I think anyone tired of hearing about "patriarchy" and "rape culture" especially needs to read this book, which basically everybody would be better off reading. Solnit is such an amazing thinker. This is not a book about "mansplaining" --Solnit quickly points out her slight displeasure at inadvertently helping coin that phrase, which she finds harmful in it's oversimplification. Solnit is a writer of precision as far as words are concerned, while heavily promoting the fluidity of ideas. But enough of trying to boil down her amazing words into my less capable ones--out of a book so ripe with so many important ideas, here are two that stand out to me as the essence on the larger idea that these essays, looking at a myriad of conditions and histories and problems, are building to:"Like racism, misogyny can never be adequately expressed by its victims alone. The men who get it also understand that feminism is not a scheme to deprive men but a campaign to liberate us all." (Pg 123)"I think the future of something we may no longer call feminism must include a deeper inquiry into men. Feminism sought and seeks to change the whole human world..." (Pg 120). The title essay is a must read for everyone. Some of the other essays are weakened by a lack of intersectional feminism and cultural understanding. The essay on marriage equality was also disturbingly simplistic; I expected much more critical thought and maybe even a new take on the issue. I would recommend this short collection of essays with those caveats because despite the issues I had with it, Solnit does highlight and draw some important connections between the silencing of women's voices and violence against women. I haven't read anything else by her but would be curious what others think of her work.
What do You think about Men Explain Things To Me (2014)?
Love the premise, love the inclusion of facts and stories to get across the broader point.
—robbo101
Thought-provoking essays covering more topics than the title indicates
—nidhi
Really wish it had footnotes or endnotes for further research!
—Kathy915
