Judith Nies - THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND: A Narrative History of the Sixties

Selected Books By Judith Nies

History

UNREAL CITY: Las Vegas, Black Mesa, and the Fate of the West

Explores how and why resources have been taken from America’s native peoples, what it means in an era of climate change, and why, in this city divorced from nature, the only thing more powerful than money is water.

NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY: A Chronology of a Culture's Vast Achievements and Their Links to World Events

A New Perspective on Native American History: A Chronological Account of its Place on the World Stage.

Biography

THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND: A Personal History of the Sixties

Chronicles Nies' struggle to cope with and finally overcome the limited opportunities for women in society and politics during the 1960s.

NINE WOMEN: Portraits from the American Radical Tradition

An expanded edition of the history of American women radicals.

Links

More Praise for The Girl I Left Behind

“An important book. I know of no book like it.”
--Jill Ker Conway, Author Road from Coorain and A Woman’s Educaiion

“Bolstered by contemporary statistics and an excellent memory, Nies details the life changes she experienced alongside countless other women during a decade of secrecy, boys’ club politics and outright lies…The book’s narrative style—blunt, unflinching, honest—serves the story well…educational and entertaining, with a wry, ironic wit evident throughout.”
--Kirkus Review

“Nies combines personal memoir with period history...a highly valuable first-person record.”
--Publishers Weekly

Refreshingly candid…Nies’ personal take on the ripple effects of the women’s movement – both on those involved directly and those who followed – is honest and engaging.”
- Booklist

"A dense and energetic public and private history [for our] ambitious daughters who have no idea how recent ancient history can be."
--Amanda Heller, Boston Globe

The life experiences she relates so freshly (including political parallels to this era's war) make this book captivating for students of the political and cultural history of the 1960s. Highly recommended"
-- Library Journal

Colorful exchanges, including one with Congressman Tip O'Neill at a Capitol Hill Weight Watchers meeting, invigorate her new memoir" -- Jan Gardner, Boston Globe

THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND: A Narrative History of the Sixties

At the height of the Vietnam War protests, Judith Nies held “the most interesting job in Washington” as the chief staffer to a core group of anti-war congressmen. A graduate of John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) with an impressive international resume, Nies had everything she needed to succeed in Washington except for one obvious characteristic: she was the wrong gender.

A daring political activist and writer, Nies expertly intermingles her personal journey with insightful depictions of the pivotal events that shaped the civil rights era, such as:

• The 1961 protest of 50,000 housewives across the nation that helped bring the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to the forefront of Congressional focus

• The 1968 women’s liberation protest of the Miss America Pageant, which effectively ended male-only newsrooms (and sparked the birth of the term “bra burners”).

• Telling portrayals of the women who led the Feminist movement – from Gloria Steinem to Congresswoman Bella Abzug

At the same time, Nies played a key part in modernizing the political tenor of the late-1960’s herself – exposing the institutionalized sexism on Capitol Hill in her first published article, orchestrating the removal of the separate “Ladies Gallery” overlooking the House floor, and leading the Women in Fellowships committee, which would entitle women to become Rhodes Scholars and Nieman recipients for the first time in history.

Available from: Barnes and Noble
Amazon and Local Booksellers

The book’s narrative style—blunt, unflinching, honest—serves the story well…educational and entertaining, with a wry, ironic wit evident throughout.
--Kirkus Review

Nies has written a fascinating account of her personal experience interwoven with her observations of a pivotal decade of political and social history.
--Ellen Steinbaum, Boston Globe

Nies moves nimbly between descriptions of her unique personal situation and recollections of the more general climate for women...A potent reminder of how much things have changed -- and stayed the same.
--The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch

"From the port of Izmir (Turkey), we traveled along the coast to Miletus, Didyma, Ephesus, Bodrum and into another world and another dimension of time. Today I see them as names on a map, but then they were my route into the world of myth, a world so ancient and so overpowering that my underdeveloped imagination simply quit."