I've been described as a tough and noisy woman, a prize fighter, a man-hater, you name it. They call me Battling Bella, Mother Courage, and a Jewish mother with more complaints than Portnoy. There are those who say I'm impatient, impetuous, uppity, rude, profane, brash, and overbearing. Whether I'm any of those things, or all of them, you can decide for yourself. But whatever I am--and this ought to made very clear--I am a very serious woman. For more than fifty years, Bella Abzug championed the powerless and disenfranchised, as an activist, congresswoman, and leader in every major social initiative of her time--from Zionism and labor in the 40s to the ban-the-bomb efforts in the 50s, to civil rights and the anti-Vietnam War movements of the 60s, to the women's movement in the 70s and 80s, to enviromnemtal awareness and economic equality in the 90s. Her political idealism never waning, Abzug gave her final public speech before the U.N. in March 1998, just a few weeks before her death. Presented in the voices of both friends and foes, of those who knew, fought with, revered, and struggled alongside her, this oral biography will be the first comprehensive account of a woman who was one of our most influential leaders. Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom are both nationally recognized authorities on women's issues. Most recently, Levine is the author of Inventing the Rest of Lives and Thom is the author of Inside Ms. Bella Azbug said, I've been described as a tough and noisy woman, a prize fighter, a man-hater, you name it. They call me Battling Bella, Mother Courage, and a Jewish mother with more complaints than Portnoy. There are those who say I'm impatient, impetuous, uppity, rude, profane, brash, and overbearing. Whether I'm any of those things, or all of them, you can decide for yourself. But whatever I am--and this ought to made very clear--I am a very serious woman. For more than fifty years, Bella Abzug championed the powerless and disenfranchised, as an activist, congresswoman, and leader in every major social initiative of her time--from Zionism and labor in the 40s to the ban-the-bomb efforts in the 50s, to civil rights and the anti-Vietnam War movements of the 60s, to the women's movement in the 70s and 80s, to environmental awareness and economic equality in the 90s. Her political idealism never waning, Abzug gave her final public speech before the U.N. in March 1998, just a few weeks before her death. Presented in the voices of both friends and foes, of those who knew, fought with, revered, and struggled alongside her, this oral biography will be the first comprehensive account of a woman who was one of our most influential leaders. Abzug was certainly a major player in our change in attitudes in the second part of the past century and] Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom give us a fascinating glimpse into an] inspirational but undeniably peculiar period that is receding, all too quickly, into the past.--Carolyn See, The Washington Post A fabulous read about a breed of politician now largely extinct . . . Levine and Thom have crafted a history that brings to life one of the great political personalities of the twentieth century.--Alice Echols, Bookforum Abzug was certainly a major player in our change in attitudes in the second part of the past century and] Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom give us a fascinating glimpse into an] inspirational but undeniably peculiar period that is receding, all too quickly, into the past.--Carolyn See, The Washington Post A] fluid, sharply edited book . . . Abzug was a force of nature, and the stories about her are consistently feisty.--Jon Dolan, Time Out New York During this 'historic' election year, let me just say what so many of us are thinking: I miss Bella Abzug. And Barbara Jordan. What I would give to see Bella toss one of her signature striped, oversized hats into the presidential ring. Or to hear Barbara Jordan debate an comer, to hear her intone the preamble of the constitution as she reminds us of the true meanings of 'equality' and 'justice.' If only big, bold Bella or big, bold Barbara were here to run . . . and win. So far my only solace has been the recently published oral history of Bella . . . The book is edited by Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom, women with long histories of activism and scholarship in and about the women's movement in America.--Susan Davis, The News & Observer (Raleigh) This is like being a fly on the wall for some of the most important moments in political history over the past fifty years. Being a part of this conversation makes you not just appreciate Bella's fierceness, but want to emulate it.--Amy Richards, co-author of Manifesta and former colleague of Bella

Bella was a radical, patriotic and passionate about transforming the system--with the courage to work from outside and the patience to work from inside. Like her life, this book radiates drama, humor, tactical brilliance--and heart. Bella mattered. So does this book.--Jane Fonda

Stumped about what to do in this messed up world? Just get to know Bella Abzug, one of the most important activists of the twentieth century. By gathering the reminiscences of people who lived their personal and political lives right along with her--and sometimes had the courage to break the rules alongside her too--the authors have created a memoir in many voices that captures the suspense, humor, and contradictions of this great woman. Read this book and then ask yourself, What would Bella do?--Gloria Steinem

Bella Abzug didn't vet her opinions through consultants and polls. She wasn't a highly orchestrated pre-fab candidate sprung from a well-oiled multi-million dollar corporate machine. She was the real deal. Pro-peace, pro-worker, pro-women. Angry, authentic, grassroots, alienating and alive. And, she actually got elected. This book is a call to all of us, but particularly those in government to run and lea

"Member of Congress and civil rights, antiwar and feminist activist, Bella Abzug (1920 — 1998) was one of the 20th century's greatest progressive leaders. Since she left only an unfinished memoir, two friends and colleagues (Levine wrote Inventing the Rest of Our Lives and Thom Inside Ms.) have stitched together an 'oral biography' of excerpts from Abzug's own writing as well as snippets of interviews with dozens of people, from her high school gym teacher to Jimmy Carter and Roe v. Wade attorney Sarah Weddington. Edward Kennedy recalls working with Abzug on the Freedom of Information Act, and Shirley MacLaine tells about Abzug accompanying her to a channeling session. Abzug emerges as a determined activist and savvy legislator, but prickly; the barrage of admiration is punctuated with occasional barbs: Ed Koch cites one of Abzug's two fellow congresswomen, Shirley Chisholm, as saying, 'Oh, that woman has no class.... That woman is so vulgar.' Historians and Abzug devotees will be thankful for Levine and Thom's labors, but the lack of narrative flow — with paragraph after choppy paragraph of recollections from luminaries — leaves one wishing for a more unified, coherent biography." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"'I couldn't stand the screaming,' historian Amy Swerdlow remembers about Bella Abzug. 'She was just so aggressive — assertive doesn't do it — aggressive and carrying on.' That from Gloria Steinem. Journalist Doug Ireland recalls 'those volcanic eruptions of Abzugian temper.' 'She got so angry that she punched me,' colleague Ronnie Eldridge reports, 'on Fifth Avenue in front of De Pina's. That was... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) the only time she ever really hit me.' This is how the feminist congresswoman's friends, the ones who stayed loyal to her all her life, remember her.

Abzug was born in the Bronx of Russian Jewish immigrants who told Bella and her sister they could do anything they wanted when they grew up, and Bella took this seriously. She raised money for the Zionist state-to-be when she was just a little kid, trolling the subways with a Mason jar. When her father died, she went to the synagogue every day for a year to sing kaddish, the Hebrew prayer for the dead. Except that only guys are supposed to do that, and she was a girl, and only 12. She went on to Hunter College, where she excelled, and then to Columbia Law School — one of the first women to be admitted there, and she was Jewish to boot.

From the very beginning of her adult life, she had trouble working for anybody and soon set up her own office. She experienced insults about her appearance (she was chunky, and put on more weight as she got older), about her abrasive voice and her abusive personality, but it seemed to roll right off her most of the time. 'I'm Bella's oldest friend,' Mim Kelber, her speechwriter, remembers. 'She liked herself too much, but I think you need that. She was very self-confident.' Except that later on, when she was a successful member of the House of Representatives, she broke down in tears at a political 'roast,' when a man dressed up like her with a fat, padded fanny, and another man, impersonating her long-suffering husband, came out in a frilly apron.

She began her career working as a lawyer for progressive causes that often were doomed to fail. She represented a black man who was accused of raping a white woman in Mississippi. (He said they were having a consensual affair.) The jury deliberated for a full 2 1/2 minutes and, of course, he was eventually executed. After a few disheartening events like this, Abzug got a clue. She wanted to change the world and thought she could. She ran for the House from a section of Manhattan. She served, flamboyantly, for three terms, focused mainly on women's issues and world peace. (Although how you fight for peace while punching and yelling remains an interesting question.) Then she decided — despite good advice — to run for the Democratic senatorial nomination against Daniel Patrick Moynihan. She made some wiseass, ill-considered remarks and lost the primary to him. She also lost a mayoral primary election and then another House election. It looked like a disastrous losing streak, but maybe it wasn't. She just kept going higher and wider, operating as a celebrity-feminist-organizer, always sporting her trademark hat, traveling all over the world addressing women's conventions, addressing the United Nations. She was ubiquitous.

It's become a tiresome platitude now that women of a certain age repeat: Their daughters and their granddaughters have not the faintest notion of what it was like before the feminist movement began in the early '60s — how women couldn't get credit to buy anything, couldn't teach at colleges or universities, couldn't get abortions unless they had the money to leave the country or the courage to put their lives in the hands of back-street butchers. (And please, no e-mails on this. I'm against abortion on principle, but I'm not a woman of childbearing years.) Young girls in those days were advised repeatedly in women's magazines to become 'good listeners,' i.e., to keep their mouths shut and, of course, their legs crossed. But if they kept them crossed too determinedly, then they were labeled as 'man haters,' and that was bad, too.

But I'm going to add that very few people now actually remember what it was like during the period of the feminist movement. Everything was up for grabs. No one knew what to do or how to do it. Betty Friedan ruined a Super Bowl party in my very own home by wearing a black leather miniskirt and swinging her (not bad) legs clad in fishnet stockings back and forth in front of the TV screen so that nobody could see the plays. She radicalized a sizable bunch of neutral men into committed anti-feminists that day. Nobody knew what to do with these uppity, unpredictable women.

And what were they for, or against? Against the Vietnam War, of course. For legalized abortion. For equal pay for equal work. (As if!) For parity, true equality, with men. They even tried to peddle the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have given women equal rights — what a concept! — with men. Lots of men had conniption fits about this. If you were a second-rate fellow, who would there be for you to look down on? But lots of women hated the idea just as much. Who could they find to take care of them, if not men? The amendment never passed. And the movement began to wind down. The congresswomen of the day — Barbara Jordan, Shirley Chisholm, Abzug — died. Steinem got married. She's a widow now. Friedan is gone, too. All those meetings, the huge international conferences, the tiny, exciting, consciousness-raising groups — it all simmered down. It's still a safe bet that at 80 percent of all the dinner parties in every state across the nation, women know enough to be good listeners.

Bella Abzug screamed and yelled and hit people. She was appalled when both her daughters grew up to be lesbians. She wore those goofy hats and played poker. She could be snide, but often that got passed off as cute. Her terrible, lippy mouth caught up with her, kept her out of the Senate, even out of the office of mayor. She was mean, no doubt about it. But as with Malcolm X, her extremism could have helped clear the way for at least theoretical equality between the sexes. Is all this good, or not? It's really too soon to know for sure. But Abzug was certainly a major player in our change in attitudes in the second part of the past century. The two authors here, Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom, give us a fascinating glimpse into that inspirational but undeniably peculiar period that is receding, all too quickly, into the past."

Reviewed by Carolyn See, who can be reached at www. carolynsee.com, Washington Post Book World (Copyright 2006 Washington Post Book World Service/Washington Post Writers Group)
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The lengthy title does not cover all the roles that the feisty New York Congresswoman played. In this biography, Levine and Thom (original editors of Ms. magazine) present their interviews with other activists, politicians, her daughters, and some critics on Abzug's work for civil rights, feminist, Zionist, antiwar, and other causes. An Abzug chronology (1920-1998) and photographs of Bella growing up and in her many roles (and trademark hats) complement the text. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

For more than 50 years, Bella Abzug championed the powerless and disenfranchised. Presented in the voices of those who knew, fought with, revered, and struggled alongside her, this oral biography is the first comprehensive account of a woman who was one of the countrys most influential leaders.

"I've been described as a tough and noisy woman, a prize fighter, a man-hater, you name it. They call me Battling Bella, Mother Courage, and a Jewish mother with more complaints than Portnoy. There are those who say I'm impatient, impetuous, uppity, rude, profane, brash, and overbearing. Whether I'm any of those things, or all of them, you can decide for yourself. But whatever I am--and this ought to made very clear--I am a very serious woman." For more than fifty years, Bella Abzug championed the powerless and disenfranchised, as an activist, congresswoman, and leader in every major social initiative of her time—from Zionism and labor in the 40s to the ban-the-bomb efforts in the 50s, to civil rights and the anti-Vietnam War movements of the 60s, to the women’s movement in the 70s and 80s, to enviromnemtal awareness and economic equality in the 90s. Her political idealism never waning, Abzug gave her final public speech before the U.N. in March 1998, just a few weeks before her death. Presented in the voices of both friends and foes, of those who knew, fought with, revered, and struggled alongside her, this oral biography will be the first comprehensive account of a woman who was one of our most influential leaders.

Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom are both nationally recognized authorities on women’s issues. Most recently, Levine is the author of Inventing the Rest of Lives and Thom is the author of Inside Ms.