Big Books and Social Movements: A Myth of Ideas and Social Change.

The article discusses the role of books in the historiography of social movements, including U.S. feminist, environmental, anti-poverty, and consumer movements. According to the authors, popular and scholarly narratives which characterize such movements as stemming from or centered around influential books omit important details related to the actions of governments and political organizations and elide some of the more complex and problematic aspects of the movements' histories. Particular focus is given to the 1960s books "The Other America" by Michael Harrington, "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan, "Unsafe at Any Speed" by Ralph Nader, and "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson. It is also suggested that unrealistic or incomplete accounts of social change may mislead future activists.