What one half of the human race wants and the other half dreads - women's absolute equality! Is this a fair view of feminism? For some, the word feminism itself is enough to conjure up the fearful spectre of gender competition, the sex war and man-hating females. This book cuts through the myths and provides an account of the women's movement from its surprisingly recent birth in the French Revolution to the worldwide explosion of women's liberation in the 1970s and the conservative backlash of the Reagan and Thatcher 1980s. It looks at the achievements of feminism and the challenges still confronting women throughout the world in the 1990s. This is a timely guide to the struggle for women's rights and an entertaining canvas of words and pictures which tells the story of some remarkable women, past and present.