Gloria Steinem: Her Passions, Politics, and Mystique

Sidney Ladersohn Stern's excellent biography of Gloria Steinemreveals the person behind the streaked blonde mane and aviatorglasses. The character that emerges from these pages has devoted her life to speaking, organizing and fundraising for women's groups and issues. Generous, warm and witty, she's a born leader. She drives herself to exhaustion to help the underdog. She is also insecure, a sucker for dubious causes (example: victims of satanic cults), and a liar. Repeatedly, Stern shows, she's distorted the truth in her favor - even shaving years off her age. By collecting telling details, describing them clearly and analyzing them astutely, Stern has shaped a mountain of information into a vivid, nuanced portrait. Sadly, it proved to be too nuanced for its subject. Stern explains in the afterward that Steinem tried to persuade her to change certain details, and when she failed, worked to discredit the book. Too bad. This book offers a realistic picture of a female leader, and thereby does its own bit for womankind.