Dash's account of the 1909 women's strike does not build dramatically to a climax and wrap up neatly as if it were a television drama; rather, it emphasizes how difficult, grueling, and protracted this lengthy strike actually was. Dash points out that the strike nearly ended by attrition several times because of hunger, hardship, and harassment by police and the courts, but the strikers somehow persevered. The book's descriptive prose vividly conveys what workingclass women's lives were like at that time, and its powerful feminism and humanity make it all the more real to us today.

Much of Dash's information about the 1909 strike appears to be culled from newspapers and magazines of the day and, while sources are usually not cited within the text, the book contains a useful index and bibliography. It also includes fascinating photographs of events and personalities of the movement and an epilogue...