She clearly defines terms such as social movement and social movement theory without resorting to confusing jargon or obfuscation. The two methodologies complement and reinforce one another. Rupp and Taylor also unflinchingly present their subjects as displaying gender, class, and race biases. They offer a candid portrayal of the influence of these three factors upon women s rights issues, consistently maintaining that these biases resulted in the domination of women s right s groups by wealthy, white women who recruited membership only among those that fulfilled these criteria. The mistakes of this groups provided a blueprint for new groups in the 1960 s to avoid the pitfalls that had prevented growth and diversity in the doldrum years.
Survival manifests a few minor weaknesses.
The book sometimes focuses on the NWP at the expense of other organizations of the period. The authors arguments would be strengthened by the inclusion of further evidence that discussed the AAUW and the BPW in greater detail. Also, Rupp and Taylor s unflattering portrayal of Alice Paul lacks balance. According to the portrait proffered here, Paul s strong personality displayed no redeeming characteristics. The authors constantly reiterated her personality flaws, which led this reviewer to wonder how the woman managed to inspire the loyalty and devotion of other party members that Rupp and Taylor present in the chapter on community.