Big Girls Don't Cry by Rebecca Traister

The book is subtitled 'The Election That Changed Everything for American Woman'. It is a personal reflection on what happened during the 2008 Presidential Election and why it matters for women. I personally was not conflicted about the election from a gender standpoint. I saw Hilary Clinton as having a broad reaching political name because of her husband, even though her reputation as a moderate Democrat who worked to build consensus in the Senate made her politically different from Bill. She was not the fire brand that he was--she was more solid, making her points more softly and with more facts to back them up. But it was the dynasty aspect of it that made me uncomfortable. I also did not feel duty bound to vote for her just based on her gender--so the premise of the book did not inherently resonate with me.
Traister writes the book based on her personal experiences and reflections of what happened during the campaign. Her mother felt this was the best chance for a woman to get into the White House as Commander in Chief and that was the beginning and end of the argument for her--there was no choice. Honor and defend. The author was more conflicted, and saw Obama and Clinton as being ver close to each other politically, so which was more important, race or gender. She chose gender, but not without talking to a lot of people, and she presents these various points of view. It is a very thoughtful book about what the election meant for Americans in general and for women in particular. Highly recommended.