Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America

I consider myself quite well informed about current women's issues, but had always wondered what the impetus was behind Title IX. I had no idea that the law we hear about that applies to women's equal access to sports, was aimed at equal access to college admissions and financial assistance. I cried several time while reading this book; I was mad at the earlier treatment of women, I was saddened by the personal stories of disappointment suffered by the women who were shut out of playing games they loved only because they were girls. I was also proud of the triumphs of the recent past, but mostly I was moved to buy another copy and pass it around to as many women as I can. ANY WOMAN WHO HAS PLAYED SPORTS OR GONE TO COLLEGE IN THE LAST 30 YEARS, OWES IT TO THEMSELVES TO READ, APPRECIATE, AND SHARE THIS BOOK WITH THE NEXT GENERATION OF GIRLS. Laurie in Utah

Let Me Play puts a passionate perspective on the plight of women in the fight to obtain simple civil liberties and human equalities. Author Karen Blumenthal presents her work in a format targeted to a young audience, making this easily manageable book appealing to people of all ages that appreciate the continuing battle for equal rights. Let Me Play is not simply the history of Title IX, part of the 1972 education amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but an outline of the ongoing fight women have endured in demanding equal treatment. It tells the stories of women all over the country fighting for recognition as something more than homemakers. Let Me Play fervently depicts, through narration, anecdotes, pictures and cartoons, the ways women fought, and still fight, for status as equal humans of equal worth. In her book, Blumenthal vividly profiles the lives of many empowered women from soccer superstar Mia Hamm, who grew up playing on boys' soccer and American football teams, to 1993 University of Louisville Medical School graduate Dot Richardson, Olympic softball gold medalist and orthopedic surgeon. The stories of these women are heartening and relatable. No matter their field or occupation, each of them was once a girl growing up in a boy's world. Let Me Play is a powerful addition to the unique genre of children's books adopted by Blumenthal, celebrated author and Wall Street Journal reporter. She has a way of capturing the meaning and relative application of a major historical event and conveying it in a way that is straightforward and dynamic, educational and entertaining. Let Me Play is, essentially, the very recent, very true and very shocking story of girls being denied the right to not only participate in school-sanctioned sports and activities but also to take top-level math and science classes and be admitted to top universities, solely because of their gender. The underlying message of Let Me Play is this: Know the words of Title IX and remember that, by law, no one can deny you the right to play, learn, advance and win. A fiery and well examined recounting of the road to equality for women peppered with fun political cartoons and unforgettable quotes, this book is a necessity for any girl who plays ball in a once strictly male park.

I'm so glad to see a history for today's young women about what it was like before Title 9 - which, while it wasn't that long ago, seems unreal to my daughter's generation. I remember The Days Before, when the boys got the gym and were formed into athletic teams while the girls got WHAT PASSED for PE - calisthenics in the cafeteria! (and instructional time was used to move the tables and chairs aside) In a day when feminism is facing a hostile backlash, Ms. Blumenthal's book is a valuable reminder that "what used to be" wasn't as rosy as some claim, a reminder of the gains made in sports by talented girls, and of what we DON'T want to return to! Five stars!

"Female admissions to colleges and graduate programs picked up speed, driven by female ambition, the law, and a growing acceptance that it was simply wrong to reject someone just for being a girl. Between 1971 and 1976 the number of women attending college jumped 40 percent. By the fall of 1976 one in every four law students was a woman, up from fewer than one in ten in 1971; likewise, a quarter of first-year medical students were female, up from about one in seven just five years before." Recently at this year's Book Expo in New York City, I had the pleasure of meeting and conversing with Patricia Macias. At publishing conventions, Patricia is known as the wife of author Ben Saenz. But back home in El Paso, she is more frequently referred to as "Your Honor." As I wandered the exhibition halls at Book Expo, I frequently got the chance to catch up with old friends in the publishing industry. Many of the women I've known for years who are employed by the large publishing houses now have titles like "President & Publisher" or "Vice President and Associate Publisher." They not only have the positions; they have the power that accompanies those titles. I also had the opportunity at Book Expo to chat briefly with my favorite member of the United States Senate. I feel so fortunate to be represented by Barbara Boxer who, like me, grew up in New York and moved westward. When we first elected Barbara to the US Senate in 1992, having her join Diane Feinstein there in representing California, it was the first time in US history that two women Senators were representing the same state at the same time. Myra Bradwell would have though that it was long past time. "In 1869, Mrs. Bradwell passed the Illinois bar exam with high honors and turned in her application to practice law. Though she easily qualified, she was turned down because she was a married woman. She filed a lawsuit, but the Illinois Supreme Court turned her down too, saying that her sex was 'a sufficient reason for not granting this license.' "In one of the nation's first sex discrimination cases she appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. But America's top court had a different view than she did. 'Man is, or should be, woman's protector and defender,' the Court wrote in 1873. 'The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life.' It concluded: 'The paramount destiny and mission of woman [is] to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. This is the law of the Creator.' " It does not require looking back a hundred and something years to the life of Myra Bradwell (who, we learn, persevered to become America's first female lawyer) in order to recall when things were really unfair for women in America. I grew up a youngster not all THAT long ago, in a world where women didn't have the same opportunities as men to go to college, didn't have the same opportunities as men to work

Karen Blumenthal'a latest young-readers' book, LET ME PLAY is a behind-the-scenes look at how Title IX changed the cultural landscape for American women. Just because this book is intended for a younger audience does not make it simplistic reading. I consider myself pretty informed about political and social topics, yet I had little idea that Title IX does not just cover equality in sporting opportunities. Title IX, the brainchild of late Congresswoman Edith Green, actually mandates that schools may not limit the educational opportunities of students based on gender--and that includes admissions policies and access to classes. Title IX is the reason that half of all law students and medical students today are women. What a huge change from the early 1960s, the era in which Blumenthal opens the book with a description of swimmer Donna De Verona. The 13-year-old swimmer, long denied opportunities to participate in other sports she loved, finally decided to become a swimmer. Not only did she excel, but she became the most decorated high school swimmer in the United States. She won two Olympic gold medals and the adoration of the press. Then she graduated, and...nothing. No scholarships, no endorsements, no interest. Here was an 18-year-old brimming with talent and she hit a dead end because there simply were no rewards for women athletes. At the time De Verona was facing her bleak future, women all over the country were confounded by colleges that had strict admissions quotas. Many schools refused to enroll women in science and math classes. And legislators could get away with citing the need for "delicate" females to leave educational spaces open for men, who would be the "breadwinners." Things changed, and they changed quickly. A little too quickly for institutions such as Harvard University, which comes off poorly in this book. These stodgy and hidebound schools tried their hardest to keep women from upsetting their little alumni-donation applecart (women alumni were said not to give money to the colleges). Coaches went ballistic when they realized they'd have to share space and dollars with female athletes. And shrill voices predicted shared locker rooms and the end of the feminine mystique. But then came Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs and the famous "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match. It captured the imagination of the nation and a generation was galvanized to not allow women second-class status any longer. Now, here we are in 2005 and the world has changed for the better. Title IX is still controversial with football coaches and a few other macho types who'd like all the money and attention focused on men. But America has taken to female soccer players (Mia Hamm), tennis favorites (the Williams sisters), basketball players (too many to mention) and also with female doctors and lawyers. It's all part of the current cultural landscape and there's no going back. Blumenthal does a great job bringing the law to life by providing mamny br