Letters from the War Zone

by Andrea Dworkin

Book Overview

Reflections on writing and writers, freedom of speech and censorship, pornography, violence against women, and the politics of our time.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525248242
• ISBN13: 9780525248248
• Release Date: October 1989
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 337 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

it's SUPPOSED to be sad

the importance of this book can be found in how much it offends certain people and the way in reduces their responses to gibberish.while i don't agree with everything that dworkin says, i can sympathize with a lot of it, especially her account of what it's like to do the "dirty work" of the womyn's movement. these feelings are applicable to anyone who has to deal with harsh realities in the pursuit of a better world. rather than take the easy path and just ignore the horror's of patriarchy, dworkin addresses them head on in a style that refuses to sugar-coat itself. her account is harsh, which is the way it should be. she's talking about things like domestic abuse and sexual assault, and people expect her to be civil?this book made me rethink a lot of my attitudes towards gender and sexuality. whether you agree with it or not, it is an important part of feminism and deserves a reading by people who are concerned with such issues

excellent polemics

Dworkin is definitely one of the great rhetoricists of the feminist movement.

Feminist classic

You know someone is a danger to the status quo when they're vilified in the midst of whatever human rights campaign they are part of--it happened to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it happened to Malcolm X, it happened to Nelson Mandela, it happened to Gloria Steinem, and now Andrea Dworkin shares a place on the list of luminaries. _Letters From A War Zone_ details the very sad and very real struggles of one-half of the human population to be treated as equals by the other half. Fiercely intelligent and never mincing her words, Dworkin challenges the hurtful and dehumanizing norms in our society which keep individuals of both genders, but particularly females, from living peacefully and to their fullest potential. The overall tone is angry and yet, when measuring her words, rightfully so--within the themes and contexts of rape and abuse in a world which is nightmarish at best for many, it becomes painfully clear to the reader that the real outrage is to NOT be outraged. Dworkin presents the realities of a world drowning in patriarchal values, and it isn't pretty--yet she also conveys her courage and her hope to make it better, citing her efforts to increase understanding of these issues through lectures and publishing, and even with a mention towards the end of her male lover which gives the lie to the antiquated (and always amusing) notion that all feminists are automatically man-haters for voicing any comment that doesn't put the opposite gender on a throne--the similarity to Malcolm X's relating of his experiences with white people sympathetic to the black people's struggle for equal rights (at Mecca) is both striking and beautiful. Apologists, fence-sitters, insecure male individuals who need their egos stroked and those of both genders who have a vested interest in keeping womyn--or indeed, any persecuted group--abused and "in their place" will of course hate this book. Those with open minds and an interest in feminism or indeed human rights of any kind will find this work to be both a thoughtful and passionate challenge to social injustice.

Bold and Compassionate

This collection of Andrea Dworkin's speeches and writings are well written, powerful and most of all come from a place of compassion and humanity. Andrea writting often sinks into despair and it sometimes seems that she is wallowing in it, but for a woman who does "feminism's dirty work", it is understandable and seems to come more from a feeling of being overwhelmed than anything else. This collection is a must read for both men and women who care about equality and human rights.

Truly important

i was shocked and horrified by Dworkin's exposure of the white male paradigms of hatred. this is a truly courageous book, and reminds me of the almost impossibly brave bell hooks. this book shows conclusively that what men desire most is to murder. now, as a society of women, we simply owe it to ourselves to protect ourselves, by *any* means necessary.