Reasonable Creatures

At a time when date rape has been declared nonexistent and feminism a dirty word, thank heaven for Katha Pollitt.  In this provocative, unerringly astute book of essays she proves to be our most articulate exponent of the idea that women are "neither heroines nor brutes, but reasonable creatures." Reasonable Creatures collects the best of Pollitt's essays from The Nation, The New Yorker, and The New York Times, on subjects that range from abortion to the media and violence. She offers sparkling and sometimes searing observations:

SEXUAL VIOLENCE: "We need to stop thinking of male violence as some kind of freak of nature, like a tornado. Because the thing about tornadoes is, you can't do anything about them."
SURROGATE MOTHERING: "Goods can be distributed according to ability to pay or not. People shouldn't be."
ABORTION: "The fact is, when your back is against the wall of unwanted pregnancy, it doesn't matter whether or not you think the fetus is a person. That's why in this country, Roman Catholic women...have a higher abortion rate than Jews or Protestants."


"Katha Pollitt's essays are fine, fierce, well-informed and mind-changing.  Anyone would be proud to have her good head and good heart on their side."--Gloria Steinem