Praise for

Bella Abzug: How One Tough Broad from the Bronx Fought Jim Crow and Joe McCarthy, Pissed Off Jimmy Carter, Battled for the Rights of Women and Workers, Rallied Against War and for the Planet, and Shook Up Politics Along the Way.

“The book is a who's who of the '60s, '70s and '80s, and certainly of the women's movement: Erma Bombeck, Jimmy Breslin, Susan Brownmiller, Mim Kelber, Maxine Waters, Geraldine Ferraro, Ed Koch, Esther Broner, Hillary Clinton, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, and many others. In less skilled hands, this format, a sort of Judy Chicago dinner party of a biography, would have been clunky, cacophonous, forced. But the good ears of the authors (both are prominent authorities on women's issues and former editors at Ms. magazine), their sense of humor about their subject (as well as awe) and the honesty that Abzug so obviously inspired in the people around her make this a remarkable work of oral history. It is also a fond, provocative testament to a remarkable life.” —Los Angeles Times

“Striving to be a Congresswoman like Bella Abzug may seem anachronistic, but as the definition of "feminist" expands by the minute, she is a more relevant female role model for twentysomething women than most of the famous feminist icons like Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. "I never felt I couldn't have it all," Bella said. "I do not feel guilty." Bella lived out the superwoman concept of family and career before it was even a goal of the women's movement. She didn't swallow any codified regime of identity politics as a feminist, a Jew, an activist or a mother. She was always herself. Bella Abzug is a reminder to young women, who bear the pressure of higher and higher mental and physical expectations, that it has always been possible to set your own rules.” —The Nation

“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.” —Washington Post

“Bella Abzug, edited by Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom, is much like the former West Side congresswoman herself: provocative, boisterous, sometimes grating, and mythic in its proportions.” —The New York Times

“[Bella Abzug] is a celebration more than analysis of an exemplary life. Readers seeking a dispassionate biography of this passionate brawler must wait for an author other than Levine or Thom. Their volume evokes what feminist Letty Cottin Pogrebin remembers as ‘a time of hope and possibility, and ferment, and progress, and change, and media attention, and brilliant activist women everywhere you turned.’ Faye Wattleton, who led Planned Parenthood, is convinced that, in our own time, Abzug would have become speaker of the House. She was probably too strident, too principled, too urban, too Jewish. But, according to John Kenneth Galbraith, ‘In a perfectly just republic, Bella Abzug would be president.’ The more that our republic strays from perfect justice, the more we need her voice.” —San Antonio Current

“Bella Abzug is filled with delightful and poignant stories that capture her larger-than-life image.” —St. Petersburg Times

“Fine oral biography … Bella Abzug is a fabulous read about a breed of politician now largely extinct: someone with the guts to say, as she did, that feminism’s goal ‘was not to see a female Einstein become an assistant professor,’ but a “woman schlemiel … get promoted as quickly as a male schlemiel.’ Levine and Thom have crafted a history that bring to life one of the great political personalities of the twentieth century.” —Bookforum

“Women’s-issues experts and authors Levine and Thom mesh archival materials with new interviews to create a sizzling oral biography that presents Abzug at her most impressive and most maddening. Gloria Steinem, Ed Koch, Edward Kennedy, Pat Schroeder, Marlo Thomas, Shirley Chisholm, and Maxine Waters, among many others, talk about one-of-a-kind Abzug with entertaining admiration and ire, candor and humor. Nearly a decade after Abzug’s death, and with a woman candidate in serious contention for the presidency, this is a timely and elucidating portrait of a revolutionary American woman leader of international renown.” —Booklist

“Oral histories are best when they cover hotly contested cultural ground (Please Kill Me), ideally occupied by a lot of crazy people (Edie: American Girl). In Suzanne Braun Levine and Mary Thom’s fluid, sharply edited book, the do-gooder milieu and retirement-toast tone of the quotes might’ve resulted in merely a heartening drone. But Abzug was a force of nature, and the stories about her are consistently feisty, even when Phil Donahue has the mike. . . . Abzug’s goals (environmental sanity, no nukes, ending a culture where “women speak softly and carry lipstick”) are still in the offing. But her bare-knuckled victories, within feminism and beyond it, contradict the idea that infighting contributed to post-’60s radicalism’s decline. For her, it was part of the fun.” —Time Out New York

“Organized as an oral history, the book culls together quotes and anecdotes from a wide range of influential women, (Hillary Clinton, Betty Friedan, Susan Brownmiller, and Gloria Steinem are all cited) and even a few men, who have long been champions of the famously outspoken, hat-wearing activist. The result is a biography in three dimension—a vivid portrait told by the people closest to her.” —Nylon

“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 lead through their own moral steam rather than blowing more hot air.” —Eve Ensler

“This book explodes with the energy that Bella Abzug possessed. The hundreds of vignettes told by the people who knew her best, captures her passion and dedication to social justice in a way I've never seen before.” —Donna Brazile

“The authors have captured one of the most principled, vibrant figures of the twentieth century in this equally unique oral history. It seems fitting that an inimitable and influential maverick such as Bella Abzug would find her life recounted in a book brave enough to include the voices of family, friends, and foes.” —Ashley Judd

“Bella Abzug is an important, inspiring piece of history. There's nothing we need more right now that this kind of cogent reminder of what it takes to make change in the halls of power—and what's at stake if we don't.” —Lisa Jervis, co-founder Bitch magazine

“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