A Brief History of Misogyny: the World's Oldest Prejudice
Brief Histories
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $16.36
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Cameron Stewart
-
By:
-
Jack Holland
About this listen
In this compelling, powerful book, highly respected writer and commentator Jack Holland sets out to answer a daunting question: How do you explain the oppression and brutalization of half the world's population by the other half, throughout history? The result takes the listener on an eye-opening journey through centuries, continents, and civilizations as it looks at both historical and contemporary attitudes to women.
Encompassing the Church, witch hunts, sexual theory, Nazism and pro-life campaigners, we arrive at today's developing world, where women are increasingly and disproportionately at risk because of radicalised religious belief, famine, war and disease. Well-informed and researched, highly readable and thought-provoking, this is no outmoded feminist polemic: It's a refreshingly straightforward investigation into an ancient, pervasive, and enduring injustice. It deals with the fundamentals of human existence - sex, love, violence - that have shaped the lives of humans throughout history.
The answer? It's time to recognize that the treatment of women amounts to nothing less than an abuse of human rights on an unthinkable scale. A Brief History of Misogyny is an important and timely book that will make a long-lasting contribution to the efforts to improve those rights throughout the world.
Jack Holland was a highly respected author and journalist known particularly for his commentary about Northern Irish politics. He grew up in Belfast (where he was taught by Seamus Heaney) and worked with Jeremy Paxman and other outstanding journalists at BBC Belfast during a period of seminal current affairs programming. Jack published four novels and seven works of non-fiction, most of the latter having to do with politics and terrorism in Northern Ireland, including the best-selling Phoenix. Sadly, Jack died of cancer in 2004, just after the manuscript of Misogyny had been delivered and accepted by his US publisher. On his death, his family received letters of respect from statesmen including Ted Kennedy and Hilary Clinton, who had come to rely on his balanced analysis of Irish politics.
©2013 Jack Holland (P)2013 Audible LtdListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Creation of Patriarchy
- By: Gerda Lerner
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A major new work by a leading historian and pioneer in women's studies, The Creation of Patriarchy is a radical reconceptualization of Western civilization that makes gender central to its analysis. Gerda Lerner argues that male dominance over women is not "natural" or biological, but the product of an historical development begun in the second millennium BC in the Ancient Near East. As patriarchy as a system of organizing society was established historically, she contends, it can also be ended by the historical process.
-
-
Why isn’t this being taught in all high schools?
- By AM on 02-12-22
By: Gerda Lerner
-
Down Girl
- The Logic of Misogyny
- By: Kate Manne
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Misogyny is a hot topic, yet it's often misunderstood. What is misogyny, exactly? Who deserves to be called a misogynist? How does misogyny contrast with sexism, and why is it prone to persist - or increase - even when sexist gender roles are waning? This book is an exploration of misogyny in public life and politics by the moral philosopher Kate Manne. It argues that misogyny should not be understood primarily in terms of the hatred or hostility some men feel toward all or most women. Rather, it's primarily about controlling, policing, punishing, and exiling the "bad" women.
-
-
Five Star Book w/bad Narration
- By Cherrybomb on 02-08-19
By: Kate Manne
-
Entitled
- How Male Privilege Hurts Women
- By: Kate Manne
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this bold and stylish critique, Cornell philosopher Kate Manne offers a radical new framework for understanding misogyny. Ranging widely across the culture, from Harvey Weinstein and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings to “Cat Person” and the political misfortunes of Elizabeth Warren, Manne’s book shows how privileged men’s sense of entitlement - to sex, yes, but more insidiously to admiration, care, bodily autonomy, knowledge, and power - is a pervasive social problem with often devastating consequences.
-
-
New to the subject
- By Bruno on 08-20-20
By: Kate Manne
-
Men Who Hate Women
- From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth About Extreme Misogyny and How It Affects Us All
- By: Laura Bates
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Men Who Hate Women examines the rise of secretive extremist communities who despise women and traces the roots of misogyny across a complex spider web of groups. It includes interviews with former members of these communities, the academics studying this movement, and the men fighting back. Women's rights activist Laura Bates wrote this book as someone who has been the target of many misogynistic attacks online. As Bates went undercover into the corners of the internet, she found an unseen, organized movement of thousands of anonymous men wishing violence (and worse) upon women.
-
-
Shocking
- By Lisa Rose on 08-31-24
By: Laura Bates
-
The Will to Change
- Men, Masculinity, and Love
- By: bell hooks
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone needs to love and be loved - even men. But to know love, men must be able to look at the ways that patriarchal culture keeps them from knowing themselves, from being in touch with their feelings, from loving. In The Will to Change, bell hooks gets to the heart of the matter and shows men how to express the emotions that are a fundamental part of who they are - whatever their age, marital status, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
-
-
A unique call to an ethic of creative love
- By Amazon Customer on 09-26-20
By: bell hooks
-
Everyday Sexism
- By: Laura Bates
- Narrated by: Laura Bates, Sarah Brown
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women are standing up and #shoutingback. In a culture that's driven by social media, for the first time women are using this online space (@EverydaySexism www.everydaysexism.com) to come together, share their stories, and encourage a new generation to recognise the problems that women face. This book is a call to arms in a new wave of feminism and it proves sexism is endemic - socially, politically, and economically. But women won't stand for it.
-
-
Sexism 101
- By Erickson on 09-08-16
By: Laura Bates
-
The Creation of Patriarchy
- By: Gerda Lerner
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A major new work by a leading historian and pioneer in women's studies, The Creation of Patriarchy is a radical reconceptualization of Western civilization that makes gender central to its analysis. Gerda Lerner argues that male dominance over women is not "natural" or biological, but the product of an historical development begun in the second millennium BC in the Ancient Near East. As patriarchy as a system of organizing society was established historically, she contends, it can also be ended by the historical process.
-
-
Why isn’t this being taught in all high schools?
- By AM on 02-12-22
By: Gerda Lerner
-
Down Girl
- The Logic of Misogyny
- By: Kate Manne
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Misogyny is a hot topic, yet it's often misunderstood. What is misogyny, exactly? Who deserves to be called a misogynist? How does misogyny contrast with sexism, and why is it prone to persist - or increase - even when sexist gender roles are waning? This book is an exploration of misogyny in public life and politics by the moral philosopher Kate Manne. It argues that misogyny should not be understood primarily in terms of the hatred or hostility some men feel toward all or most women. Rather, it's primarily about controlling, policing, punishing, and exiling the "bad" women.
-
-
Five Star Book w/bad Narration
- By Cherrybomb on 02-08-19
By: Kate Manne
-
Entitled
- How Male Privilege Hurts Women
- By: Kate Manne
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this bold and stylish critique, Cornell philosopher Kate Manne offers a radical new framework for understanding misogyny. Ranging widely across the culture, from Harvey Weinstein and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings to “Cat Person” and the political misfortunes of Elizabeth Warren, Manne’s book shows how privileged men’s sense of entitlement - to sex, yes, but more insidiously to admiration, care, bodily autonomy, knowledge, and power - is a pervasive social problem with often devastating consequences.
-
-
New to the subject
- By Bruno on 08-20-20
By: Kate Manne
-
Men Who Hate Women
- From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth About Extreme Misogyny and How It Affects Us All
- By: Laura Bates
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Men Who Hate Women examines the rise of secretive extremist communities who despise women and traces the roots of misogyny across a complex spider web of groups. It includes interviews with former members of these communities, the academics studying this movement, and the men fighting back. Women's rights activist Laura Bates wrote this book as someone who has been the target of many misogynistic attacks online. As Bates went undercover into the corners of the internet, she found an unseen, organized movement of thousands of anonymous men wishing violence (and worse) upon women.
-
-
Shocking
- By Lisa Rose on 08-31-24
By: Laura Bates
-
The Will to Change
- Men, Masculinity, and Love
- By: bell hooks
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone needs to love and be loved - even men. But to know love, men must be able to look at the ways that patriarchal culture keeps them from knowing themselves, from being in touch with their feelings, from loving. In The Will to Change, bell hooks gets to the heart of the matter and shows men how to express the emotions that are a fundamental part of who they are - whatever their age, marital status, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
-
-
A unique call to an ethic of creative love
- By Amazon Customer on 09-26-20
By: bell hooks
-
Everyday Sexism
- By: Laura Bates
- Narrated by: Laura Bates, Sarah Brown
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women are standing up and #shoutingback. In a culture that's driven by social media, for the first time women are using this online space (@EverydaySexism www.everydaysexism.com) to come together, share their stories, and encourage a new generation to recognise the problems that women face. This book is a call to arms in a new wave of feminism and it proves sexism is endemic - socially, politically, and economically. But women won't stand for it.
-
-
Sexism 101
- By Erickson on 09-08-16
By: Laura Bates
-
Invisible Women
- Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
- By: Caroline Criado Perez
- Narrated by: Caroline Criado Perez
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Data is fundamental to the modern world. From economic development, to healthcare, to education and public policy, we rely on numbers to allocate resources and make crucial decisions. But because so much data fails to take into account gender, treating men as the default and women as atypical, bias and discrimination are baked into our systems. And women pay tremendous costs for this bias in time, money, and often with their lives. Celebrated feminist advocate Caroline Criado Perez investigates the shocking root cause of gender inequality and research in Invisible Women.
-
-
A statistical fire hose
- By B. Andresen on 09-11-19
-
All About Love
- New Visions
- By: bell hooks
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“The word ‘love’ is most often defined as a noun, yet we would all love better if we used it as a verb,” writes bell hooks as she comes out fighting and on fire in All About Love. Here, at her most provocative and intensely personal, renowned scholar, cultural critic and feminist bell hooks offers a proactive new ethic for a society bereft with lovelessness--not the lack of romance, but the lack of care, compassion, and unity. People are divided, she declares, by society’s failure to provide a model for learning to love.
-
-
A vocabulary about love
- By Jess on 04-13-24
By: bell hooks
-
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
- The Conflict Between Word and Image
- By: Leonard Shlain
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 24 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who changed the sex of God? This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values.
-
-
Can't Even Get Started
- By Marie on 02-08-19
By: Leonard Shlain
-
Rage Becomes Her
- The Power of Women's Anger
- By: Soraya Chemaly
- Narrated by: Soraya Chemaly
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women are angry, and it isn’t hard to figure out why. We are underpaid and overworked. Too sensitive or not sensitive enough. Too dowdy or too made-up. Too big or too thin. Sluts or prudes. We are harassed, told we are asking for it, and asked if it would kill us to smile. Yes, yes it would. Contrary to the rhetoric of popular “self-help” and an entire lifetime of being told otherwise, our rage is one of the most important resources we have, our sharpest tool against both personal and political oppression.
-
-
Holy Raging Hell
- By Enid Quimby on 10-17-18
By: Soraya Chemaly
-
The History of White People
- By: Nell Irvin Painter
- Narrated by: Allyson Johnson
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A mind-expanding and myth-destroying exploration of notions of white race—not merely a skin color but also a signal of power, prestige, and beauty to be withheld and granted selectively. Ever since the Enlightenment, race theory and its inevitable partner, racism, have followed a crooked road, constructed by dominant peoples to justify their domination of others. Filling a huge gap in historical literature that long focused on the non-white, eminent historian Nell Irvin Painter guides us through more than two thousand years of Western civilization, tracing not only the invention of the idea of race but also the frequent worship of “whiteness” for economic, social, scientific, and political ends.
-
-
Destroys the myth that race is about skin color
- By Emily L. on 08-25-14
-
Who Cooked the Last Supper?
- The Women's History of the World
- By: Rosalind Miles
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Without politics or polemics, this brilliant and witty book overturns centuries of preconceptions to restore women to their rightful place at the center of culture, revolution, empire, war, and peace. Spiced with tales of individual women who have shaped civilization, celebrating the work and lives of women around the world, and distinguished by a wealth of research, Who Cooked the Last Supper? redefines our concept of historical reality.
-
-
Waste of Time
- By Chihuahua Mom on 11-18-19
By: Rosalind Miles
-
Feminism Is for Everybody
- Passionate Politics
- By: bell hooks
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 4 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is feminism? In this short, accessible primer, Bell Hooks explores the nature of feminism and its positive promise to eliminate sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. With her characteristic clarity and directness, Hooks encourages readers to see how feminism can touch and change their lives - to see that feminism is for everybody.
-
-
Excellent Introduction to Feminism
- By Listens-a-lot on 03-29-18
By: bell hooks
-
Delusions of Gender
- How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference
- By: Cordelia Fine
- Narrated by: Maria Brendel
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's the 21st century, and although we tried to rear unisex children - boys who play with dolls and girls who like trucks - we failed. Even though the glass ceiling is cracked, most women stay comfortably beneath it. And everywhere we hear about vitally important "hardwired" differences between male and female brains. The neuroscience that we read about in magazines, newspaper articles, books, and even scientific journals increasingly tells a tale of two brains, and the result is a validation of the status quo.
-
-
Gender differences are exaggerated
- By Neuron on 03-24-16
By: Cordelia Fine
-
Inferior
- How Science Got Women Wrong - and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story
- By: Angela Saini
- Narrated by: Hannah Melbourn
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether looking at intelligence or emotion, cognition or behavior, science has continued to tell us that men and women are fundamentally different. Biologists claim that women are better suited to raising families or are, more gently, uniquely empathetic. Men, on the other hand, continue to be described as excelling at tasks that require logic, spatial reasoning, and motor skills. But a huge wave of research is now revealing an alternative version of what we thought we knew.
-
-
Amazing
- By natalie cannon on 01-23-18
By: Angela Saini
-
The Madness of Crowds
- Gender, Race and Identity
- By: Douglas Murray
- Narrated by: Douglas Murray
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Madness of Crowds Douglas Murray investigates the dangers of ‘woke’ culture and the rise of identity politics. In lively, razor-sharp prose he examines the most controversial issues of our moment: sexuality, gender, technology and race, with interludes on the Marxist foundations of ‘wokeness’, the impact of tech and how, in an increasingly online culture, we must relearn the ability to forgive.
-
-
An Urgent Read for Our Over-woke Times
- By Justin J. Norman on 09-26-19
By: Douglas Murray
-
Stamped from the Beginning
- The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
- By: Ibram X. Kendi
- Narrated by: Christopher Dontrell Piper
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some Americans cling desperately to the myth that we are living in a post-racial society, that the election of the first Black president spelled the doom of racism. In fact, racist thought is alive and well in America - more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues in Stamped from the Beginning, if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we must first understand how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society.
-
-
Fabulous book, poor reader
- By EBMason on 11-15-17
By: Ibram X. Kendi
-
A People's History of the United States
- By: Howard Zinn
- Narrated by: Jeff Zinn
- Length: 34 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For much of his life, historian Howard Zinn chronicled American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official version taught in schools - with its emphasis on great men in high places - to focus on the street, the home, and the workplace. Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People's History of the United States is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of - and in the words of - America's women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, the working poor, and immigrant laborers.
-
-
Amateur hour in the production booth
- By Thomas on 11-09-10
By: Howard Zinn
Critic reviews
Related to this topic
-
Who Cooked the Last Supper?
- The Women's History of the World
- By: Rosalind Miles
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Without politics or polemics, this brilliant and witty book overturns centuries of preconceptions to restore women to their rightful place at the center of culture, revolution, empire, war, and peace. Spiced with tales of individual women who have shaped civilization, celebrating the work and lives of women around the world, and distinguished by a wealth of research, Who Cooked the Last Supper? redefines our concept of historical reality.
-
-
Waste of Time
- By Chihuahua Mom on 11-18-19
By: Rosalind Miles
-
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
- The Conflict Between Word and Image
- By: Leonard Shlain
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 24 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who changed the sex of God? This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values.
-
-
Can't Even Get Started
- By Marie on 02-08-19
By: Leonard Shlain
-
Strange Gods
- A Secular History of Conversion
- By: Susan Jacoby
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 19 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this original and riveting exploration, Susan Jacoby argues that conversion - especially in the free American "religious marketplace" - is too often viewed only within the conventional and simplistic narrative of personal reinvention and divine grace. Instead, the author places conversions within a secular social context that has, at various times, included the force of a unified church and state, desire for upward economic mobility, and interreligious marriage.
-
-
Our own fabrications
- By David E. Felker on 01-03-17
By: Susan Jacoby
-
A History of the Jews
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 28 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This historical magnum opus covers 4,000 years of the extraordinary history of the Jews as a people, a culture, and a nation. It shows the impact of Jewish character on the world: their genius, imagination, and, most of all, their ability to persevere despite severe persecutions. Compelling insights into events and individuals are chronologically detailed, from Moses and Jesus to Spinoza, Marx, Freud, the Rothschilds, and Golda Meir.
-
-
Excellent History
- By Rilezmom on 06-06-09
By: Paul Johnson
-
Anarchism and Other Essays
- By: Emma Goldman
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Among the men and women prominent in the public life of early 20th-century America there are but few whose names are mentioned as often as that of Emma Goldman. Yet the real Emma Goldman is almost quite unknown. Here are powerful, penetrating, prophetic essays on direct action, the role of minorities, prison reform, puritan hypocrisy, and violence.
-
-
Critical reading for today's world
- By Darwin on 02-27-17
By: Emma Goldman
-
Seven Types of Atheism
- By: John Gray
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a generation now, public debate has been corroded by a shrill, narrow derision of religion in the name of an often vaguely understood “science.” John Gray’s stimulating and enjoyable new book, Seven Types of Atheism, describes the complex, dynamic world of older atheisms, a tradition that is, he writes, in many ways intertwined with and as rich as religion itself.
By: John Gray
-
Who Cooked the Last Supper?
- The Women's History of the World
- By: Rosalind Miles
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Without politics or polemics, this brilliant and witty book overturns centuries of preconceptions to restore women to their rightful place at the center of culture, revolution, empire, war, and peace. Spiced with tales of individual women who have shaped civilization, celebrating the work and lives of women around the world, and distinguished by a wealth of research, Who Cooked the Last Supper? redefines our concept of historical reality.
-
-
Waste of Time
- By Chihuahua Mom on 11-18-19
By: Rosalind Miles
-
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
- The Conflict Between Word and Image
- By: Leonard Shlain
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 24 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who changed the sex of God? This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values.
-
-
Can't Even Get Started
- By Marie on 02-08-19
By: Leonard Shlain
-
Strange Gods
- A Secular History of Conversion
- By: Susan Jacoby
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 19 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this original and riveting exploration, Susan Jacoby argues that conversion - especially in the free American "religious marketplace" - is too often viewed only within the conventional and simplistic narrative of personal reinvention and divine grace. Instead, the author places conversions within a secular social context that has, at various times, included the force of a unified church and state, desire for upward economic mobility, and interreligious marriage.
-
-
Our own fabrications
- By David E. Felker on 01-03-17
By: Susan Jacoby
-
A History of the Jews
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 28 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This historical magnum opus covers 4,000 years of the extraordinary history of the Jews as a people, a culture, and a nation. It shows the impact of Jewish character on the world: their genius, imagination, and, most of all, their ability to persevere despite severe persecutions. Compelling insights into events and individuals are chronologically detailed, from Moses and Jesus to Spinoza, Marx, Freud, the Rothschilds, and Golda Meir.
-
-
Excellent History
- By Rilezmom on 06-06-09
By: Paul Johnson
-
Anarchism and Other Essays
- By: Emma Goldman
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Among the men and women prominent in the public life of early 20th-century America there are but few whose names are mentioned as often as that of Emma Goldman. Yet the real Emma Goldman is almost quite unknown. Here are powerful, penetrating, prophetic essays on direct action, the role of minorities, prison reform, puritan hypocrisy, and violence.
-
-
Critical reading for today's world
- By Darwin on 02-27-17
By: Emma Goldman
-
Seven Types of Atheism
- By: John Gray
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a generation now, public debate has been corroded by a shrill, narrow derision of religion in the name of an often vaguely understood “science.” John Gray’s stimulating and enjoyable new book, Seven Types of Atheism, describes the complex, dynamic world of older atheisms, a tradition that is, he writes, in many ways intertwined with and as rich as religion itself.
By: John Gray
-
Heretic
- By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Narrated by: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happened to Islamic reform? Why have al Qaeda and Boko Haram become the faces of contemporary Islam? Why has the Arab Spring devolved into a battle over sharia law? Continuing her personal journey from a deeply religious Islamic upbringing to a post at Harvard and American citizenship, the New York Times best-selling author of Infidel and Nomad crafts a powerful call for an Islamic reformation as the only way to end the current wave of global violence and repression of women.
-
-
And They Revoked Her Honorary University Degree!
- By Russell on 04-14-15
By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
-
The Honor Code
- How Moral Revolutions Happen
- By: Kwame Anthony Appiah
- Narrated by: Kwame Anthony Appiah
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this groundbreaking work, Kwame Anthony Appiah, hailed as "one of the most relevant philosophers today" (New York Times Book Review), changes the way we understand human behavior and the way social reform is brought about. In brilliantly arguing that new democratic movements over the last century have not been driven by legislation from above, Appiah explores the end of the duel in aristocratic England, the tumultuous struggles over foot binding in 19th-century China, the uprising of ordinary people against Atlantic slavery, and much more.
-
-
Horribly Boring
- By Merle N. Savedow on 02-10-21
-
The Unholy Trinity
- Blocking the Left's Assault on Life, Marriage, and Gender
- By: Matt Walsh
- Narrated by: Rand Archer
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This highly anticipated debut from Matt Walsh of The Blaze demands that conservative voters make a last stand and fight for the moral center of America. The Trump presidency and Republican Congress provides an urgent opportunity to stop the Left's value-bending march to destroy the culture of our country. Republican control of the presidency, senate, and House of Representatives for the next two years is a precious - and fleeting - gift to conservatives.
-
-
An excellent read
- By Don Huslage on 12-18-19
By: Matt Walsh
-
Not in God's Name
- Confronting Religious Violence
- By: Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
- Narrated by: Jonathan Sacks
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this powerful and timely book, one of the most admired and authoritative religious leaders of our time tackles the phenomenon of religious extremism and violence committed in the name of God. If religion is perceived as being part of the problem, Rabbi Sacks argues, then it must also form part of the solution. When religion becomes a zero-sum conceit and individuals are motivated by what Rabbi Sacks calls "altruistic evil", violence between peoples of different beliefs appears to be the only natural outcome.
-
-
excellent book
- By Trejac on 07-26-21
-
An African American and Latinx History of the United States
- By: Paul Ortiz
- Narrated by: J. D. Jackson
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning more than 200 years, An African American and Latinx History of the United States is a revolutionary, politically charged narrative history arguing that the "Global South" was crucial to the development of America as we know it. Ortiz challenges the notion of westward progress, and shows how placing African American, Latinx, and Indigenous voices unapologetically front and center transforms American history into the story of the working class organizing against imperialism.
-
-
I had to return
- By Andrew Alvarez on 05-19-20
By: Paul Ortiz
-
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization
- By: Anthony Esolen
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Western civilization is under attack. At universities and in the media, professors and pundits decry Western civilization as exploitative, destructive, and without value. But fear not: coming to its defense is this "P.I." guide to Western civilization.
-
-
Holy Neo-Nazism Batman!
- By Douglas on 12-03-11
By: Anthony Esolen
-
Why the Jews?
- The Reason for Anti-Semitism, the Most Accurate Predictor of Human Evil
- By: Dennis Prager, Joseph Telushkin
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this seminal work that has spent more than 30 years in print, Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin explain the reasons behind anti-Semitism, the world's preoccupation with the Jews and Israel, and why now more than ever the world needs to confront anti-Jewish sentiment. Prager and Telushkin examine in detail how anti-Semitism is a unique hatred - no other prejudice has been as universal, deep, or permanent - and how the concept of the "chosen people" spawned that hatred.
-
-
It answers the question!
- By MarissaB on 10-01-16
By: Dennis Prager, and others
-
Stay
- A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It
- By: Jennifer Michael Hecht
- Narrated by: Jennifer Michael Hecht
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Worldwide, more people die by suicide than by murder, and many more are left behind to grieve. Despite distressing statistics that show suicide rates rising, the subject, long a taboo, is infrequently talked about. In this sweeping intellectual and cultural history, poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht channels her grief for two friends lost to suicide into a search for history’s most persuasive arguments against the irretrievable act, arguments she hopes to bring back into public consciousness.
-
-
Informative but oddly dispassionate
- By Scott on 01-07-14
-
Jews, God, and History
- By: Max I. Dimont
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Vitality floods its pages. Philosophers and kings, warriors and merchants, poets and financiers come alive as the story ranges across time and the globe. From ancient Palestine through Europe and the Orient, to America and modern Israel, Max Dimont shows how the saga of the Jews is interwoven with the history of virtually every nation on earth.
-
-
Grand in scope and depth
- By Joe on 08-27-12
By: Max I. Dimont
-
A Wicked Company
- The Forgotten Radicalism of the European Enlightenment
- By: Philipp Blom
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The flourishing of radical philosophy in Baron Thierry Holbach’s Paris salon from the 1750s to the 1770s stands as a seminal event in Western history. Holbach’s house was an international epicenter of revolutionary ideas and intellectual daring, bringing together such original minds as Denis Diderot, Laurence Sterne, David Hume, Adam Smith, Ferdinando Galiani, Horace Walpole, Benjamin Franklin, Guillaume Raynal, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In A Wicked Company, acclaimed historian Philipp Blom retraces the fortunes of this exceptional group of friends.
-
-
Excellent Book on Radical Enlightenment
- By EJJ on 02-15-15
By: Philipp Blom
-
The Devil in the Shape of a Woman
- Witchcraft in Colonial New England
- By: Carol F. Karlsen
- Narrated by: Jo Anna Perrin
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Author Carol F. Karlsen reveals the social construction of witchcraft in 17th-century New England and illuminates the larger contours of gender relations in that society and attempts to answer the question why some women were vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft and possession.
-
-
Vital scholarship beautifully narrated.
- By Audrey on 10-13-19
By: Carol F. Karlsen
-
Socrates
- A Man for Our Times
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Acclaimed historian and best-selling author Paul Johnson’s books have been translated into dozens of languages. In Socrates: A Man for Our Times, Johnson draws from little-known resources to construct a fascinating account of one of history’s greatest thinkers. Socrates transcended class limitations in Athens during the fifth century B.C. to develop ideas that still shape the way we think about the human body and soul, including the workings of the human mind.
-
-
Plat-Soc-Paul
- By Megasaurus on 11-17-12
By: Paul Johnson
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Men Who Hate Women
- From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth About Extreme Misogyny and How It Affects Us All
- By: Laura Bates
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Men Who Hate Women examines the rise of secretive extremist communities who despise women and traces the roots of misogyny across a complex spider web of groups. It includes interviews with former members of these communities, the academics studying this movement, and the men fighting back. Women's rights activist Laura Bates wrote this book as someone who has been the target of many misogynistic attacks online. As Bates went undercover into the corners of the internet, she found an unseen, organized movement of thousands of anonymous men wishing violence (and worse) upon women.
-
-
Shocking
- By Lisa Rose on 08-31-24
By: Laura Bates
-
Everyday Sexism
- By: Laura Bates
- Narrated by: Laura Bates, Sarah Brown
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women are standing up and #shoutingback. In a culture that's driven by social media, for the first time women are using this online space (@EverydaySexism www.everydaysexism.com) to come together, share their stories, and encourage a new generation to recognise the problems that women face. This book is a call to arms in a new wave of feminism and it proves sexism is endemic - socially, politically, and economically. But women won't stand for it.
-
-
Sexism 101
- By Erickson on 09-08-16
By: Laura Bates
-
Down Girl
- The Logic of Misogyny
- By: Kate Manne
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Misogyny is a hot topic, yet it's often misunderstood. What is misogyny, exactly? Who deserves to be called a misogynist? How does misogyny contrast with sexism, and why is it prone to persist - or increase - even when sexist gender roles are waning? This book is an exploration of misogyny in public life and politics by the moral philosopher Kate Manne. It argues that misogyny should not be understood primarily in terms of the hatred or hostility some men feel toward all or most women. Rather, it's primarily about controlling, policing, punishing, and exiling the "bad" women.
-
-
Five Star Book w/bad Narration
- By Cherrybomb on 02-08-19
By: Kate Manne
-
Entitled
- How Male Privilege Hurts Women
- By: Kate Manne
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this bold and stylish critique, Cornell philosopher Kate Manne offers a radical new framework for understanding misogyny. Ranging widely across the culture, from Harvey Weinstein and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings to “Cat Person” and the political misfortunes of Elizabeth Warren, Manne’s book shows how privileged men’s sense of entitlement - to sex, yes, but more insidiously to admiration, care, bodily autonomy, knowledge, and power - is a pervasive social problem with often devastating consequences.
-
-
New to the subject
- By Bruno on 08-20-20
By: Kate Manne
-
The Creation of Patriarchy
- By: Gerda Lerner
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A major new work by a leading historian and pioneer in women's studies, The Creation of Patriarchy is a radical reconceptualization of Western civilization that makes gender central to its analysis. Gerda Lerner argues that male dominance over women is not "natural" or biological, but the product of an historical development begun in the second millennium BC in the Ancient Near East. As patriarchy as a system of organizing society was established historically, she contends, it can also be ended by the historical process.
-
-
Why isn’t this being taught in all high schools?
- By AM on 02-12-22
By: Gerda Lerner
-
Who Cooked the Last Supper?
- The Women's History of the World
- By: Rosalind Miles
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Without politics or polemics, this brilliant and witty book overturns centuries of preconceptions to restore women to their rightful place at the center of culture, revolution, empire, war, and peace. Spiced with tales of individual women who have shaped civilization, celebrating the work and lives of women around the world, and distinguished by a wealth of research, Who Cooked the Last Supper? redefines our concept of historical reality.
-
-
Waste of Time
- By Chihuahua Mom on 11-18-19
By: Rosalind Miles
-
Men Who Hate Women
- From Incels to Pickup Artists: The Truth About Extreme Misogyny and How It Affects Us All
- By: Laura Bates
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Men Who Hate Women examines the rise of secretive extremist communities who despise women and traces the roots of misogyny across a complex spider web of groups. It includes interviews with former members of these communities, the academics studying this movement, and the men fighting back. Women's rights activist Laura Bates wrote this book as someone who has been the target of many misogynistic attacks online. As Bates went undercover into the corners of the internet, she found an unseen, organized movement of thousands of anonymous men wishing violence (and worse) upon women.
-
-
Shocking
- By Lisa Rose on 08-31-24
By: Laura Bates
-
Everyday Sexism
- By: Laura Bates
- Narrated by: Laura Bates, Sarah Brown
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women are standing up and #shoutingback. In a culture that's driven by social media, for the first time women are using this online space (@EverydaySexism www.everydaysexism.com) to come together, share their stories, and encourage a new generation to recognise the problems that women face. This book is a call to arms in a new wave of feminism and it proves sexism is endemic - socially, politically, and economically. But women won't stand for it.
-
-
Sexism 101
- By Erickson on 09-08-16
By: Laura Bates
-
Down Girl
- The Logic of Misogyny
- By: Kate Manne
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Misogyny is a hot topic, yet it's often misunderstood. What is misogyny, exactly? Who deserves to be called a misogynist? How does misogyny contrast with sexism, and why is it prone to persist - or increase - even when sexist gender roles are waning? This book is an exploration of misogyny in public life and politics by the moral philosopher Kate Manne. It argues that misogyny should not be understood primarily in terms of the hatred or hostility some men feel toward all or most women. Rather, it's primarily about controlling, policing, punishing, and exiling the "bad" women.
-
-
Five Star Book w/bad Narration
- By Cherrybomb on 02-08-19
By: Kate Manne
-
Entitled
- How Male Privilege Hurts Women
- By: Kate Manne
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this bold and stylish critique, Cornell philosopher Kate Manne offers a radical new framework for understanding misogyny. Ranging widely across the culture, from Harvey Weinstein and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings to “Cat Person” and the political misfortunes of Elizabeth Warren, Manne’s book shows how privileged men’s sense of entitlement - to sex, yes, but more insidiously to admiration, care, bodily autonomy, knowledge, and power - is a pervasive social problem with often devastating consequences.
-
-
New to the subject
- By Bruno on 08-20-20
By: Kate Manne
-
The Creation of Patriarchy
- By: Gerda Lerner
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A major new work by a leading historian and pioneer in women's studies, The Creation of Patriarchy is a radical reconceptualization of Western civilization that makes gender central to its analysis. Gerda Lerner argues that male dominance over women is not "natural" or biological, but the product of an historical development begun in the second millennium BC in the Ancient Near East. As patriarchy as a system of organizing society was established historically, she contends, it can also be ended by the historical process.
-
-
Why isn’t this being taught in all high schools?
- By AM on 02-12-22
By: Gerda Lerner
-
Who Cooked the Last Supper?
- The Women's History of the World
- By: Rosalind Miles
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Without politics or polemics, this brilliant and witty book overturns centuries of preconceptions to restore women to their rightful place at the center of culture, revolution, empire, war, and peace. Spiced with tales of individual women who have shaped civilization, celebrating the work and lives of women around the world, and distinguished by a wealth of research, Who Cooked the Last Supper? redefines our concept of historical reality.
-
-
Waste of Time
- By Chihuahua Mom on 11-18-19
By: Rosalind Miles
-
Emotional Labor
- The Invisible Work Shaping Our Lives and How to Claim Our Power
- By: Rose Hackman
- Narrated by: Rose Hackman
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emotional labor is essential to our society and economy, but it’s so often invisible. In this groundbreaking, journalistic deep dive, Rose Hackman shares the stories of hundreds of women, tracing the history of this kind of work and exposing common manifestations of the phenomenon. But Hackman doesn’t simply diagnose a problem—she empowers us to combat this insidious force and forge pathways for radical evolution, justice, and change.
-
-
Fantastic
- By Amazon Customer on 04-17-23
By: Rose Hackman
-
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
- The Conflict Between Word and Image
- By: Leonard Shlain
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 24 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who changed the sex of God? This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values.
-
-
Can't Even Get Started
- By Marie on 02-08-19
By: Leonard Shlain
-
Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them
- When Loving Hurts and You Don’t Know Why
- By: Dr. Susan Forward, Joan Torres
- Narrated by: Randye Kaye
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Is this the way love is supposed to feel? Does the man you love assume the right to control how you live and behave? Have you given up important activities or people to keep him happy? Does he belittle your opinions, your feelings, or your accomplishments? Does he withdraw love, money, approval, or sex to punish you? If the questions here reveal a familiar pattern, you may be in love with a misogynist. In this superb self-help guide, Dr. Susan Forward helps you understand your man's destructive pattern and the part you play in it.
-
-
FANTASTIC!!
- By Lara Cockrell on 07-24-18
By: Dr. Susan Forward, and others
-
Rage Becomes Her
- The Power of Women's Anger
- By: Soraya Chemaly
- Narrated by: Soraya Chemaly
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women are angry, and it isn’t hard to figure out why. We are underpaid and overworked. Too sensitive or not sensitive enough. Too dowdy or too made-up. Too big or too thin. Sluts or prudes. We are harassed, told we are asking for it, and asked if it would kill us to smile. Yes, yes it would. Contrary to the rhetoric of popular “self-help” and an entire lifetime of being told otherwise, our rage is one of the most important resources we have, our sharpest tool against both personal and political oppression.
-
-
Holy Raging Hell
- By Enid Quimby on 10-17-18
By: Soraya Chemaly
-
When God Was a Woman
- By: Merlin Stone
- Narrated by: Jo Anna Perrin
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How did the shift from matriarchy to patriarchy come about? In fascinating detail, Merlin Stone tells us the story of the Goddess who reigned supreme in the Near and Middle East. Under her reign, societal roles differed markedly from those in patriarchal Judeo-Christian cultures: women bought and sold property, traded in the marketplace, and inherited title and land from their mothers.
-
-
Every woman should read this! Now!
- By LoveFromBothSides on 10-14-24
By: Merlin Stone
-
Black Skin, White Masks
- By: Frantz Fanon, Richard Philcox - translator
- Narrated by: Terrence Kidd
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few modern voices have had as profound an impact on the black identity and critical race theory as Frantz Fanon, and Black Skin, White Masks represents some of his most important work. Fanon's masterwork is now available in a new translation that updates its language for a new generation of listeners. A major influence on civil rights, anti-colonial, and black consciousness movements around the world, Black Skin, White Masks is the unsurpassed study of the black psyche in a white world.
-
-
So disappointing…
- By Chelsea N. on 10-01-24
By: Frantz Fanon, and others
What listeners say about A Brief History of Misogyny: the World's Oldest Prejudice
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Christopher
- 01-22-16
An Excellent History of a Repulsive Subject
First off, this is an important book that everyone -- particularly men -- should read. It does a good job revealing the long, grizzly history of misogyny, a necessary endeavor given how often the purported inferiority of women is taken for granted even in contemporary Western culture. It is often so disturbing that I imagine it would scare a lot of casual sexists into reexamining their views, were it incorporated into, say, a high school curriculum.
There are some shortcomings. For one, any history that begins with the kindling of Western civilization and proceeds to the present in a mere 10 hours is going to be somewhat generalized at times. Some of the bits on Greek and Roman history tends to treat these as somewhat more homogenous than might a book specifically about one of those topics, for instance.
The concluding chapter may be divisive among feminist listeners because it comes down on the side of there being innate differences between men and women, and claims that to deny this is to deny part of women's humanity. Holland's justifications for this view are unsatisfying, and I question the need for such a book to espouse any opinion on this matter -- the thesis feels tacked on to what is otherwise a brilliant work of research and observation.
Excellent narration.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
52 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michael
- 10-02-16
Clear, concise, and unarguable. Bravo.
As a male, and a Caucasian male at that, I have unjustified privilege stolen from women and non-Caucasians over millennia, even though I am not wealthy, and despite my deliberately trying not to exercise this privilege. In this book, the author eloquently makes the case for this historical atrocity, puts it in context, and suggests how we humans might begin making a better world for all of us. Listening to it, I have renewed motivation to do what I can to help, or at least, to avoid setting back the positive start that some have made, including this author.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jovan
- 08-24-17
Pervasive, persistent, pernicious and protean
“No other prejudice has proved so durable or shares those other characteristics to anything like the same extent. No race has suffered such prejudicial treatment over so long a period of time. No group of individuals, however they might be characterized, has been discriminated against on such a global scale. Nor has any prejudice manifested itself under so many different guises…and very few have been this destructive. Yet these very features that should have made misogyny stand out, have rendered it, in a strange way, inconspicuous. In the case of misogyny, we have too often relinquished the struggle to see what is in front of our noses.”
Jack Holland provides an interesting look at how classical Greek thought dehumanized women and perpetuated misogynist beliefs through its inclusion into all facets of Western civilization—from natural philosophy to religious texts to scientific and societal advancements, etc, to the point that misogyny is so pervasive it’s accepted as normal even in it’s most extreme forms. The book explores misogyny through the lens of dualism where “men [are] the thesis and women the antithesis”, with the premise being that possibly men and women had a more balanced relationship and interacted/saw one another as pieces of a whole, which eventually changed, notably around 800BC in the Eastern Mediterranean. During this time, written creation stories, using man’s innate fear of “otherness”, blamed the harshness, unpredictably and general unknowingness of man’s existence on women—those mystifying creatures who, while being generally weaker and smaller than men still held so much power in their necessity for man’s survival, and for some, the gratification of physical needs.
“…tracing the history of any hatred is a complex matter. At the root of any particular form of hatred…one usually finds a conflict. But on the depressing list of hatreds...none other than misogyny involves the profound need and desires that most men have for women and most women for men. Hatred coexists with desire in a peculiar way…this is what makes misogyny so complex. It involves a man’s conflict with himself. Indeed, for the most part, it’s not even recognized.”
Holland follows how dualism, with woman being the destroyer of man and purveyor all of the worlds ills was incorporated into the classical life and thought of men whose words helped shape so much of modern Western societies.
“The history of misogyny is indeed the story of a hatred unique as it is enduring, uniting Aristotle with Jack the Ripper, King Lear with James Bond.”
Holland also highlights that misogyny is so ingrained and almost mundane in the world that people not only shrug or overlook the contempt of women inherent in commonly used slurs and slang or in a rape culture where women are blamed and punished, but in extreme violence against women as well.
“…Gary Rideway… repeated “guilty” over and over again to charges of strangling 48 young women…had the victims of his murderous rampage been Jews or African Americans, there would have been a national alarm sounded and acres of print covered with soul-searching questions about the state of race relations in the United States... Yet the actions of a Ridgeway or a Jack the Ripper are usually left to a psychiatrist to explain. Their urge to kill women is seen as an aberration when in truth it is simply an intensification of a commonplace prejudice. The spectrum of misogyny which runs from the contempt of “cunt”…to the murderous rage of a serial killer…”
Since the book is so Western-centric, there isn’t much regarding misogyny in non-Western thought outside of how Western culture may have enhanced or even radicalized it in some African and Middle eastern countries or when used as a random example of misogyny. How misogyny may have become so prevalent in Asian, island or other cultures outside of the generalized fear/abhorrence of “the other” is not explored at all. However, this is still a thoughtful and informative book about the world’s oldest prejudice.
“It has survived in one form or another over immense periods of time, emerging seemingly unchanged from the cataclysms that had engulfed empires and cultures and swept away their other modes of thought and feeling. It persists after philosophical and scientific revolutions have seemingly transformed permanently how we look at the world…It comes back to haunt our ideals of equality…”
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- nick zebrowski
- 10-23-16
Further reading required
An extremely enlightening overview of misogyny. The book requires more of a primer in history/philosophy than I had.... but I still found this very beneficial.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Alisha
- 08-27-20
Must Read!
This is a must read book for women, considering the integration of misogyny in our cultures.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- D. Bishop
- 09-13-16
fantastic historical accounting
great listen. the orator is perfect for this book and the subject matter was perfectly written.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- N. Janik
- 04-11-19
Every human should read this book...
...or listen to it (age appropriateness notwithstanding). Are you a male or female or some combination thereof or do you someone who is? Then this history cannot be left unheard and unaddressed.
You may agree, disagree, or have no opinion on issues that make up what is misogyny- but do not live in ignorance. Educate yourself. Elevate your position and that which you believe defends it and learn all sides of the issues. Be kind to one another.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Philip
- 09-22-16
A HISTORY of misogyny
This work, while well researched and excellently narrated, focuses on a historical narrative of the intellectual justification of misogyny, rather than providing an analysis of its root causes. A great "read" nonetheless.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Wes
- 10-26-16
Seek justice and love mercy
This work was simply fantastic. I don't understand how I could have possibly stumbled upon this book without it being first recommended to me. This book should be more widely circulated and I would recommend this book to almost anyone.
I will likely listen to this book again in the not distant future. As a male, American, conservative-leaning evangelical Christian, I would implore anyone like me to go ahead and buy this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Zoryana Tischenko
- 10-02-23
Fascinating read
Reading this book make one realize how far we went in lights of women rights. Still long way to go but seeing the progress so far, is encouraging.
I liked how this book was written and it was easy to listen to.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!