Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History of Technology - Hardcover

Autumn Stanley, an independent scholar, has presented her work at national and international conferences on women and work, history of technology, women's studies, and business history and published papers in scholarly journals and in essay collections from Joan Rothschild's pathbreaking Machina ex Dea (1983) to Dale Spender and Cheris Kramarae's Knowledge Explosion (1992). Formerly affiliated with Stanford's Institute for Research on Women and Gender (1984-1988), she is a member of the Institute for Historical Study.

...a unique and invaluable source that belongs in any library. No other book covers the subject as thoroughly or in as much detail (Arba)

Stanley's book chronicles the technologic trajectory of women's creativity, and she speculates on why this contribution largely has gone unnoticed...should bring recognition to the inventive achievement of dozens of unknown and little-known women... (San Jose Mercury News)

Stanley has made an immense contribution to the rediscovery of women's history. (Susanne Otteman, National Women's History Project)

This is the book that many of us have been waiting for since at least the late 1970s (yes, it has been gestating that long). So here we have not merely a major contribution to the literature on women and technology, but a unique reference book, going far beyond the scope of the few 'popular' titles published in this field. It should be on the shelves of any library seriously committed to female/male equality. (Fawcett Library Newsletter)

A monumental work, delving back into ancient history and coming forward into the 20th century, supporting its premise that women have always been inventors but have seldom received the deserved acknowledgment...extensive bibliography and an excellent index...written in sufficiently readable prose to be enjoyed by anyone interested in women's accomplishments. (Awis Magazine)

...an exceptional tribute to women inventors and innovators. Whatever your gender, your consciousness cannot help being raised by realizing that women invented such essentials as the ice cream freezer (1843), the vacuum-canning process (1872), genetic engineering (1950), and the bobby pin (1916)... (C&Rl News)

...a comprehensive overview of the contributions of women inventors from ancient times to the present. Written in engaging prose, the volume serves as a biographical compendium, a historical handbook, and a bibliography. The international and historical scope of this work and its combination of reference strengths make it a unique contribution to any collection with an interest in women's inventions. (Reference Quarterly)

...no-one could really feel short-changed by Mothers and Daughters of Invention. It is a good and weighty read and handsomely fills the space that was waiting for it among the feminist analyses of technology. (Women's Studies International Forum)

Written in an engaging and accessible style, Mother and Daughters of Invention not only includes women's contributions to technology but redefines technology and significant technology to revalue these contributions correctly. (Institute Of Patentees And Inventors)

polemic, corrective, encyclopedia, speculative essay, Mothers and Daughters of Invention is so many things, and so exciting in so many directions, the reviewer hardly knows where to begin except perhaps by urging to make sure that your library--public and private, institutional and research-based--contains at least one copy! (Mentalities Review)