When Everything Changed

I've finished reading Gail Collins' "When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women From 1960 To The Present."

Amazing, indeed.

I've lived through the period described by the book, although I was awfully young for the earliest years. I remembered as I read, but having the changes spelled out so clearly was astonishing. Seeing how much has changed in such a short period of time, I had a feeling of disbelief as I read: "Did we really live like that? Is that what people thought back then?"

I can't fully identify because of my gender, but I can appreciate the difference as the father of two daughters. My sisters had to fight the good fight to go to college; my daughters grew up with the expectation that they'd go. Such a difference in the span of one or two generations.

Gail's writing style mirrors her columns on the editorial pages of the New York Times: part historian, part educator, part wry observer, all glued together by a dry wit. I happen to love it. I laughed out loud in places.

Of course I'll have my daughters read the book. It'll be a good lesson for them to see how their choices have expanded. I recommend it highly.