An analysis of the experiences of 20th-century American women, which considers the significance of events during the 1970s to 1990s, such as the rise of feminism. The author outlines that although women have entered more fully into economic and political life, complete equality remains elusive.

"Provides a crisp overview of the present status of American women. This is the era that most texts are especially weak on, but students want to know about."--Anne M. Butler, Utah State University "A very useful survey, which is especially strong in summarizing the literature of the past two decades."--David Stebenne, Ohio State University "An excellent text exploring the boundaries of permissible/acceptable social change in America."--Richard K. Caputo, University of Pennsylvania "Readable and thought-provoking....His revised work will undoubtedly, and deservedly, be read by a new generation of women's studies students."--Marilyn Yalom, Washington Post Book World "A thoughtful re-evaluation of the same themes and issues first faced in the earlier study....[Offers] a very human conclusion to a synthesis of women's history in his century."--CHOICE Praise for the First Edition: "Until Chafe's book, the period 1920-1970 has been a terra mythologica populated by stereotype and misremembrance....Chafe's thorough research now permits us to evaluate the changing contours of women's public roles in the twentieth century."--Virginia Quarterly Review "An extraordinarily useful synthesis of material about the twentieth century woman."--Annals of the American Academy of Political Science "A vast amount of carefully documented information in a readable form. Feminists will find evidence for their arguments in the study, students should be delighted with the generous and wide-ranging bibliography."--The Yale Review "An excellent text, highly suitable for classroom use. It is scholarly and accessible."--Ronald A. Wells, Calvin College "A coherent useful summary of twentieth century women's history valuable for supplement to text."--J. Horn, SUNY Brockport "A good, concise look at American women in the twentieth century....A well-written book."--Dr. Robert W. Langran, Villanova University "A useful extension of [Chafe's] own earlier work. Not only has he provided a distillation and synthesis of complexities of twenthieth century thought on woman's status; he has provided a compact, readable handbook for students and others seeking pathways through the mazes of the new scholarship in this field."--Frances Richardson Keller, San Francisco State University

William H. Chafe is Alice Mary Baldwin Professor of History at Duke University. He is the author of Women and Equality: Changing Patterns in American Culture, A History of Our Time: Readings on Postwar America, The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II, and Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina and the Black Struggle for Freedom.