This comprehensive synthesis of women's history from the 17th century to the present draws on the past three decades of scholarship in the field. The book's unique dual-chapter format pairs a narrative "episode" that vividly evokes a particular individual or event with a synthesis chapter that places each episode carefully within its broader historical context. This pairing of the concrete and specific with the general and historic creates the most compelling reading experience available in a survey of U.S. women's history.