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Who Cooked the Last Supper: The Women's History of the World
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.409
EAN: 9780609806951
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0609806955
Label: Three Rivers Press
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: April 10, 2001
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Release Date: April 10, 2001
Studio: Three Rivers Press
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Editorial Review:
For every woman who has ever wondered what the women were doing while generals fought battles and kings beheaded their enemies (and for every man who hasn't), this book is for you. Originally published as The Women's History of the World, this reissue comes complete with Rosalind Miles's wry wit and disarming puns on everything from the phallus to bride sales, a very necessary comic relief to the recounting of centuries of abuse and oppression. Miles's engaging story starts with the first woman and her contribution of the essential human gene imprint, and the great evolutionary leap made by the development of monthly menstruation (rather than occasional heat). From the very beginning, women played a central role in human evolvement, from their critical part in sustaining early tribes with their food gathering (hunting brought marginal food contributions) to the impetus for developing the first technologies--sticks for digging and slings for carrying babies. In fact, the first God and the first priest-poet were female. Miles gives a relishing description of the Great Goddess Mother and her worshipers, poets, priests, queens, lovers, athletes, and soldiers who had not yet been told that they were physically weak, emotionally unstable, or intellectually inferior.
The history of women is, of necessity, also the history of men, and Miles claims the turning point for the former came when the latter finally got the great Aha!--the realization that sperm was essential for fertilization and that men weren't as superfluous to procreation as previously believed. What follows is not only the story of the attack on women's bodies and repression of their lives, but of women who found ways to subvert and convert the power of men. Examples of active, courageous, and inspiring women abound, from women warriors in Islam to the woman doctor who opened the first birth control clinic. Miles also reveals the barbaric truths behind euphemisms like chastity belt and child bride, and the truly impressive strength of such heroines as Florence Nightingale, who was nicknamed "the lady with the hammer" for attacking a locked storeroom when she needed nursing supplies, and Harriet "General" Tubman, who not only smuggled black slaves to freedom but commanded an action during the Civil War that liberated more than 750 blacks. This is a bracing, disturbing, and always lively read and proves definitively that in history there were always women, too. --Lesley Reed
Men dominate history because men write history. There have been many heroes, but no heroines. This is the book that overturns that "phallusy of history," giving voice to the true history of the world — which, always and forever, must include the contributions of millions of unsung women. Here is the history you never learned — but should have!Without politics or polemics, this brilliant and witty book overturns centuries of preconceptions to restore women to their rightful place at the center of culture, revolution, empire, war, and peace. Spiced with tales of individual women who have shaped civilization, celebrating the work and lives of women around the world, distinguished by a wealth of research, Who Cooked the Last Supper? redefines our concept of historical reality.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Can't stress how important this book is
I consider this the most important book I've read. In it are so many pieces of our human history that I've never encountered elsewhere or have been blatantly misrepresented.
There are portions of the book that are deeply tragic but others are riotous fun and the overall history of half of humanity is one that everyone can feel inspired by.
Assertions are backed up with thorough citations and the writing style is easy to digest. It's really, really amazing.
Rating: - A Book For Every Woman to Read!
The title grabbed me. The dedication hooked me: "For all the women of the world who have had no history." First published in 1988 as The Women's History of the World, this book overturns centuries of misconceptions and omissions to restore women to their rightbul place in history. With wit, brilliance, and no small amount of research, Rosalind Miles has given voice to the long parade of ignored, unsung, and unacknowledged women who have helped shape civilization and culture. Antonia Fraser says, ... Read More
Rating: - KathieW
My first feeling on reading this book.....at last! Absolutely superb! Funny and smart with substantial detail presented in an entertaining and logical fashion that was easy to follow and great to read. I am sending this to my 80 year old mother for Christmas. No woman who has read this book should allow her female relatives and friends continue their lives without reading this book. It changes the way you see the world.
A word of warning: reading about how women have been systematically ... Read More
Rating: - A MUST read...
This book is a must read for both women and men. Rosalind Miles did a fabulous job researching women in history.
Rating: - Who Cooked the Last Supper: The Women's History of the World
Great reading, timely delivery easy payment = good business. Thanks.
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