The Underside Of History: A View Of Women Through Time

by Elise Boulding

The Underside of History, now available in a revised, two-volume edition, offers a new generation of scholars and students an alternative to the traditional courtesans/queens/mothers/and mistresses view of women in history. This classic in feminist literature provides an account of women's creativity in every age from pre-history to the present, and attempts to view women's roles in the context of the total time span of human experience. In clear and elegant prose, the author takes us on a breathtaking tour through time: we move through the hundred-thousand-year wanderings of the Paleolithic into the great transition from hunting and gathering to herding and planting; from life inside city walls to the great primary civilizations of the Middle East and Asia, as well as the feudal civilizations on its fringes; and from the sweep of culture generated by the Greco-Romanic-Islamic empires to "European Enlightenment" and, finally, to the last two centuries and the gradual industrialization-urbanization of the planet. New to this volume is a look at the 20th century women's movement--including a chapter on Third World women--as well as a provocative epilogue entitled "Creating Futures for the 21st Century." When we look at the imbalances regarding women in the social record, we are not simply gleaning information about the status of women: we are getting clues about general imbalances within society at large. For this reason, students, professionals, and practitioners alike will find The Underside of History to be an invigorating intellectual exercise and an essential addition to their libraries.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction

829 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scholarly but accessible. Huge panoramic scope, from ancient Mesopotamia to the modern U.S., Mongols to the Vikings to the Mayans, E. & W. hemispheres.

[Mirjam · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the main culprits in introducing & perpetuating many of the (sadly all-too-common) myths about women in prehistory.

[Sally O'wheel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a big undertaking, to tell the history of women over the last 10,000 years or so. An mammoth job. It got a bit overwhelming and of necessity interesting bits had to be glossed over. I understand Elise Boulding's need to write this book and I do have a hunger to know. But it was all too much for me to take in. Perhaps what is needed is a series, each book dealing with a specific period. It would be a life's work and Elise Boulding had many concerns. It was interesting to see her future projections from 1976. I liked her vision of education where children are much more connected to their communities and not shut away in class rooms. I'm pleased I read this.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting! If you aren't that interested in reading history, you should read the prologue at the end. Women, we have a long way to go to improve society before people ruin the earth and obliterate mankind. The only criticism is that the book is so heavy to hold that I could not hold it for reading for more than 20 minutes or so at a time.

[Catina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Full review to come.
Veredict: don't waste your time or your money on this book.
This book is bad scholarship that contains almost more factual errors than it does words, and that is also full of blatant lies. Nevertheless it was one of the main popularizers of certain myths that persist today about women's roles and contributions in prehistory and ancient history. So in a sense it has value as a historical artefact ("Oh, so that's where some of the weird ideas about women in prehistory come from!").