Fans pick 94 books like The Good Girls Revolt

By Lynn Povich,

Here are 94 books that The Good Girls Revolt fans have personally recommended if you like The Good Girls Revolt. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Rebels in White Gloves: Coming of Age with Hillary's Class--Wellesley '69

Kimberly Voss Author Of Women Politicking Politely: Advancing Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s

From my list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am driven to tell the stories of important but often forgotten women journalists from the 1940s through the 1970s. They were pioneers who also created deep connections in their communities. Over the past few years, I have published several books about women in mass media. My 2014 book documented the history of newspaper food editors– an often powerful and political position held almost exclusively by women. My third book, Women Politicking Politely looked at the experiences of pioneering women’s editors and women in politics which allows for a better perspective of women in journalism today and adds to women’s history scholarship.

Kimberly's book list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism

Kimberly Voss Why did Kimberly love this book?

This book explores a generation of women who often overtly questioned gender norms. Theirs was a generation that imagined it would reinvent the world. These women of 1969 looked at labor, family, and politics through a new lens. The author explores the gender politics of the time and its impact on the personal. After all, this was a class at the crossroads. They were faced with the traditional message for middle-class women as wives and mothers while also being told they could have careers. It is important to note that this was Hillary Rodman (Clinton)’s graduating class.

On Commencement Day at Wellesley, Rodham told her classmates, “We are, all of us, exploring a world that none of us understands and attempting to create within that an uncertainty. The only tool we have ultimately to use is our lives.” In response, Horn explores the lives of the women as they explored…

By Miriam Horn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rebels in White Gloves as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When the women of the Wellesley class of 1969 entered the ivory tower, they were initiated into a rarefied world. Many were daughters of privilege, many were going for their "MRS." But by the time they graduated four years later, they faced a world turned upside down by the Pill, NOW, student protests, the counterculture, and the Vietnam War.

In this social history, Miriam Horn retraces the lives of women caught on a historic cusp. This generation was the first to test-drive modern rules that remain complicated and contentious regarding sexuality, marriage, motherhood, paid work, spirituality, aging, and the difficulties…


Book cover of Drunk Before Noon: The Behind-The-Scenes Story of the Washington Press Corps

Kimberly Voss Author Of Women Politicking Politely: Advancing Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s

From my list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am driven to tell the stories of important but often forgotten women journalists from the 1940s through the 1970s. They were pioneers who also created deep connections in their communities. Over the past few years, I have published several books about women in mass media. My 2014 book documented the history of newspaper food editors– an often powerful and political position held almost exclusively by women. My third book, Women Politicking Politely looked at the experiences of pioneering women’s editors and women in politics which allows for a better perspective of women in journalism today and adds to women’s history scholarship.

Kimberly's book list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism

Kimberly Voss Why did Kimberly love this book?

From the country’s capital, the city’s journalists translated political power and social news – as well as a thriving social scene. They covered stories that were shared across the country. A mix of men and women, big names and freelancers, these journalists reveals behind-the-scenes reporting and relationships. The stories reveal how and why news is made. These watchdogs of government were often intertwined with politicians professionally and sometimes personally. This book offers a helpful understanding of Washington, D.C. journalism – and is highly entertaining.

By Kendall K. Hoyt, Frances Spatz Leighton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Drunk Before Noon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An irreverent, warts-and-all look at the Washington Press corps--from big name stars to lowly stringers--offers fascinating insights into the Washington news pack and the people and events they cover


Book cover of Washington

Kimberly Voss Author Of Women Politicking Politely: Advancing Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s

From my list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am driven to tell the stories of important but often forgotten women journalists from the 1940s through the 1970s. They were pioneers who also created deep connections in their communities. Over the past few years, I have published several books about women in mass media. My 2014 book documented the history of newspaper food editors– an often powerful and political position held almost exclusively by women. My third book, Women Politicking Politely looked at the experiences of pioneering women’s editors and women in politics which allows for a better perspective of women in journalism today and adds to women’s history scholarship.

Kimberly's book list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism

Kimberly Voss Why did Kimberly love this book?

The book Washington chronicles the significant career of Meg Greenfield, an editorial page editor of The Washington Post. Greenfield, a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, wrote the book during the last two years of her life. Greenfield’s boss and close friend Katharine Graham contributed the foreword which provides context. Greenfield came to Washington in 1961 and was hired by the Post a few years later. Her editorials at the Post and her columns in Newsweek were witty and smart. Her stories provide a political picture of Washington, D.C. at the end of the American century. She was often at the place where change happened and tells the stories well. Greenfield’s book is a fascinating read about politics, journalism, and history.

By Meg Greenfield,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Washington as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With Washington , the illustrious longtime editorial page editor of The Washington Post wrote an instant classic, a sociology of Washington, D.C., that is as wise as it is wry. Greenfield, a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, wrote the book secretly in the final two years of her life. She told her literary executor, presidential historian Michael Beschloss, of her work and he has written an afterword telling the story of how the book came into being. Greenfield's close friend and employer, the late Katharine Graham, contributed a moving and personal foreword. Greenfield came to Washington in 1961,…


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Book cover of Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation

Uniting the States of America By Lyle Greenfield,

We’ve all experienced the overwhelming level of political and social divisiveness in our country. This invisible “virus” of negativity is, in part, the result of the name-calling and heated rhetoric that has become commonplace among commentators and elected leaders alike. 

My book provides a clear perspective on the historical and…

Book cover of Out on Assignment: Newspaper Women and the Making of Modern Public Space

Kimberly Voss Author Of Women Politicking Politely: Advancing Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s

From my list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am driven to tell the stories of important but often forgotten women journalists from the 1940s through the 1970s. They were pioneers who also created deep connections in their communities. Over the past few years, I have published several books about women in mass media. My 2014 book documented the history of newspaper food editors– an often powerful and political position held almost exclusively by women. My third book, Women Politicking Politely looked at the experiences of pioneering women’s editors and women in politics which allows for a better perspective of women in journalism today and adds to women’s history scholarship.

Kimberly's book list on post-World War II women, politics and journalism

Kimberly Voss Why did Kimberly love this book?

The book Out on Assignment examines the careers of overlooked women who wrote for major metropolitan newspapers at the beginning of the twentieth century. Using archival materials, Alice Fahs describes a community of female journalists from numerous American cities. These newspaper women were part of a wave of women seeking a journalism career although their options were often limited. Although a few female journalists found hard-news reporting jobs in stunt work and undercover assignments, most found work in the women’s pages.

In these sections, they interviewed celebrities, advice columns, and suffrage news. Very little research has been done on women’s page journalism; this book provides an excellent foundation.

By Alice Fahs,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Out on Assignment as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Out on Assignment illuminates the lives and writings of a lost world of women who wrote for major metropolitan newspapers at the start of the twentieth century. Using extraordinary archival research, Alice Fahs unearths a richly networked community of female journalists drawn by the hundreds to major cities--especially New York--from all parts of the United States.

Newspaper women were part of a wave of women seeking new, independent, urban lives, but they struggled to obtain the newspaper work of their dreams. Although some female journalists embraced more adventurous reporting, including stunt work and undercover assignments, many were relegated to the…


Book cover of More Than a Woman

Emma Chapman Author Of First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time

From my list on escape from the darn kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an astrophysicist. I am a mother. I am an author. I am a cleaner of dishes, a cooker of meals. I am a daughter, a friend on the end of the phone, a reader of bedtime stories, and the one who hugs away the tears and kisses it better. But I am also just me. Emma. And the books I read are always to escape or understand the internal fight I have between identities and the feeling that pursuing one is failing all the others. Lift yourself above it all, breathe, and read yourself into a different world.

Emma's book list on escape from the darn kids

Emma Chapman Why did Emma love this book?

Despite the title, I think that any gender can draw something from this book. It is the sequel to her phenomenally successful book “How to be a woman”, which quite frankly changed my life and made me decide to have children. This new book can be read as a stand-alone and charts Caitlin’s thoughts on her late 30s and 40s. It begins with her usual hilarious and irreverent tone, speaking about the pressures put on you by children, parents, work, best friends, basically everything. It suddenly becomes very serious in a way I didn’t expect though, and the message of balance is one that is important for anyone to read in this way. I rarely say this and mean it but… it made me laugh and it made me cry.

By Caitlin Moran,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked More Than a Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

'Exceptionally brilliant and powerful' Marina Hyde

'This book is a hilarious memoir, a passionate polemic, and a moving manifesto on how to be a decent person and try, in the face of countless stresses, to live a full open-hearted, joyous life' Sunday Times

A decade ago, Caitlin Moran thought she had it all figured out. Her instant bestseller How to Be a Woman was a game-changing take on feminism, the patriarchy, and the general 'hoo-ha' of becoming a woman. Back then, she firmly believed 'the difficult bit' was over, and her forties were going…


Book cover of To Kill a Man

Peter Hain Author Of The Elephant Conspiracy

From my list on thrilling page-turners.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an activist-politician, who’s been both militant anti-apartheid protestor and Cabinet Minister, someone who tries to convey sometimes complex issues in straightforward terms, impatient with taking refuge down academic rabbit holes, striving to see the wood-for-the-trees. With the exception of George Orwell, each of the books I have recommended is by an author I know personally. My new thriller, The Elephant Conspiracy, sequel to The Rhino Conspiracy, reflects dismay at the corrupt betrayal of Nelson Mandela’s freedom struggle and the values which inspired it, the main characters fighting to revive those values of social justice, liberty, equal opportunities, and integrity, as well as service to others not selfish enrichment. 

Peter's book list on thrilling page-turners

Peter Hain Why did Peter love this book?

Another journalist whom I have met in real life the award-winning British journalist and broadcaster who writes for The Guardian, Sam Bourne is the literary pseudonym of Jonathan Freedland. To Kill A Man is a classic thriller with a climactic twist, a gripping tour de force through American feminism up against violent misogyny, ambition and struggle, politics, and crime. He writes with both simplicity and complexity, insight, and pacy readability.   

By Sam Bourne,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked To Kill a Man as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A cat-and-mouse thriller of rare intelligence, To Kill a Man is the latest from number-one bestseller Sam Bourne -- a twisting, timely story of power, justice and revenge.

A woman is brutally assaulted in her own home by an intruder. She defends herself -- leaving her attacker dead.

But this is no ordinary woman. She's Natasha Winthrop, tipped as a future president of the United States.

When inconsistencies emerge in Winthrop's story, political troubleshooter Maggie Costello is drafted in to save Natasha's career. At first, Winthrop is hailed as a #MeToo heroine: the woman who fought back. But Maggie is…


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Book cover of Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism

Grand Old Unraveling By John Kenneth White,

It didn’t begin with Donald Trump. When the Republican Party lost five straight presidential elections during the 1930s and 1940s, three things happened: (1) Republicans came to believe that presidential elections are rigged; (2) Conspiracy theories arose and were believed; and (3) The presidency was elevated to cult-like status.

Long…

Book cover of Everybody (Else) Is Perfect: How I Survived Hypocrisy, Beauty, Clicks, and Likes

Alyssa Hardy Author Of Worn Out: How Our Clothes Cover Up Fashion's Sins

From my list on style.

Why am I passionate about this?

Fashion has been the love of my life since I was a little kid pouring over magazines and watching shows on fashion TV in the middle of the night. But I’ve always known fashion is not about clothing, its about feeling and it’s about people. That’s why I love to read the stories about people who work in fashion, who have been impacted by fashion and those who love it just as much as I do. 

Alyssa's book list on style

Alyssa Hardy Why did Alyssa love this book?

Everybody (Else) Is Perfect is a memoir about the author, but it speaks to the ways fashion and beauty have created impossible standards for us all to live by.

Korn was the editor-in-chief of NYLON, which from the outside seems like one of the most glamorous jobs in the world. But, as she details, things are not always as they seems. While brands and magazines promote body positivity and feminism on the inside they’re doing anything but. 

By Gabrielle Korn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Everybody (Else) Is Perfect as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the former editor-in-chief of Nylon comes a provocative and intimate collection of personal and cultural essays featuring eye-opening explorations of hot button topics for modern women, including internet feminism, impossible beauty standards in social media, shifting ideals about sexuality, and much more.

Gabrielle Korn starts her professional life with all the right credentials. Prestigious college degree? Check. A loving, accepting family? Check. Instagram-worthy offices and a tight-knit group of friends? Check, check. Gabrielle’s life seems to reach the crescendo of perfect when she gets named the youngest editor-in-chief in the history of one of fashion’s most influential publication. Suddenly…


Book cover of Curfewed Night

Andrew Otis Author Of Hicky's Bengal Gazette: The Untold Story of India's First Newspaper

From my list on non-fiction journalism and history in India.

Why am I passionate about this?

As the author of Hicky's Bengal Gazette: The Untold Story of India's First Newspaper I have great interest in journalism and history in the Indian subcontinent. There are relatively few books that explore these topics in a narrative nonfiction way. It is my hope that this shortlist will help readers find a few good books to start with.

Andrew's book list on non-fiction journalism and history in India

Andrew Otis Why did Andrew love this book?

An elegant first-person tale of loss and change in the Kashmir Valley. I compare this book to the feeling one gets when mist descends on a grey, foggy day, and old long-forgotten memories recur with a vengeance. Peer’s work is remarkable for his pristine and exact memory of events, starting in the troubled 1990s, and ending in 2005 with the forlorn hope of peace in Kashmir.

By Basharat Peer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Curfewed Night as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Since 1989, when the separatist movement exploded in Kashmir, more than 70,000 people have been killed in the battle between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. Born and raised in the war-torn region, Basharat Peer brings this little-known part of the world to life in haunting, vivid detail..

Peer reveals stories from his youth as well as gut-wrenching accounts of the many Kashmiris he met years later, as a reporter. He chronicles a young man’s initiation into a Pakistani training camp; a mother who watches as her son is forced to hold an exploding bomb; a poet who finds religion when…


Book cover of Complicity

P.R. Black Author Of The Long Dark Road

From my list on Tartan Noir to take you beyond your shortbread tin.

Why am I passionate about this?

These books aren't just the best in their field–they're the best at pinpointing the place I am from. Tartan Noir is a rich world, and I'm just about to join it. These books give a sense of place and people and sometimes bring a little laughter in the dark. To me, that's Scotland, in its magnificence, grandeur, and polar opposite of these things. Scotland is a country with two faces, as everyone from James Hogg onwards knew well... Let's see which side you prefer! 

P.R.'s book list on Tartan Noir to take you beyond your shortbread tin

P.R. Black Why did P.R. love this book?

Gonzo journalism meets Tartan Noir as Iain Banks ventures into crime. A journalist who’s a big fan of all the bad stuff seems to have a link to a killer picking off members of the establishment.

The second-person narration follows the killer, an unusual stylistic flourish. The answers to the horror lie within, and this book goes to some unbearably dark places. (In theory, The Crow Road is also a murder mystery.)

By Iain M. Banks,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Complicity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of a modern classic: 'ingenious, daring and brilliant' - Guardian

COMPLICITY
n. 1. the fact of being an accomplice, esp. in a criminal act

A few spliffs, a spot of mild S&M, phone through the copy for tomorrow's front page, catch up with the latest from your mystery source - could be big, could be very big - in fact, just a regular day at the office for free-wheeling, substance-abusing Cameron Colley, a fully paid-up Gonzo hack on an Edinburgh newspaper.

The source is pretty thin, but Cameron senses a scoop and checks out a series…


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Book cover of Who Is a Worthy Mother?: An Intimate History of Adoption

Who Is a Worthy Mother? By Rebecca Wellington,

I grew up thinking that being adopted didn’t matter. I was wrong. This book is my journey uncovering the significance and true history of adoption practices in America. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the renewed debate over women’s reproductive rights places…

Book cover of But Enough about Me: How a Small-Town Girl Went from Shag Carpet to the Red Carpet

Kay Xander Mellish Author Of How to Work in Denmark: Tips on Finding a Job, Succeeding at Work, and Understanding your Danish boss

From my list on women leaving home to find success in the big city.

Why am I passionate about this?

I left my hometown of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, at age 18 to attend university in Manhattan, where I started my career in journalism and the media. Since then, I’ve lived in Berlin, Germany; Hong Kong; and now Copenhagen, Denmark, generally moving to advance my career and explore new worlds. Whenever you move to a new place and establish yourself in a new culture, there’s always a learning curve. Helping other women (and men!) adapt to their new environment is why I started the “How to Live in Denmark” podcast, which has now been running for more than 10 years. 

Kay's book list on women leaving home to find success in the big city

Kay Xander Mellish Why did Kay love this book?

Set in the 1980s and 1990s, this memoir reminded me of the Manhattan media world I grew up in – before social media when glossy magazines and music videos were all-powerful.

The author is a suburban Jersey girl who stumbles into a job at Rolling Stone magazine back when it was able to make or break careers. She interviews celebrities, becomes a TV host, dates and breaks up with various 80s and 90s guys, and briefly loses herself in the New York City nightlife before figuring out that, hey, she really is just a Jersey girl who loves her mom and enjoys decorating for Thanksgiving with paper turkeys from Hallmark.

The author has a gentle sense of humor about herself, which is something I think characterizes my work as well.  

By Jancee Dunn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked But Enough about Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

New Jersey in the 1980s had everything Jancee Dunn wanted: trips down the shore, Bruce Springsteen, a tantalizing array of malls. To music lover Jancee, New York City was a foreign country. So it was with bleak expectations that she submitted her résumé to Rolling Stone magazine. And before she knew it, she was backstage and behind the scenes with the most famous people in the world—hiking in Canada with Brad Pitt, snacking on Velveeta with Dolly Parton, dancing drunkenly onstage with the Beastie Boys—trading her good-girl suburban past for late nights, hipster guys, and the booze-soaked rock 'n' roll…


Book cover of Rebels in White Gloves: Coming of Age with Hillary's Class--Wellesley '69
Book cover of Drunk Before Noon: The Behind-The-Scenes Story of the Washington Press Corps
Book cover of Washington

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