Fifty years after Betty Friedan unveiled The Feminine Mystique; relations between men and women in America have never been more dysfunctional. If women are more liberated than ever before; why aren't they happier? In this shocking; funny; and bluntly honest tour of today’s gender discontents; Andrea Tantaros; one of Fox News' most popular and outspoken stars; exposes how the rightful feminist pursuit of equality went too far; and how the unintended pitfalls of that power trade have made women (and men!) miserable.In a covetous quest to attain the power that men had; women were advised to work like men; talk like men; party like men; and have sex like men. There’s just one problem: women aren’t men. Instead of feeling happy with their newfound freedoms; females today are tied up in knots; trying to strike a balance between their natural; feminine and traditional desires and what modern society dictates—and demands—through the commandments of feminism. Revealing the mass confusion this has caused among both sexes; Tantaros argues that decades of social and economic progress haven’t brought women the peace and contentedness they were told they'd gain from their new opportunities. The pressure both to have it all and to put forth the perfectly post-worthy; filtered life for social media and society at large has left women feeling twisted. Meanwhile; in their rightful quest for equality; women have promoted themselves at the expense of their male counterparts; leaving both genders frayed and frustrated. In this candid and humorous romp through the American cultural landscape; Tantaros reveals how gaining respect in the office - where women earned it - made them stop demanding it where they really wanted it: in their love lives. The impact of this power trade has been felt in every way; from sex to salaries; to dating and marriage; to fertility and female friendships; to the personal details they share with each other. As a result; we've lost the traditional virtues and values that we all want; regardless of our politics: intimacy; authenticity; kindness; respect; discretion; and above all commitment. With scathing wit -- and insights born of personal experience -- Tantaros explores how women have taken guys off the hook in dating (much to their own detriment) and exposes how we’ve become a nation averse to intimacy and preoccupied with porn; one that has traded kindness for control; intimacy for sexting; and monogamy for polygamy. Sorry romance. Sorry decency and manners. Long talks over the telephone have been supplanted by the "belfie." All this indicates a culture that's devolving; not evolving. And it’s only getting worse. Tied Up in Knots is a no-holds-barred gut check for the sexes and a wake-up call for a society that has decayed -- faster than anyone thought possible. It’s time to remember what we all really want out of work; love and life. Only then can we finally begin untying those knots.
#161 in Books Harari Yuval Noah 2015-02-10 2015-02-10Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.38 x 6.00l; .0 #File Name: 0062316095464 pagesSapiens A Brief History of Humankind
Review
670 of 715 people found the following review helpful. Fun; Enjoyable Easy ReadBy StanleyNever before have I reviewed a book after 2300 others have done the same. Who's going to read 2300 reviews and who will read this? Surely a waste of time for a lot of people including me. Now that I am past that let me state that Harari gives a heckeva good read. This is not the usual rise and fall of empires and kingdoms but a broad ranging overview of how we got here. Parts of it were downright fascinating such as "imagination" being a keystone to human activity; e.g. corporations; money; and religion.Something I found really different and pleasing was his discussion of things where he had no real answer. In the case of all cultures being patriarchal he gives three or four possible reasons. That's good enough for me as there is still no real answer. I find that fair and enlightening. He also does something different as he uses the pronoun "she" throughout the book instead of the previously required male pronoun. Finally he keeps touching on the fact that animals have paid a terrible price for the rise of sapiens. From hunter-gatherer days to the factory farms of today they have suffered. He's right. Incidentally our family has a farm background and I eat no chicken; turkey; pork; or beef. Ever been in a confinement barn?Now I didn't give the book five stars because he makes positive references to the misguided but widely read Jared Diamond. He borrows a fair amount from Diamond; for example; in that hunter-gatherers were happier than folks today. Let me emphasize that on this snowy March day the cat and I are both glad we don't need to go out and scavenge something off the frozen earth.Finally; beware of the paper back edition. It has incredibly cheap paper and tiny print. If you purchase the book look for a hard cover. I now consign this review to oblivion. . .still I liked the book.866 of 925 people found the following review helpful. The Broad Sweep Of Human HistoryBy John D. CofieldA standard history of the human race begins with Paleolithic proto-humans; traces the development of modern man or homo sapiens sapiens; then chronicles the beginnings and expansions of human civilization from agriculture to the present. Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens follows that path; but with several intriguing twists. The result is a fascinating book which will challenge pre-conceptions and occasionally annoy or even anger the reader; but will always intrigue.Harari focusses on the three great revolutions of human history: Cognitive; Agricultural; and Scientific. He asks how "An Animal of No Significance" managed to become the dominant life form; and whether that animal's learning to produce his own food and then to further harness the natural world to his will through science were boons or setbacks; both for that animal and for the rest of the biosphere. In 20 brilliant chapters Harari asks his readers to consider not only what did happen; but what might have occurred had things turned out slightly differently (the roles of chance and accident are given a lot of attention.) He reveals the mutually agreed upon "stories" that helped shape human societies and questions their validity; not to disillusion but to challenge his readers. At times the tone is unavoidably cynical; but at others there's a real optimistic air (leavened by some cautions here and there). I found Harari's ideas fascinating; especially those in his final chapter "The End of Homo Sapiens" and in his brief but important "Afterword: The Animal That Became a God."Readers who are looking for detailed chronicles listing; for example; the Emperors of China; Kings and Queens of England; or Presidents of the United States should look elsewhere. But readers who want to be challenged and enlightened will find Sapiens a most enjoyable work. I'm a retired AP World History teacher; and while I was reading there were many moments which made me wish I was back in the classroom so I could share Harari's ideas with my high school students. That's high praise indeed; but Sapiens deserves it and much more.568 of 626 people found the following review helpful. Masterpiece! Our myths make us who we areBy GaryThis book is a masterpiece. I feel fortunate that I discovered it before most other people. I discovered it by reading an extremely negative review for this book in the Wall Street Journal written by a historian. (In his defense; he just didn't understand that this is not a history book; and he had no idea what Harari is getting at).This book never stops in challenging my understanding of our place in the universe. What we believe in determines what we want to want. Sapiens are distinguished by our ability to believe in fictions. The cognitive revolutions starts with the first set of hypothetical stories we allow ourselves to believe in whether they are true or not. The real importance is that the family; kin; friends; and community share those beliefs.Our fictions allow us to cooperate. They gives us the imaginary order that is necessary for societies to act together. Corporations are not people; they do not exist in reality. One can not point to a corporation. It's not the buildings; or the executives or any other physical entities that make the corporation; but it is our belief that makes them real. The author notes that the word for corporation comes from the Latin; corpus; the same as in the body (corpus) of Christ within the transubstantiation.Religion gives us comfort from the absurd and comforts us to accept death. Science (and its offshoot; technology) does the opposite. It gives us knowledge leading to life extension and makes our time alive more comfortable. The Gilgamesh Project of life extension is a major character is this book.The myths we create can never be logically consistent without contradictions. Perfect liberty will always conflict with perfect equality. Knowledge about the real world can never be 'universal; necessary; and certain'; but we only get glimpses of reality by considering the 'particular; contingent; and probable'. Our myths give us comfort and subjective well being; but they are never without contradictions.The acceptance of our myths give us our commonality. He'll even say that because of the myths we choose to believe in they determine our progress. When cultures (imaginary orders) collectively know Truth; they have no reason to proceed. Biology enables us; cultures forbid us. The most important words necessary for progress are "I don't know; but I want to find out". He connects Imperialism with Capitalism leading to seeking knowledge (and developing science). Only those who do not believe they know everything need to search.If I were to have ever written a book (which fortunately for the reading public; I save all my writing only for book reviews!) this is the book I would have written. I believe this will be a classic in the future and am glad I discovered it. The author has written this book to make sure we do everything in our power to understand that the things we believe in will determine who we will be going forward. The myths we choose to believe in will determine what we become.
