Why History Matters

A pioneer in women's studies and long-term activist for women's issues, Gerda Lerner is one of the founders and foremost scholars of women's history. In her latest work, Lerner combines personal reminiscences with innovative theory that illuminate the importance of history and the vital role women have played in it.

The book's topics range from pieces on the author's early life as a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany and on her slow assimilation into American life, to an insightful essay on nonviolent resistance from the Quakers to the civil rights movement of the 1950s. Lerner also offers a bold and innovative look at the issues of race and class as they relate to women.