This is a dual biography of Margaret Sanger and Mary Ware Dennett, two advocates for birth control and women's rights in the early part of the 20th Century. Sanger is remembered, occasionally unfondly, as the creator of Planned Parenthood, while Dennett is forgotten. In the process of telling their stories, the book is a history of contraception, abortion, and reproductive rights in general, with a focus on how those points interacted with early Feminist thought and policy.

The framing of the book is odd, and the epilogue admits as such. Sanger is meant as the icon and Dennett the idealist, but neither label fits either. The distinction in their views is somewhat ex post facto, in the way that Sanger seems archaic while Dennett seems prescient if not modern. It is also odd to call it a rivalry, since they were rarely in direct competition. But the enmity arose from a snub on the part of Dennett that Sanger never forgot or forgave, and was frequently in a position to extract vengeance for.

Sanger wanted a bigger change with smaller effects, while Dennett wanted the contrary. The distinction in their methodologies is greater. Sanger was a front-office coalition builder (which is often core to her being criticized). Dennett was more of a lobbyist, working on careful persuasion of targeted individuals who could effect the changes that she wanted. They were both harassed by Postal Inspectors, and they both had feet of clay when it came to race and eugenics.

The book favors Dennett, but this seems a reasonable choice, in terms of Dennett's contemporary philosophy, and her being lesser known. But one of the masterful qualities of the book is that it is not limited to biography. Each chapter is dense with contextual information so that the reader understands what is going on, even without much background in the topic or even U.S. history.

We are still debating contraception, abortion, and feminism. The earlier form of this argument here brings into focus how this is about female autonomy: not bodily, but at all. The ossified euphemisms of the modern debate is not this, but it ought to be entirely relevant for how those arguments are understood.

It is reflected in Sanger and Dennett's disagreements in themselves, both about who acts with authority in the proto Feminist movements but also how feminism itself ought to relate to the concept of the existing authority, when to challenge and how, and what responsibilities to make personal versus what to need professionals.

In short, exemplary book, and a slow read in a good way in providing a surplus of detail and explanation.

My thanks to the author, Stephanie Gorton, for writing the book, and to the publisher, Ecco, for making the ARC available to me.