along the intersectional lines of American and Chinese culture.

While this is an updated release, it is important context to understand that this book was written in 1941. Otherwise, this can be a frustrating experience for readers, as many things have changed in terms of gender politics 70+ years. What is challenging and frustrating, however, are the myriad things that have not changed. Also fascinating, are the ways in which Chinese culture have allowed women some areas of progressive advancement. This may be interesting to some who enjoy historical perspectives, but it will likely be a miss for anyone looking for a contemporary analysis.

You can feel the years that have passed since Pearl Buck wrote this book, and even if the situation is different in China, but mostly in the U.S. also, some things haven't changed a lot in this last 50 years. But my opinion is not really on the subject of this book, it is mostly on the real good way in which she wrote that is timeless.

Si avverte chiaramente il passare degli anni, piú di 50 dalla prima pubblicazione di questo libro, quindi é chiaro che la situazione é diversa non solo in Cina, ma anche negli Stati uniti, anche se non tutto é cambiato. Il mo giudizio peró non verte tanto sull'argomento, quanto piuttosto sul suo modo bellissimo di scrivere che, invece, é senza tempo.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

I was halfway through when I realised this is a re-release of a rather old book. The outdated feeling I had while reading suddenly made sense. The sections on Chinese family and gender traditions are very interesting, but the descriptions of "Modern" American Woman made me cringe.

Easily one of the best books I have read in recent times. Thanks to Netgalley for introducing me to a new favorite author! While Buck's name was familar to me, this was the first book of hers that I read and I was blown away with the clarity and accuracy of her thoughts. 'Of Men and Women' is a collection of essays written at an early stage in Pearl S. Buck's career (with a more recent epilogue) that deal with the issues of gender inequality and its root causes (in the context of China and USA).

In an era where the definition of feminism is often confused and misinterpreted, it was refreshing to read a woman who could transcend cultural and gender boundaries. The analysis of the American woman apathy problem was bang on - and as an Indian who has lived in the USA, I have often reflected on the same things. I appreciated that the author called out both men and women for their injustices towards each other, and resolved a lot of complex problems (as relevant today as they were 30 or 60 years ago) with surprising simplicity.

This would be a great recommendation for American feminists today, if nothing else than to clarify what feminism originally meant and to reinforce the ideas of gender equality and not dominance of one gender over another. We have reached a stage where the West has a lot to learn from the East, and Pearl S. Buck was certainly in a unique position to talk about this.