Thank you so much to Atria and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I am always looking for more history books about the women's movement, and this was absolutely perfect to read. I appreciated how comprehensive it was, and how many areas of the woman's movement was covered. This book almost read like an encyclopedia, and I enjoyed it. I could see this book being required reading for college history/sociology classes and those students should consider themselves lucky. While there were some moments where I felt the book's pace slowed a bit, those were in the minority as I was engrossed for a vast majority of the book.

Potentially not the kind of format for a history book that most people will enjoy. However, the fact that this is told by the people that lived through and were a part of the Women's Liberation movement, is worth it.

I love a good women’s history lesson and this book delivered. It is filled with first account experiences and tons of insightful history. I learned so much!

Dense and exhaustive archive of the history of the women's liberation movement in the U.S. Comprehensive and diverse in the voices represented. The format at first felt energizing and refreshing; however, as I got further into the book, it felt repetitive and I found myself desiring something new, a shift in the format. I really enjoyed reading the firsthand accounts and this book is very informative; however, the format lost its luster for me after a while. I was craving more analysis or synthesis in between.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for this ARC

An important review of the history of Feminism that those who lived through it will enjoy reading and those who benefited from it should read so that they know this important history. I hope it finds a place on every library's shelf when they do displays focussing on women.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. And thank you to the women who made it possible.

This took me quite a long time to get through. It was one of the first history books that I read in a long time and it just felt long as important as the content was. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

An engaging look at what women have been through to get us here. I've wanted to read more about feminism for a while and while we're far from where we want to be today all over the world, it's inspiring to hear from the women who changed so much in the past 60 years.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the e-copy! Would definitely recommend everyone interested to know more about feminism in America.

Informative. The writing is clear and concise. A great addition to the topic's general scholarship.



THan kyou NetGalley and publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

An engaging historical account of the decade that defined the feminist movement, including interviews from people who lived through it.

THE MOVEMENT by Clara Bingham is about "How Women's Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973." Bingham (Witness to the Revolution) is an award-winning journalist and author. She has divided her latest text into sections that deal chronologically with events and people relevant to the women's liberation movement. She has interviewed more than 100 women and consulted primary documents in order to write about topics like abortion, the formation of NOW, the role of Shirley Chisholm, and publication of Our Bodies, Ourselves. But there is so much more as Bingham once again cleverly utilizes contemporary voices to truly convey an important and tumultuous time in American history. THE MOVEMENT received a starred review from Publishers Weekly ("Readers will be electrified.") and Booklist recommends it for teen researchers, saying "This provides a wealth of information for report writers presented in a uniquely accessible format."

Excellent overview of rapid events of the feminist movement across a decade between 1963-1973. This book reminds me of Secondhand Time in the sense that it gives readers a first-hand account of events from the people who either experienced it or were active players. There are interviews from huge names in feminism, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg herself. The chapters are short and include clippings from the news, making it a fast, engrossing read rather than your typical historical nonfiction. I would recommend getting the hard copy of this book since the Cast of Characters are in the back and I found it helpful to reference but a but a bit of a pain to do in the kindle format. The only drawbacks I found were that I wish there was more fluidity between chapters at times, and I wish the book ended with a more cohesive wrap-up. Overall, 4.25 out of 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

Part history lesson, part intimate storytelling, Clara Bingham’s The Movement How Women’s Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973 provides an oral history of one of the most transformative periods in women’s history in the United States. Stories from groundbreakers who defied social and legal limitations and fought for women’s liberation in the United States share what it was really like to live through the fight for gender equality.

As a female born in the United States in the 1960’s, I grew up hearing stories from my grandmother, aunts and mother about the ridiculous social and legal constraints placed on them simply for being women. Reading excerpts from Bingham’s interviews with female leaders like Pauli Murray, Sonia Pressman Fuentes, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Barbara Smith and others reminds me of those family stories. The oral histories in Bingham’s book go deeper and broader than my family’s stories. They detail the intersection of racism and sexism, and the ongoing subjugation faced by anyone who is not a white, cis, hetero male. The real beauty of Bingham’s book is the way she frames the history in oral telling. It feels like a history book, a fight song, and a tribute to the OGs of the feminist movement. It is for everyone who was there, and everyone who came after.

The book is organized into an Introduction, Part One (covering 1961-1968), Part Two (covering 1969-1970), Part Three (covering 1971-1973), Cast of Characters, Notes, Author Interview List, Bibliography, and Index.

Bingham narrates the introduction in her own words and provides a helpful overview of the history leading up to the women’s movement and why it remains a relevant, ongoing topic today. In each of the chronological sections, people who were part of the movement retell seminal events in the movement, layering personal experiences with historical facts, to explain the how and why of the movement. No singular event is the flashpoint. Rather, they all combine to become an explosive movement. The cast of characters consists of short biographical information of each feminine activist mentioned in the book; and the extensive author’s interview list covers years of interviews that went into creation of this book. The bibliography is even more extensive than the interview list and is a rabbit hole of U.S. women’s history.

I felt inspired and energized reading this book. My only wish is that it becomes a Netflix documentary so we can see and hear the oral history from people who lived through it.

Thank you #NetGalley and #Atria/OneSignalPublishers for an ARC

Clara Bingham's The Movement: How Women's Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973 is an illuminating and deeply insightful exploration of a pivotal era in American history. Bingham expertly chronicles the rise of the women’s liberation movement, highlighting its profound impact on society through compelling narratives and thorough research. This book is a powerful testament to the courage and resilience of those who fought for gender equality, making it a must-read for anyone interested in social change and women's history.

This is an excellent read for anyone interested in the history of the 60s and 70s, appealing to both fiction and nonfiction readers. Don't let the idea of nonfiction intimidate you—this book is accessible and engaging. It's also a fantastic choice for book clubs!

A big thank you to Atria and S&S for the review copies on NetGalley and the complimentary physical copy. The Movement is a nuanced and in-depth oral history that reads like a novel. It's accessible to all readers, avoiding complicated and overly dense writing, and instead focuses on the conversations and interviews that bring the story to life. Bingham allows the uncovered histories to shine on their own, without unnecessary analysis.

I especially appreciated the space given to highlight how the women's movement has needed and benefited from the work and voices of marginalized groups, particularly Black women. There are chapters that finally give attention to overlooked themes related to the Women's Movement. Even if you're familiar with the material, don't miss the chance to hear the voices and stories shared here. Too often, history books and other works don't offer the unique perspective that a strong oral history can provide.

The Movement by Clara Bingham is a collection of oral histories from women active in the women’s liberation movement. It is presented in chronological order from 1963 to 1973.

Reliving this history was such a revelation; it riled my blood and made me appreciate the hard work of women who made my life choices possible.

In 1963 I was in Sixth Grade and in 1973 I had been married for a year. I remember this history as it played out.

In 1972, I dropped out of college to marry. We both worked as he attended seminary. The women at my workplace took me under their wing. Widows warned me to get credit in my name, one telling how she could not get a car loan after her husband’s death. Another coworker discovered she wasn’t paid as much as the man who had held the position before her. She was told it was because he had a family to support, but she had a husband to support her.

I remember the fear people had about ERA. Would men and women have to share bathrooms? Would women be drafted into the armed services?

Roaming the stacks at the seminary, I discovered and read The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan and other feminist literature.

In 1975, my husband graduated and was in his first pastorate. Parishioners asked if we were planning on having children now and were surprised when I said I was returning to school the next semester. Some didn’t understand, while other women congratulated me. It was rare for a woman to return to school after she married.

I graduated in 1978. At that time, my husband’s conservative parishioners believed that the Bible forbade women from wearing pants, and they couldn’t tolerate the idea of a woman’s voice in the pulpit. (Before my husband’s retirement, there were more women going into ministry than men. Women have always done the work in the church; now they pastor them.)

I saw how societal attitudes changed. My mother-in-law, a good Methodist who was against smoking and gambling and taking the Lord’s name in vain, told me she supported a women’s right to abortion.

The narratives in The Movement are from diverse women who fought for equality in the workplace, academia, education, sports, and politics; for racial and gender equality; and for the freedom to control their own bodies.

It was a civil rights movement, a women’s movement, a Puerto Rican movement, an American Indian movement, an antiwar movement, a student movement. And what you felt is that you were part of the movement. And I felt it was just a question of what people chose to emphasize, but all of our interests were deeply connected. Heather Book quoted in The Movement by Clara Bingham

The book refreshed my understanding of how special interest groups came to be born. After the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., Black Power arose. Black women were sidelined, and they started their own movement. The white women’s liberation movement didn’t want to be stereotyped as Lesbians, which birthed a Lesbian rights movement. Each special interest group had to create their own movement.

In 1960, it was illegal in most states for doctors to prescribe birth control to unmarried women, and the right for married women to obtain birth control wasn’t constitutionally protected in every state until…1965… from The Movement by Clara Bingham

Abortion and a woman’s control over her body was a main focus of The Movement. Poor women and immigrants were sterilized with federal funds! Women did not have choices about how they gave birth. Abortions were illegal and dangerous. My aunt had an abortion in the late 1940s. Mom told me she was dropped off in the country, blindfolded, and returned to the crossroads afterwards.

Men don’t get pregnant, men don’t bear children. Men just make laws. demonstrator quoted by Susan Brownmiller in The Movement

So many things are covered: Our Bodies, Ourselves, the rise of Now, the publication of Ms. magazine, protesting Miss America, voting rights, affirmative action, the right to privacy, the ERA, women’s sports, the rise of Women’s Studies, gender discrimination.

I appreciated reading about Shirley Chisholm’s political career. She is quoted about how men in politics “submit to forces they know are wrong and fail to stand up for what they believe.” Some things don’t change.

Today we are dealing with a backlash by men bent on retracting women’s hard won freedom and rights. This book could not have come out at a better time.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley.

I'm a feminist. I enjoy reading theory as well as books about the history of the movement. This book should've been right up my alley. While it's undeniably comprehensive and a wonderful resource for anyone who's doing research, the format isn't engaging. While I appreciate hearing first-hand accounts from the actual people involved, I never feel like it offers anything I couldn't get out of a straightforward book about the topic.

Whew, this was a lot. So many different aspects of the movement, all these personal details and recollections that remind you how very recent all of this is. It's not as long as it feels, and it's amazing what all of these women did. Feminine leadership does WORK, my friends.

I also loved how much Shirley Chisholm is highlighted, and what a damn powerhouse she was. I love her. In light of current events, some of her recollections and statements brought me to actual tears of hope.

It made it feel more real and less academic. The names in these pages are familiar, they're known, and there's something so interesting about the way their recollections are documented here - conversational, friendly, even conspiratorial. These are real woman going through real things, who made decisions with the information they had at the time, working on issues that impacted their lives. Racism, sexism, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights...all the same things we're still working on today, but from a different place because of what was done here.

This is a thick book, and I'll admit, I did skip around and read about the things that hooked me first, but it's impossible not to be pulled in to all of these stories. These are our grandmothers telling us what they did for themselves, and for us.

This is not the straight white women's recollections of the Movement either, and I appreciate the diversity and criticism included.

So much to say about one period in time, and yet, I feel that I received a semester’s worth of knowledge. I look forward to the next book this author will bring into the world.

If you're fascinated by the transformative decade of the 1960s and '70s and the rise of the women's liberation movement, then Clara Bingham's The Movement: How Women's Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973 is a must-read. This engaging oral history captures the voices and stories of those who lived through and shaped this pivotal era in American history.

Bingham does an incredible job weaving together personal narratives from a diverse group of women and men who were at the forefront of the movement. From the influential writings of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique to the grassroots efforts of the Janes' underground abortion network, and even the iconic moments like Billie Jean King's 1973 "Battle of the Sexes," this book gives readers an intimate glimpse into the real experiences behind the headlines.

What I especially liked about the book was the "in their own words" format, which offers personal perspectives on the era's events, but I can see how some readers might prefer a smoother narrative style. In any case, the book doesn't shy away from exploring the complexities and challenges of the movement, including the intersections with civil rights and the struggle for racial and gender equality.

Whether you're a history buff, a feminist, or just curious about this transformative period, The Movement is a compelling and accessible read that sheds light on the stories behind the fight for women's rights. It's a powerful reminder of how far we've come and how much further we have to go.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thanks to Atria Books and Clara Bingham for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. It's laid out well to show the history of the second wave feminist movement at all levels. It's obviously important to show the larger moments (i.e. bra burning, protesting, running for elected office), but it's also important to show the small moments. There's a point in the book where women are meeting together for the first time and admitting to each other that they've faked an orgasm, or sought an abortion, and that feeling of community is so important for any sort of growth of the movement. This book is a diverse, informative, and emotional read that really sets the tone for where we are in the US right now