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Writing

Overall a very good read, and it helps fill an important gap as well. As with all biography or other subject study, it sometimes feels like it borders on hagiography. Sandefur no doubt agrees with the basic viewpoints of his subjects. But he does a nice job of bringing in people and points of view from the timeline of these women's lives that were contrasting, which not only helps the reader understand the context of their lives and their work better, but ensures the reader walks away knowing that the viewpoints of Paterson, Lane, and Rand had real competition in the minds of their contemporaries.
Sandefur's writing style is good, though this is not quite an irresistible page-turner. He basically proceeds chronologically, and since the three women had somewhat staggered lifespans, he jumps between their stories some, although they become interconnected at points too. The timeline at the end is helpful if anyone has trouble following the basic sequence of events. While Sandefur mostly lets his subjects speak to the reader in their own voices, sometimes he summarizes things in his own a bit too much. Given how powerfully articulate his subjects were, he probably did not need to do so to the extent that he did.
Because his subjects and their point of view was very counterculture then, and remains so today, they are deliberately neglected by other writers, publishing houses, and the educational system, but they were bold, strong, intelligent, and articulate pioneers and they deserve to be known and heard, which is perhaps Sandefur's greatest contribution of keeping them in our present tense. A very good read overall.

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