SOURCE: “Gray Eminence,” in Women's Review of Books, Vol. 8, No. 3, December, 1990, pp. 25–26.

In the following unfavorable review, Ruthchild criticizes Gray's emphasis on the Soviet upper class in Soviet Women and argues that the work includes many factual errors, stereotypes, and omissions.

It is evening at the eyrie of the Eagle Forum. Phyllis Schlafly and her aide-de-camp Barbara are working late …

Barbara: Phyllis, let's join the MacDonald's and Pepsi folks and go to Moscow to witness the triumph of capitalism. You know, the stock exchanges are about to reopen, the Cold War is over, and best of all, according to this book I've been reading, Soviet women are returning to traditional values.

Phyllis: What's the book?

Barbara: Soviet Women. Listen to this, Phyllis. This Francine Gray writes that Soviet women want to go back to the home. Imagine—the Commies have had an ERA for 70 years. They used to...