Ambrose’s story brings to the fore how much has changed for women in politics but also, more startlingly, how little ... as America approaches the centenary of women’s suffrage, Liberated Spirits offers an important, timely look at an era that is usually remembered for its speakeasies and flappers, rum runners and alcoholic writers. Behind all of that was the burgeoning politics of American women, determined to remake the country that had forgotten them.
A deep dive into the politics surrounding the Eighteenth Amendment ... readers might hunger for more biographical details about Sabin and Willebrandt, but those looking for the political history of Prohibition will value this comprehensive accounting.
Although the authors’ arguments are sometimes clogged by biographical detail and characters and issues that are introduced and then dropped, the book raises fascinating questions about the role of women in early-20th-century politics ... Readers willing to dig through dense scholarly details will find a rewardingly intricate account of how one political issue shaped several lives.
[A] disjointed narrative ... The authors’ argument that the success or failure of Prohibition was often measured by the public in terms of the success or failure of these two women is vague and unconvincing ... the main personalities here had little interaction with one another, which inevitably saps narrative tension. The link between Prohibition and women’s suffrage is an intriguing and somewhat underexplored angle, but interested readers won’t find a gripping story here.
