Ms Magazine's List of the top 100 Non-Fiction Feminist Books

Ms Magazine's blog posted a list of the top 100 feminist non-fiction books (starting here ). I don't think any of the choices are bad (my library queue is getting pretty fat), though many are feminist 101 standards. But what I really was they'd done was instead of counting down the best feminist reading, go through some of those feminist standards with a critical eye, like Susan Brownmiller's Against Our Will, which has been criticized for her treatment of race, particularly in the case of Willie McGee  who was sentenced to death for raping a white woman:

It starts with Susan Brownmiller’s discussion of the Wille McGee case – a black man who was executed because he was accused of raping a white woman. Towards the end of the appeals process Willie McGee’s wife came forward and said that her husband had been having an affair with the white woman, and it was when he was caught that the white woman accused him of rape. It seems to really matter to Susan Brownmiller that the white woman is telling the truth and Willie McGee’s wife (who was black) is lying. I think it’s always dangerous history (and even more dangerous politics) for the facts of an individual case to matter that much. If you need everyone on your side (in whatever sense you have a side) to have always been worthy and pure, then you’re not on particularly solid ground. (Alas, a Blog)

I hate putting the blame on Brownmiller (the example happened to be fresh in my mind), or second-wave feminism in general, because my own generation of feminists are not immune to race fail, homophobia or transphobia, but I see the same books being touted as feminist classics and being presented uncritically -- well, we can do better.