From Publishers Weekly
Concerned as she is with all manner of conflicts between public and private issues represented in this collection of essays from her syndicated New York Times op-ed column, Quindlen ( Living Out Loud ) admits to viewing even non-feminist topics through "the special lens of her gender." Sensitive to social and political trends and the "shifting sands of geopolitics" that propel events, she points out their cost in human terms, especially as they affect the excluded and abused. Violence, notes the author--sexual, racial or political, performed by individuals or in groups as members of sports teams, gangs, police or the military--is routinely glorified, whether in children's cartoons or adult soap operas. Equally effective are Quindlen's always superbly controled commentaries on lying, bigotry and moral hypocrisy among political, judiciary and religious leaders, and the cynical use of ideals to justify military incursions. Author tour. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Quindlen introduces this collection of her recent Op-Ed pieces with Dorothy Thompson's comment that her strength as a writer was from being "altogether female." The same is definitely true of Quindlen, who says her husband once asked her, "Could you get up and get me a beer without writing about it?" No, she can't; even though Quindlen no longer writes the intensely personal "Life in the 30s" columns (collected in Living Out Loud , Random, 1988), her new "Public and Private" columns are just that: discussions of world events as seen through her prism as wife, mother, and woman. This dual perspective has both pleased and infuriated readers, who may question whether a discussion of Jo March as heroine deserves to be part of "all the news that's fit to print." Still, Quindlen has offered a welcome human voice to the Times pages, and some of her best columns--her courageous condemnation of her own paper's decision to print the name of the woman in the William Kennedy rape trial, for instance--prove that. Essential for any journalism collection, this will be enjoyed by general readers also. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/92.- Judy Quinn, "Incentive," New YorkCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
For readers of Anna Quindlen's award-winning column, "Thinking Out Loud" on audiotape is a treat. Her eloquent reading of selected columns is preceded simply by the date of its publication. Quindlen's voice takes the listener through a review of America's recent history, allowing time for reflection. Some of the topics she's chosen are her career, Anita Hill, the military, homosexuality, motherhood and parental responsibility. The sincerity of her own personal struggles with the issues of the past decade is evident in her tone and inflection. Once again she reaches her stated goal, "Not to make readers think like me, but to make them think." K.D.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Kirkus Reviews
In her second collection of New York Times pieces, Quindlen (Object Lessons, 1991, etc.) lets loose with her trademark intelligence, fervor, and personal focus on topics ranging from the Gulf War through absent fathers to the controversy over abortion. ``But is it really necessary for you to wear your gender on your sleeve?,'' an eager young journalist once asked the author. Citing her role model, editorialist Dorothy Thompson (who when told she had ``the brains of a man'' insisted she was ``altogether female''), Quindlen reiterates her belief that she owes it to herself, to the female reporters who broke ground for her generation at the Times, and to her readers to comment on world events from her underrepresented and valuable female viewpoint. Writing with greater maturity and depth than in her ``Life in the 30s'' column (Living Out Loud, 1988), she confidently proceeds to filter the abortion issue through her own experience as a Catholic mother of three; consider euthanasia from the perspective of a dying man's wife; observe her daughter's second birthday while considering that women as a whole still earn less than men; mull over the premature revelation of Arthur Ashe's case of AIDS from the point of view of a seasoned reporter; and lambast the Times, as a journalist and a woman, for revealing the name of the alleged rape victim in the William Kennedy Smith trial. Whimsical moments appear sporadically (Quindlen predicts the next movie blockbuster, Mom Alone), but rage surfaces more frequently from this woman writing in what she--perhaps optimistically--calls ``a world in which we can wear our gender on our sleeves.'' ``I'd love to run your column, but we already run Ellen Goodman,'' one newspaper editor candidly told Quindlen. Until the quota increases past one, here's a way for more readers to fall in love with at least one woman's very personal brand of passion. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
"A splendid collection...Eloquent, powerful, compassionate and droll. There is considerable variety in the subjects she addresses....Compelling."
THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
Thinking out loud is what Anna Quindlen does best. A syndicated columnist with her finger on the pulse of women's lives, and her heart in a place we all share, she writes about the passions, politics, and peculiarities of Americans everywhere. From gays in the military, to the race for First Lady, to the trials of modern motherhood and the right to choose, Anna Quindlen's views always fascinate.
More of her views can be found in LIVING OUT LOUD, and OBJECT LESSONS.



From the Publisher
Some years ago I had the opportunity to meet Anna Quindlen at a sales conference. She is one of the most charming and genuine people I've met in my publishing career. Of course I expected nothing less, since I had long been a die-hard fan of her regular column in the New York Times. These collected columns are a snapshot of all our lives during the early 1990's. Filled with wonderful imagery and the hopes and dreams she and her husband have for their children, the reader discovers that these columns speak to us all.

-- Sue Miller, National Accounts Manager


From the Inside Flap
"A splendid collection...Eloquent, powerful, compassionate and droll. There is considerable variety in the subjects she addresses....Compelling."
THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
Thinking out loud is what Anna Quindlen does best. A syndicated columnist with her finger on the pulse of women's lives, and her heart in a place we all share, she writes about the passions, politics, and peculiarities of Americans everywhere. From gays in the military, to the race for First Lady, to the trials of modern motherhood and the right to choose, Anna Quindlen's views always fascinate.
More of her views can be found in LIVING OUT LOUD, and OBJECT LESSONS.

ANNOTATION

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Quindlen skillfully blends the controversial domain where public and private problems converge with the public manifestation of private concerns, such as working motherhood, racism, and gay rights.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Anna Quindlen is one of the most popular, influential, and admired writers in America. She has been called "a national treasure," "the laureate of real life," and "the most eloquent voice" of her generation. Twice a week, in her Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times column, Quindlen explores the controversial domain where public and private problems converge: the economy as reflected in the job search of a fifty-year-old manager or the shopper in the checkout line; issues of gender, politics, and privacy as they relate to the judges on the Supreme Court and other public officials. Separately, policy or personal details don't tell the whole story; together, they show the truth. In Thinking Out Loud, Anna Quindlen reveals both what's in her mind and what's at the heart of the concerns that matter. She examines the private dimensions of such public issues as the horror of war, the right to die, sexual harassment, abortion, rape. And she takes us not only into her own life but also into the lives of her subjects, famous and not so famous - a surrogate mother, a First Lady, workers at an abortion clinic, a gay-rights activist. With the sharp eye of a first-rate reporter as well as an original sensibility, humor, and compassion, Quindlen illuminates why public and private issues are sometimes at odds and suggests how to balance priorities. When Anna Quindlen thinks out loud, she movingly gives voice to the thoughts and concerns of millions.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Concerned as she is with all manner of conflicts between public and private issues represented in this collection of essays from her syndicated New York Times op-ed column, Quindlen (Living Out Loud) admits to viewing even non-feminist topics through "the special lens of her gender.'' Sensitive to social and political trends and the "shifting sands of geopolitics'' that propel events, she points out their cost in human terms, especially as they affect the excluded and abused. Violence, notes the author--sexual, racial or political, performed by individuals or in groups as members of sports teams, gangs, police or the military--is routinely glorified, whether in children's cartoons or adult soap operas. Equally effective are Quindlen's always superbly controled commentaries on lying, bigotry and moral hypocrisy among political, judiciary and religious leaders, and the cynical use of ideals to justify military incursions.

Library Journal

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Quindlen introduces this collection of her recent Op-Ed pieces with Dorothy Thompson's comment that her strength as a writer was from being "altogether female.'' The same is definitely true of Quindlen, who says her husband once asked her, "Could you get up and get me a beer without writing about it?'' No, she can't; even though Quindlen no longer writes the intensely personal "Life in the 30s'' columns (collected in Living Out Loud , Random House, 1988), her new "Public and Private'' columns are just that: discussions of world events as seen through her prism as wife, mother, and woman. This dual perspective has both pleased and infuriated readers, who may question whether a discussion of Jo March as heroine deserves to be part of "all the news that's fit to print.'' Still, Quindlen has offered a welcome human voice to the Times pages, and some of her best columns--her courageous condemnation of her own paper's decision to print the name of the woman in the William Kennedy rape trial, for instance--prove that. Essential for any journalism collection, this will be enjoyed by general readers also.

Library Journal