The book that changed the consciousness of a country―and the world. Landmark, groundbreaking, classic―these adjectives barely describe the earthshaking and long-lasting effects of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique . This is the book that defined "the problem that has no name," that launched the Second Wave of the feminist movement, and has been awakening women and men with its insights into social relations, which still remain fresh, ever since. A national bestseller, with over 1 million copies sold. “[A] bridge between conservative and radical elements in feminism, an ardent advocate of harmony and human values.” - Marilyn French, Esquire “The book that pulled the trigger on history.” - Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock “One of those rare books we are endowed with only once in several decades.” - Amitai Etzioni, author of The Spirit of Community: The Reinvention of American Society “[The Feminine Mystique] now feels both revolutionary and utterly contemporary. . . . Four decades later, millions of individual transformations later, there is still so much to learn from this book. . . . Those who think of it as solely a feminist manifesto ought to revisit its pages to get a sense of the magnitude of the research and reporting Friedan undertook.” - Anna Quindlen Betty Friedan (1921–2006), a transformational leader of the women’s movement, founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) and authored many works, including The Second Stage , The Fountain of Age , and Life So Far . Anna Quindlen is an award-winning columnist and novelist. She left journalism in 1995 to write fiction full time and has published three bestsellers. She lives in New York City.