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A Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman
The anarchist and radical hero Emma Goldman, brought to vivid life in a graphic biography by an acclaimed artist.
"You are a terrible child and will grow into a worse woman! You have no respect for your elders or for authority! You will surely end on the gallows as a public menace!"—Emma Goldman's childhood religion teacher
A wonderful retelling of the famous anarchist and radical icon Emma Goldman's extraordinary life, this graphic biography embodies the richness and drama of Goldman's story in a wholly original way.
A Dangerous Woman depicts the full sweep of a life lived to the hilt in the struggle for equality and justice. Emma Goldman was at the forefront of the radical causes of the twentieth century, from leading hunger demonstrations during the Great Depression—"Ask for work! If they do not give you work, ask for bread! If they do not give you work or bread, take the bread!"—to organizing a cloakmakers' strike, from lecturing on how to use birth control to fighting conscription for World War I, while her soulmate, Alexander Berkman, spent fourteen years in jail for his failed attentat against industrialist Henry Clay Frick.
Sharon Rudahl's lovely, energetic illustrations bring Goldman's many facets and passions to new life; her work belongs with the critically acclaimed graphic nonfiction of Alison Bechdel's Fun Home and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. Featuring a foreword by Alice Wexler, A Dangerous Woman is a marvelously compelling presentation of a woman devoted to revolutionizing her age.
"You are a terrible child and will grow into a worse woman! You have no respect for your elders or for authority! You will surely end on the gallows as a public menace!"—Emma Goldman's childhood religion teacher
A wonderful retelling of the famous anarchist and radical icon Emma Goldman's extraordinary life, this graphic biography embodies the richness and drama of Goldman's story in a wholly original way.
A Dangerous Woman depicts the full sweep of a life lived to the hilt in the struggle for equality and justice. Emma Goldman was at the forefront of the radical causes of the twentieth century, from leading hunger demonstrations during the Great Depression—"Ask for work! If they do not give you work, ask for bread! If they do not give you work or bread, take the bread!"—to organizing a cloakmakers' strike, from lecturing on how to use birth control to fighting conscription for World War I, while her soulmate, Alexander Berkman, spent fourteen years in jail for his failed attentat against industrialist Henry Clay Frick.
Sharon Rudahl's lovely, energetic illustrations bring Goldman's many facets and passions to new life; her work belongs with the critically acclaimed graphic nonfiction of Alison Bechdel's Fun Home and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. Featuring a foreword by Alice Wexler, A Dangerous Woman is a marvelously compelling presentation of a woman devoted to revolutionizing her age.
115 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
September 12, 2022
Okay, I get it. You are intrigued by the famed Red Emma, but you don’t have the patience to read her two volume, nearly 1000 page tome of an autobiography? Not to worry. This graphic biography is surprisingly good. It’s packed with more information than you would think could fit into a graphic bio combined with powerful art that works great with the text. It’s clearly informed by Goldman’s autobiography, Living My Life, as its story faithfully follows her text in condensed form. Reading it will both inform and entertain you.
But hey, you really should read Emma’s own Living My Life someday. It’s brilliant.
But hey, you really should read Emma’s own Living My Life someday. It’s brilliant.
February 8, 2016
alright nerds, i haven't even finished this book, but i'm gonna go ahead and give it a low score. graphic biographies can be decent, but me and the author have some major issues in how we think politics should be represented.
the most painful panels are comparing emma goldman to MLK as a great orator out of nowhere, and then emma goldman telling someone "let me explain the social factors behind your oppression"
this book is reminding me why i don't trust and always get along with anarchists.
the art and lettering is very meh to me, but the artist is clearly trying.
know i'm like trapped angry-reading this because it upsets me so much.
the most painful panels are comparing emma goldman to MLK as a great orator out of nowhere, and then emma goldman telling someone "let me explain the social factors behind your oppression"
this book is reminding me why i don't trust and always get along with anarchists.
the art and lettering is very meh to me, but the artist is clearly trying.
know i'm like trapped angry-reading this because it upsets me so much.
February 7, 2016
2.5
I feel kind of bad giving this book such a "low" rating, especially since I think it was well done. I liked the art and I know more about Emma Goldman's life than I did before. So why only 2.5 stars?
I think it has more to do with the format than anything. I've read one other graphic biography and encountered the same issues. That one--which about Karl Marx--was even shorter. I realize when you're condensing a life into about 100 illustrated pages, there is a lot you're going to have to cover quickly, superficially, or not at all. Still, having big unexplained time jumps from one panel to the next, introducing people who are quickly shunted aside, and inserting single-panel developments leads to a reading experience that, for me, is a bit frustrating. "Hold on, what's happening? Who is this person? Wait where'd they go??" I thought to myself more than once. I understand that providing more context takes a whole lot more time when you're also drawing everything, though.
The biggest problem with this book for me is that it doesn't really cover Emma Goldman's politics or opinions much at all. Most of my friends identify as anarchists of some stripe, and Emma Goldman comes up from time to time as a sort of historical woman badass. So I wanted to get more information. This book is big on Emma Goldman the woman, and not so big on Emma Goldman the political figure. The problem is, for me, is that I was interested in the latter and most people, I think, would not be interested in her biography if it weren't for her politics and the history she made due to her politics. So while I learned about Emma's family relations and many lovers, I felt like I got much less information on her political opinions, which is what I was actually interested in. Some of her positions were covered, don't get me wrong--but a lot of times, after reading an anecdote or story about her life, I would wonder why I'm supposed to care--why was she considered so dangerous anyway, and why do people a hundred years later still refer to her? What did she do? What did she think? What did she really care about? Sometimes, reading this, it was hard to tell. Maybe a biography is the wrong place to look for that information. I was also disappointed that there weren't any notes in the back, no bibliography, no sources or attributions for different events or quotes given, no further reading suggestions--it doesn't even say if it was based on her autobiography or what. I tend to be suspicious of "nonfiction" that doesn't credit its sources or offer clarifications.
Anyway, I would definitely recommend this if you are already a fan of Ms. Goldman. If you're looking for more information about what made her tick, what motivated her, what her thoughts and positions were, either look elsewhere or use this as a starting point and expect that it won't answer all your questions.
I feel kind of bad giving this book such a "low" rating, especially since I think it was well done. I liked the art and I know more about Emma Goldman's life than I did before. So why only 2.5 stars?
I think it has more to do with the format than anything. I've read one other graphic biography and encountered the same issues. That one--which about Karl Marx--was even shorter. I realize when you're condensing a life into about 100 illustrated pages, there is a lot you're going to have to cover quickly, superficially, or not at all. Still, having big unexplained time jumps from one panel to the next, introducing people who are quickly shunted aside, and inserting single-panel developments leads to a reading experience that, for me, is a bit frustrating. "Hold on, what's happening? Who is this person? Wait where'd they go??" I thought to myself more than once. I understand that providing more context takes a whole lot more time when you're also drawing everything, though.
The biggest problem with this book for me is that it doesn't really cover Emma Goldman's politics or opinions much at all. Most of my friends identify as anarchists of some stripe, and Emma Goldman comes up from time to time as a sort of historical woman badass. So I wanted to get more information. This book is big on Emma Goldman the woman, and not so big on Emma Goldman the political figure. The problem is, for me, is that I was interested in the latter and most people, I think, would not be interested in her biography if it weren't for her politics and the history she made due to her politics. So while I learned about Emma's family relations and many lovers, I felt like I got much less information on her political opinions, which is what I was actually interested in. Some of her positions were covered, don't get me wrong--but a lot of times, after reading an anecdote or story about her life, I would wonder why I'm supposed to care--why was she considered so dangerous anyway, and why do people a hundred years later still refer to her? What did she do? What did she think? What did she really care about? Sometimes, reading this, it was hard to tell. Maybe a biography is the wrong place to look for that information. I was also disappointed that there weren't any notes in the back, no bibliography, no sources or attributions for different events or quotes given, no further reading suggestions--it doesn't even say if it was based on her autobiography or what. I tend to be suspicious of "nonfiction" that doesn't credit its sources or offer clarifications.
Anyway, I would definitely recommend this if you are already a fan of Ms. Goldman. If you're looking for more information about what made her tick, what motivated her, what her thoughts and positions were, either look elsewhere or use this as a starting point and expect that it won't answer all your questions.
August 8, 2013
2.5 stars.
I didn't really like this much at all. I think Emma Goldman is FASCINATING (though I disagree with many of her beliefs), but this as a graphic novel was not great. The pages were crammed (cramped!) with text and information to the point that it took me a very long time to get through it. Or maybe it just felt like a long time because reading each page was so labor intensive. The illustrations are so marvelous, but I just can't get over how much stuff was on each page. There was so much cool information that I tracked down this documentary of her that was on American Experience. There was even so much info in the book that I caught a lil error in the documentary! Haha! Still, too much stuff on each page!
Additionally this is one in a very annoying trend of graphic biographies/non-fiction that doesn't have a bibliography. The Author's Note says that almost everything is in her autobiography Living My Life, but I am sure there was more. It was certainly more deplorable in Superzelda, which had NOTHING in terms of works used/bibliography, but if either were a general non-fiction book that would be totally unacceptable! SHOW YOUR WORK, PEOPLE.
I didn't really like this much at all. I think Emma Goldman is FASCINATING (though I disagree with many of her beliefs), but this as a graphic novel was not great. The pages were crammed (cramped!) with text and information to the point that it took me a very long time to get through it. Or maybe it just felt like a long time because reading each page was so labor intensive. The illustrations are so marvelous, but I just can't get over how much stuff was on each page. There was so much cool information that I tracked down this documentary of her that was on American Experience. There was even so much info in the book that I caught a lil error in the documentary! Haha! Still, too much stuff on each page!
Additionally this is one in a very annoying trend of graphic biographies/non-fiction that doesn't have a bibliography. The Author's Note says that almost everything is in her autobiography Living My Life, but I am sure there was more. It was certainly more deplorable in Superzelda, which had NOTHING in terms of works used/bibliography, but if either were a general non-fiction book that would be totally unacceptable! SHOW YOUR WORK, PEOPLE.
December 23, 2007
Another shocking hole in my education filled in through comics. The illustrations are evocative and layered, and the text is for the most part directly from Goldman's biography. I have 1 quibble and 1 observation. Quibble: sometimes the layout/sequence of the drawings is a little confusing, but that could be because I am an old woman. Observation: the author is a huge fan of Goldman; the book could never be said to present an unbiased view of her life. Nevertheless very, very worth reading, esp. if like me you like learning about people but are easily bored by political ideology from the early 20th century.
May 28, 2020
I originally reviewed this when I was a fresh new baby booktuber in 2015, but I figured it was time to re-read and re-review this really inspiring biography that turned me onto such an interesting leftist figure.
A Dangerous Woman was published September 30th 2007 by The New Press and apparently also in at least Turkish in 2010.
The only warning, besides extreme awesomeness, is that there is some nudity. In case there was any doubt about it, Emma Goldman did have several sexual relationships and this is dealt with in a very matter of fact way that does include some sexual scenes where people are clearly enjoying themselves. There's also two assassination attempts and one state sanctioned execution.
While I didn't know that much about the creator before setting out to make this review, Sharon Rudahl is apparently also pretty coolio. According to lambiek and the women in comics wiki, Rudahl was an early contributor to underground comix in the 1970s and part of the collective that started Wommen's Comix in 1972. Rudahl's work has appeared in Wet Satin, Dope Comix, Bisarre Sex and Anarchy Comix. She also ID's as Jewish and according to Lilith was a homeschool parent.
Flipping the box over, the official description is as follows. " A wonderful retelling of the famous anarchist and radical icon Emma Goldman's extraordinary life, this graphic biography embodies the richness and drama of Goldman's story in a wholly original way.
A Dangerous Woman depicts the full sweep of a life lived to the hilt in the struggle for equality and justice. Emma Goldman was at the forefront of the radical causes of the twentieth century, from leading hunger demonstrations during the Great Depression—"Ask for work! If they do not give you work, ask for bread! If they do not give you work or bread, take the bread!"—to organizing a cloakmakers' strike, from lecturing on how to use birth control to fighting conscription for World War I, while her soulmate, Alexander Berkman, spent fourteen years in jail for his failed attentat against industrialist Henry Clay Frick."
As I mentioned during the creator bio, Sharon Rudahl was part of the underground comix movement, and that seems fitting to my untrained eye just flipping through the art. It's certainly a bit word heavy, something I often found daunting. Obviously for this re-read my love of Emma Goldman made everything pretty easy to get through, but I feel like the page layout choices did help more then a little on my first read-through. Not a super easy to follow 101 sort of comic layout, I do feel like the dynamic framing and detailed drawings helped to give my ADHD brain details to flip to when my attention starts to wander.
Gender, obviously, is something that comes up a lot in the book. Mostly implicitly, not so rah rah WOMEN explicitly. Emma's gender and sexuality were key to how she was able to move through the world and the different kinds of obstacles she had to overcome. Her critiques of the suffragette movement are pretty interesting, and important to know the context of in case some uppity member of the Manosphere ever tries to convince you that Emma was on their side. Some exciting examples of what she had to say on the subject of suffrage include.
"The American suffrage movement has been, until very recently, altogether a parlor affair, absolutely detached from the economic needs of the people."
"The poor, stupid, free American citizen! Free to starve, free to tramp the highways of this great country, he enjoys universal suffrage, and by that right, he has forged chains around his limbs. The reward that he receives is stringent labor laws prohibiting the right of boycott, of picketing, of everything, except the right to be robbed of the fruits of his labor."
And to conclude. " Few countries have produced such arrogance and snobbishness as America. Particularly is this true of the American woman of the middle class. She not only considers herself the equal of man, but his superior, especially in her purity, goodness, and morality. Small wonder that the American suffragist claims for her vote the most miraculous powers. In her exalted conceit she does not see how truly enslaved she is, not so much by man, as by her own silly notions and traditions. Suffrage can not ameliorate that sad fact; it can only accentuate it, as indeed it does."
Which I, and the few people who I have talked to on the subject, perceive to be fairly run of the mill anti voting sentiment of an anarchist and a critique of presenting women as a class of more moral and pure voters.
Emma's sexuality was also pretty interesting. Apparently pretty straight, her practice of free love was still pretty revolutionary. An outspoken critique of marriage, Goldman was apparently an early critique of what we now call homophobia. Although the latter was highlighted more on her wikipedia profile and not so much inside this particular graphic biography. She had several male lovers throughout her life, with at least one later in life being much younger. I felt like Rudahl did a good job of differentiate each relationship, and didn't just brush over this aspect of Goldman's life in any way.
While not explicitly disability representation, I did also appreciate the way in which Rudahl also highlighted the toll that Goldman's busy life had on her and others. There's at least once, if not twice, where Goldman becomes quite ill and must be nursed back to health by her sister. The imprisonment of a lover also has a deep and profound impact on both of them mentally and politically. It would be nice to see more, and I would not consider Goldman a disability icon, but there is something to say about pushing back against the idea that our heroes just go go go all the time and never need to rest.
Another implicit and not super explicit idea, you kind of have to think about it on your own time, but race (or ethnicity, I am not sure if she would have been seen as white at the time or not) is also an important aspect of Emma Goldman's life. Emma Goldman is a Russian immigrant whose family fled from Russia due to antisemitism. Goldman faces barriers that she must creatively overcome because she is not a native english speaker. Doing some cursory web searching nothing is coming up for Goldman and race. General perception is she was against racism, although the social media is saying she did have strong negative feelings about Lucy Parsons.
While it's always nice to think of the people we admire as perfect, I'm really glad to have done this thought process about the way Goldman did or did not react to different marginalizations. Lots of questions to keep in mind whenever I work up the concentration to engage with her work again and inspiration for more holes of representation I need to look into. And she certainly is not necessary for everyone.
A Dangerous Woman was published September 30th 2007 by The New Press and apparently also in at least Turkish in 2010.
The only warning, besides extreme awesomeness, is that there is some nudity. In case there was any doubt about it, Emma Goldman did have several sexual relationships and this is dealt with in a very matter of fact way that does include some sexual scenes where people are clearly enjoying themselves. There's also two assassination attempts and one state sanctioned execution.
While I didn't know that much about the creator before setting out to make this review, Sharon Rudahl is apparently also pretty coolio. According to lambiek and the women in comics wiki, Rudahl was an early contributor to underground comix in the 1970s and part of the collective that started Wommen's Comix in 1972. Rudahl's work has appeared in Wet Satin, Dope Comix, Bisarre Sex and Anarchy Comix. She also ID's as Jewish and according to Lilith was a homeschool parent.
Flipping the box over, the official description is as follows. " A wonderful retelling of the famous anarchist and radical icon Emma Goldman's extraordinary life, this graphic biography embodies the richness and drama of Goldman's story in a wholly original way.
A Dangerous Woman depicts the full sweep of a life lived to the hilt in the struggle for equality and justice. Emma Goldman was at the forefront of the radical causes of the twentieth century, from leading hunger demonstrations during the Great Depression—"Ask for work! If they do not give you work, ask for bread! If they do not give you work or bread, take the bread!"—to organizing a cloakmakers' strike, from lecturing on how to use birth control to fighting conscription for World War I, while her soulmate, Alexander Berkman, spent fourteen years in jail for his failed attentat against industrialist Henry Clay Frick."
As I mentioned during the creator bio, Sharon Rudahl was part of the underground comix movement, and that seems fitting to my untrained eye just flipping through the art. It's certainly a bit word heavy, something I often found daunting. Obviously for this re-read my love of Emma Goldman made everything pretty easy to get through, but I feel like the page layout choices did help more then a little on my first read-through. Not a super easy to follow 101 sort of comic layout, I do feel like the dynamic framing and detailed drawings helped to give my ADHD brain details to flip to when my attention starts to wander.
Gender, obviously, is something that comes up a lot in the book. Mostly implicitly, not so rah rah WOMEN explicitly. Emma's gender and sexuality were key to how she was able to move through the world and the different kinds of obstacles she had to overcome. Her critiques of the suffragette movement are pretty interesting, and important to know the context of in case some uppity member of the Manosphere ever tries to convince you that Emma was on their side. Some exciting examples of what she had to say on the subject of suffrage include.
"The American suffrage movement has been, until very recently, altogether a parlor affair, absolutely detached from the economic needs of the people."
"The poor, stupid, free American citizen! Free to starve, free to tramp the highways of this great country, he enjoys universal suffrage, and by that right, he has forged chains around his limbs. The reward that he receives is stringent labor laws prohibiting the right of boycott, of picketing, of everything, except the right to be robbed of the fruits of his labor."
And to conclude. " Few countries have produced such arrogance and snobbishness as America. Particularly is this true of the American woman of the middle class. She not only considers herself the equal of man, but his superior, especially in her purity, goodness, and morality. Small wonder that the American suffragist claims for her vote the most miraculous powers. In her exalted conceit she does not see how truly enslaved she is, not so much by man, as by her own silly notions and traditions. Suffrage can not ameliorate that sad fact; it can only accentuate it, as indeed it does."
Which I, and the few people who I have talked to on the subject, perceive to be fairly run of the mill anti voting sentiment of an anarchist and a critique of presenting women as a class of more moral and pure voters.
Emma's sexuality was also pretty interesting. Apparently pretty straight, her practice of free love was still pretty revolutionary. An outspoken critique of marriage, Goldman was apparently an early critique of what we now call homophobia. Although the latter was highlighted more on her wikipedia profile and not so much inside this particular graphic biography. She had several male lovers throughout her life, with at least one later in life being much younger. I felt like Rudahl did a good job of differentiate each relationship, and didn't just brush over this aspect of Goldman's life in any way.
While not explicitly disability representation, I did also appreciate the way in which Rudahl also highlighted the toll that Goldman's busy life had on her and others. There's at least once, if not twice, where Goldman becomes quite ill and must be nursed back to health by her sister. The imprisonment of a lover also has a deep and profound impact on both of them mentally and politically. It would be nice to see more, and I would not consider Goldman a disability icon, but there is something to say about pushing back against the idea that our heroes just go go go all the time and never need to rest.
Another implicit and not super explicit idea, you kind of have to think about it on your own time, but race (or ethnicity, I am not sure if she would have been seen as white at the time or not) is also an important aspect of Emma Goldman's life. Emma Goldman is a Russian immigrant whose family fled from Russia due to antisemitism. Goldman faces barriers that she must creatively overcome because she is not a native english speaker. Doing some cursory web searching nothing is coming up for Goldman and race. General perception is she was against racism, although the social media is saying she did have strong negative feelings about Lucy Parsons.
While it's always nice to think of the people we admire as perfect, I'm really glad to have done this thought process about the way Goldman did or did not react to different marginalizations. Lots of questions to keep in mind whenever I work up the concentration to engage with her work again and inspiration for more holes of representation I need to look into. And she certainly is not necessary for everyone.
October 21, 2021
The illustrations were awesome and I couldnot take my eyes off this comic. I personally love Emma Goldman and what she represented so it was beyond interesting to get acquainted with her life story.
November 10, 2021
I loved reading this, because it's a great marriage of comics biographer and subject. We aren't usually taught about our great radicals like Goldman, and I've meant to read about her since seeing the movie Reds! Sharon Rudahl first impressed me as an impressionable young reader of Denis Kitchen's aboveground anthology Comix Book, presenting work from the underground cartoonists for the mainstream newsstands served by Marvel Comics. In this, it is fair to say, as her bio summarizes, that she worked for Marvel, though her style is an adult, mature, underground realism. Let me restate that: there is a mature treatment of sexual experience and Goldman's life here. More, there is a mature outlook on the times of Emma Goldman, responding to political, cultural and physical unrest. Health is a big part of this life story.
Recommended, for mature readers.
Thanks to GSU Clarkston Library for the loan.
Recommended, for mature readers.
Thanks to GSU Clarkston Library for the loan.
January 6, 2022
Tıkış pıkış. Bu kadar ilginç bir kadının hayatının bu kadar sıkıcı anlatılması ise üzücü. Galiba şu ana kadar en zor okuduğum çizgiroman. Son olarak da, çevirisi de kötü sanki menajer için "ticari ajanım" kullanılıyor.
June 12, 2022
I can't believe I had never heard of this woman! She sounds amazing!
This book was a bit all over the place, but it seems fitting, as Emma was too.
It was a bit difficult to follow at times, but it made me interested in the figure of Emma Goldman.
This book was a bit all over the place, but it seems fitting, as Emma was too.
It was a bit difficult to follow at times, but it made me interested in the figure of Emma Goldman.
February 27, 2012
I wasn’t familiar with Emma Goldman (1869-1940) before reading A DANGEROUS WOMAN, the graphic biography (as opposed to a graphic novel) written and illustrated by Sharon Rudahl. This softcover book details her life from her birth in Russia, as an anarchist who traveled the world, the relationships she had, to her death at age 70.
The biography is a good introduction to Goldman for adults. If they’re intrigued they might consider reading further about this strong-willed woman who championed birth control yet was against the right to vote for women.
Leaving Russia for the United States at age 15, Emma became an anarchist after the Haymarket Square bombing and traveled for most of her life as a great orator. She organized strikes, incited riots, spoke against patriotism, and was imprisoned several times. After her devotee Sasha Berkman was imprisoned for shooting an industrialist, she planned an ill-fated attempt to free him from prison. She published an anarchist magazine and worked many different jobs to pay for her travels and printing costs. Eventually she was deported but continued fighting for her beliefs.
The author put a great deal of work in drawing Emma’s life. For a graphic book there is a lot of information packed into its 115 pages.
As stated before, I think this is a good introduction to Emma Goldman’s life for older teens upwards. Personally I wouldn’t give it to a younger person as there are sexual scenes.
I would recommend A DANGEROUS WOMAN to those who are interested in the history of anarchy.
The biography is a good introduction to Goldman for adults. If they’re intrigued they might consider reading further about this strong-willed woman who championed birth control yet was against the right to vote for women.
Leaving Russia for the United States at age 15, Emma became an anarchist after the Haymarket Square bombing and traveled for most of her life as a great orator. She organized strikes, incited riots, spoke against patriotism, and was imprisoned several times. After her devotee Sasha Berkman was imprisoned for shooting an industrialist, she planned an ill-fated attempt to free him from prison. She published an anarchist magazine and worked many different jobs to pay for her travels and printing costs. Eventually she was deported but continued fighting for her beliefs.
The author put a great deal of work in drawing Emma’s life. For a graphic book there is a lot of information packed into its 115 pages.
As stated before, I think this is a good introduction to Emma Goldman’s life for older teens upwards. Personally I wouldn’t give it to a younger person as there are sexual scenes.
I would recommend A DANGEROUS WOMAN to those who are interested in the history of anarchy.
November 5, 2007
Rudahl's descriptive expository approach to Emma's story did not work for me; it seems her aim for this graphic biography was creation for the benefit of instruction--to teach the youth of today, which is perfectly fine. But to me the approach set a forced tone. I feel this could have been so much better had Rudahl taken another approach (e.g. telling the story from Emma directly or from the memory of Alexandar Berkman or niece Stella or from police files).
The art--I like how Rudahl uses a variety of different frames and image montages, and the composition of her work is very good--movement, balance, and perspective. However, I am not keen about her style, especially her inability to convey expression in characters' faces. Over and over the same wooden image of Emma Goldman. Characterizations of people, graphically-speaking are flat; the images of people often reminded me of maniquins.
If you want to learn about Emma Goldman, I suggest reading her story in her own words, Living My Life, volumes 1&2.
The art--I like how Rudahl uses a variety of different frames and image montages, and the composition of her work is very good--movement, balance, and perspective. However, I am not keen about her style, especially her inability to convey expression in characters' faces. Over and over the same wooden image of Emma Goldman. Characterizations of people, graphically-speaking are flat; the images of people often reminded me of maniquins.
If you want to learn about Emma Goldman, I suggest reading her story in her own words, Living My Life, volumes 1&2.
January 15, 2008
I have always been an ardent fan of Emma Goldman. She tirelessly fought for free speech, long before the ACLU, birth control before Margaret Sanger, women's rights before suffrage, and free love before the sixties. She was a clever firecracker who would never be silenced; somehow immune to what the world expected and wanted of her. A selfless friend and patron to prostitutes, homeless, the huddled masses and wage-slaves everywhere; she never shied away from hard labor or hard choices, whenever she was thrown in jail, she shared everything she had with her fellow prisoners. She patently refused to yield, not only to The State, her varied lovers, and societal 'norms', but to compromising factions within various revolutionary movements. Her quest for human rights was fucking amazing and inspiring ... and this graphic novel brings it all home.
...oh, and she lectured to sold-out crowds and garnered attention from literary and cultural icons around the globe, many of whom clamored to be her comrade and lover ... but power and social prestige never mattered to her.
...oh, and she lectured to sold-out crowds and garnered attention from literary and cultural icons around the globe, many of whom clamored to be her comrade and lover ... but power and social prestige never mattered to her.
February 26, 2008
Uck. Comics have the power to offer new, unique perspectives and interpretations. But the material for this came straight out of biographies and historical materials, and not in any particularly innovative way or with a unifying theme. Unless that theme was: agitate for agitation's sake without any real sense of the people you're agitating for, and oh yeah, isn't it neat that Emma Goldman had lots of lovers and got kicked out of some countries? I am sure there is an interesting biography of Emma Goldman, but this is not it.
March 3, 2015
This is a graphic biography of the Jewish anarchist activist Emma Goldman, and it definitely fills a niche that was lacking in my history classes. It goes into detail about her upbringing, education, personal life, and travels while chronicling her political career. However, I found it a very slow read, mostly because the text-to-image ratio is just too high for a graphic novel in my opinion. Combine that with busy composition and black and white sketch-style art, and the result is a page spread so cluttered that it is not pleasing to my eye.
May 9, 2012
I really enjoyed this book--Rudahl's artwork is great, and weaved throughout the storyline are actual quotes from Goldman and her comrades. My only 'complaint' is that Rudahl condenses a LOT of history into a hundred pages, so I found it a bit confusing in places (which isn't an altogether bad thing...I just checked out Goldman's autobiography for clarification!).
April 14, 2014
Want to know what to give every teenage girl on the planet for Christmas? Boom. You're welcome.
January 8, 2020
A Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman is a biographical graphic novel written and illustrated by Sharon Rudahl with a forward by Alice Wexler and edited by Paul M. Buhle, and traces the life of Emma Goldman from her upbringing in the Soviet Union to her political activeness in the United States for the Anarchist Party.
Emma Goldman was an anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the 20th century.
Born in Russia in 1869 at a time when women, particularly Jewish women, were to be downtrodden and not heard, Goldman lost no time upsetting the status quo with her voice and restless curiosity. After following her sisters to America, the newly married Goldman was just starting to learn about leftist politics when she became radicalized by the 1886 Haymarket bombing in Chicago, leading to more than a half-century's worth of nearly nonstop protesting, fiery speechmaking and organizing across North America and Europe, and even a few passionate affairs.
A Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman is written and constructed rather well. Rudahl's earnest admiration for Goldman and her refreshingly smart approach to the cause is clear in her excited artwork, all cramped frames and twirl-like action.
All in all, A Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman is a good biographical graphic novel about Emma Goldman – a political activist and writer for the anarchist party.
Emma Goldman was an anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the 20th century.
Born in Russia in 1869 at a time when women, particularly Jewish women, were to be downtrodden and not heard, Goldman lost no time upsetting the status quo with her voice and restless curiosity. After following her sisters to America, the newly married Goldman was just starting to learn about leftist politics when she became radicalized by the 1886 Haymarket bombing in Chicago, leading to more than a half-century's worth of nearly nonstop protesting, fiery speechmaking and organizing across North America and Europe, and even a few passionate affairs.
A Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman is written and constructed rather well. Rudahl's earnest admiration for Goldman and her refreshingly smart approach to the cause is clear in her excited artwork, all cramped frames and twirl-like action.
All in all, A Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman is a good biographical graphic novel about Emma Goldman – a political activist and writer for the anarchist party.
July 16, 2021
The early 1900s is an interesting time in American politics with many parallels to the present day. Goldman became an anarchist at an early age, she was also active with labor unions and other social issues. She became much more active and famous after her first husband was jailed. The one large failing of this book is anarchism and other period issues are not well explained, people unfamiliar with this era may be confused.
A visit to England gave Goldman a new issue, birth control, a topic that was illegal to write or talk about, much less sell products. She also became associated with the Free Love movement and started taking lovers. A bit after returning to America, she was accused as an accomplice in the murder of President McKinley, making her a hot topic on the national scene. Her life continues on in this vein until her death in 1940, with deportation to Russia, Europe, and Spain. A unique life, she wrote an autobiography Living My Life.
The art reminds me a bit of 60s underground comics, it's appropriate for the subject. Overall a decent read for those somewhat knowledgeable about the history.
A visit to England gave Goldman a new issue, birth control, a topic that was illegal to write or talk about, much less sell products. She also became associated with the Free Love movement and started taking lovers. A bit after returning to America, she was accused as an accomplice in the murder of President McKinley, making her a hot topic on the national scene. Her life continues on in this vein until her death in 1940, with deportation to Russia, Europe, and Spain. A unique life, she wrote an autobiography Living My Life.
The art reminds me a bit of 60s underground comics, it's appropriate for the subject. Overall a decent read for those somewhat knowledgeable about the history.
May 4, 2017
Sometimes I like to read something out of my comfort zone that I know nothing about. A Russian Jew, free lover, and anarchist in the 1800's definitely fits the bill. I didn't realize HOW FAR outside my comfort zone this was going to be. I have decided that if I had to live during a different time period, the late 1800's/early 1900's is definitely on my top five "NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT" list.
I admire Emma's compassion for the less fortunate, and her devotion to her beliefs.
That's...pretty much it. I'll be honest, this was a traumatizing on all levels. From personal decisions to global-political decisions, the trauma doth flow.
I found this quote interesting to ponder with regards to free speech: "Free speech means NOTHING if it does not mean the freedom to say what others don't want to hear!"
I admire Emma's compassion for the less fortunate, and her devotion to her beliefs.
That's...pretty much it. I'll be honest, this was a traumatizing on all levels. From personal decisions to global-political decisions, the trauma doth flow.
I found this quote interesting to ponder with regards to free speech: "Free speech means NOTHING if it does not mean the freedom to say what others don't want to hear!"
July 5, 2022
I wasn't sure I would stick with this, but luckily graphic fiction & nonfiction are quick/easy enough reads, and the topic did end up sucking me in. It's about the anarchist Emma Goldman (1869-19400), from her beginnings in Russia, to many years in the U.S., and then her years moving from country to country after she was deported from the U.S.
It was a little hard to know how to read the panels in the right order. The pages were crammed with info. There was one part where an acronym was introduced IWW, but what it stood for was never fully explained and then the acronym was mentioned several more times in the book. I think it may stand for Industrial Workers of the World.
Overall, though, I am definitely glad I read this. The reason I picked it up- for the 2022 Read Harder Challenge task to read a biography of a writer you admire.
It was a little hard to know how to read the panels in the right order. The pages were crammed with info. There was one part where an acronym was introduced IWW, but what it stood for was never fully explained and then the acronym was mentioned several more times in the book. I think it may stand for Industrial Workers of the World.
Overall, though, I am definitely glad I read this. The reason I picked it up- for the 2022 Read Harder Challenge task to read a biography of a writer you admire.
May 20, 2021
A friend of mine mentioned Emma Goldman in conversation, I said, "who?", she gaped, and then stuffed this book in my hand. Not sure how this early 20th century icon escaped my awareness, but I'm grateful to have that knowledge gap filled in such a fun and engaging way.
The author notes that, "Almost everything [Emma and her friends say or think] was taken directly from their own essays or speeches or was quoted in Emma's thousand-page autobiography". That makes the dialogue and plot progression awkward at times, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book, and I binge-read it all the same.
I plan to get my own copy, and the next time I hear "Emma Goldman who?", I'll pay this favor forward :)
The author notes that, "Almost everything [Emma and her friends say or think] was taken directly from their own essays or speeches or was quoted in Emma's thousand-page autobiography". That makes the dialogue and plot progression awkward at times, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book, and I binge-read it all the same.
I plan to get my own copy, and the next time I hear "Emma Goldman who?", I'll pay this favor forward :)
February 24, 2024
The graphics were not great.
The pages were overly packed with information and it wasn’t clear in what direction to we were supposed to be reading.
I have no idea what the author wanted us to know about Emma Goldmann. She just threw a bunch of stuff at us without any editing or deliberate thought.
I had to push myself hard to finish this book. I felt committed to reading it (not sure why)
I still have little to no idea why “Emma Goldmann” is a name that is on the periphery of my awareness (it’s a name I see/hear as part of American Jewish history and this book did not enlighten me in any way).
The pages were overly packed with information and it wasn’t clear in what direction to we were supposed to be reading.
I have no idea what the author wanted us to know about Emma Goldmann. She just threw a bunch of stuff at us without any editing or deliberate thought.
I had to push myself hard to finish this book. I felt committed to reading it (not sure why)
I still have little to no idea why “Emma Goldmann” is a name that is on the periphery of my awareness (it’s a name I see/hear as part of American Jewish history and this book did not enlighten me in any way).
February 7, 2020
25. A dangerous woman: the graphic biography of Emma Goldman by Sharon Rudahl
I have always been fascinated by Emma Goldman, (even naming a red Selectric IBM typewriter “Red Emma’), but I found this graphic biography a little too shallow. Goldman was told she was a terrible child, and I can relate to that so much. There was very little about her time in Canada, living on Spadina over United Bakers. The book didn’t reflect adequately on her brilliance and passion. Think I will get a proper biography that is less oriented to her time in the U.S.
I have always been fascinated by Emma Goldman, (even naming a red Selectric IBM typewriter “Red Emma’), but I found this graphic biography a little too shallow. Goldman was told she was a terrible child, and I can relate to that so much. There was very little about her time in Canada, living on Spadina over United Bakers. The book didn’t reflect adequately on her brilliance and passion. Think I will get a proper biography that is less oriented to her time in the U.S.
February 26, 2018
I continue to find graphic biographies to be a really satisfying and informative way to learn a lot about someone really quickly. This one is impeccably researched, full of detail and illustrative. Although it didn't have a bibliography I saw quickly that many of the quotes came directly from the writings of Emma Goldman and her comrades. If you are looking to learn about the life of Emma Goldman and quickly do not miss this book!
February 8, 2019
I've heard the name Emma Goldman before, but had no idea she lived such a strong and passionate life. Contains some adult themes and to me is an important alternate voice. I'm very grateful for her work in labor rights, free speech and contraception. At least in the opinion of the graphic novel's author, Ms Goldman really walked her talk.
November 11, 2020
A Dangerous Woman is excellent graphic biography of the world's most famous woman anarchists. Emma was often way ahead of her times fighting for the downtrodden and the rights of women. If you want an easily read introduction to Emma;s life and work, this is it. You'll be ready for her autobiography-Living My Life and later critical assessments of Emma.
June 12, 2025
Goldman is such an important figure, and this book is so well-researched, but it is also not that enjoyable of a read, as others have pointed out here, with odd jumps in time; and most of the panels have so much text going on it’s often hard to follow what’s going on. It’s still worth a read though.
November 22, 2021
I was really let down by this. A graphic novel about the anarchist activist? Sign me up! But something about this is just...off. I think there's too much information and not enough story. I'll just have to read the memoir she wrote herself instead.
May 16, 2022
Not as good as the graphic novel on Rosa Luxemburg that I read, but still, very interesting! I wish it had been in colour! I loved all the stuff about her romantic relationships (of course I did), queen of shagging about!
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