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The Highest Glass Ceiling: Women’s Quest for the American Presidency Hardcover – February 29, 2016

by Ellen Fitzpatrick (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 43 ratings
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In The Highest Glass Ceiling, best-selling historian Ellen Fitzpatrick tells the story of three remarkable women who set their sights on the American presidency. Victoria Woodhull (1872), Margaret Chase Smith (1964), and Shirley Chisholm (1972) each challenged persistent barriers confronted by women presidential candidates. Their quest illuminates today’s political landscape, showing that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign belongs to a much longer, arduous, and dramatic journey.

The tale begins during Reconstruction when the radical Woodhull became the first woman to seek the presidency. Although women could not yet vote, Woodhull boldly staked her claim to the White House, believing she might thereby advance women’s equality. Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith came into political office through the “widow’s mandate.” Among the most admired women in public life when she launched her 1964 campaign, she soon confronted prejudice that she was too old (at 66) and too female to be a creditable presidential candidate. She nonetheless became the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for President by a major party. Democratic Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm ignored what some openly described as the twin disqualifications of race and gender in her spirited 1972 presidential campaign. She ran all the way to the Democratic convention, inspiring diverse followers and angering opponents, including members of the Nixon administration who sought to derail her candidacy.

As The Highest Glass Ceiling reveals, women’s pursuit of the Oval Office, then and now, has involved myriad forms of influence, opposition, and intrigue.

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  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harvard University Press
  4. Publication date
    February 29, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1.25 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    067408893X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0674088931
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Fitzpatrick’s history is an urgent, crucial contribution… A book unlikely to calm any nerves, but which will at least put our gendered anxieties in historical perspective… Fitzpatrick’s smartly timed book should remind us not to let whatever history we make just pass us by.”―Rebecca Traister, New York Times Book Review

“Fitzpatrick tells the compelling stories of three women who preceded [Hillary] Clinton’s quest [to become president]… Fitzpatrick is a worthy biographer, offering a rich, amply footnoted story of these quick-witted and resilient women. In a world where women were expected to demur, they lived large―and paid the price. One finishes the book believing that they wouldn’t have had it any other way.”―Connie Schultz, Washington Post

“Terrific.”―Jill Lepore, New Yorker

“Ellen Fitzpatrick breaks the second-highest glass ceiling: writing a history of political women that reads like a murder mystery while managing to elevate the office of president despite recent electoral buffoonery. It’s a neat trick that kept me turning pages to find out what happened next. Like the politicos whose audacity, gusto and brainpower she admires, Fitzpatrick is that entertaining… Those eager to curl up with a good read on a Saturday afternoon will find the hours passing quickly. They might also become eager to cheer for a female president―at last.”―Elizabeth Cobbs, Times Higher Education

“Fitzpatrick’s engaging The Highest Glass Ceiling: Women’s Quest for the American Presidency implicitly questions the assumption that any rational woman could seriously believe that the White House was hers for the asking, by telling the entertaining, if ultimately depressing, stories of some women in the past who have failed.”―Sarah Churchwell, New Statesman

“Why has it taken so long for a woman to be taken seriously when she runs for President of the United States? There are stories to be told about that and Presidential historian Ellen Fitzpatrick does so superbly in The Highest Glass Ceiling. Her account of the women who did, in fact, go for the top job makes for great reading as well as a much-needed filling of important gaps in American political history. This is a terrific book that is chock full of small tidbits that add up to important surprises for anyone who thinks they already know everything about presidential politics.”―Jim Lehrer, former Executive Editor, PBS NewsHour

“Ellen Fitzpatrick’s wise and winning The Highest Glass Ceiling is destined to become the Profiles in Courage of the 2016 Presidential election, situating this year’s presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton in a historic field of bold female contenders, with special focus on the three who previously came closest―Victoria Woodhull, Margaret Chase Smith, and Shirley Chisholm. What enabled these women to ‘step out of context and into history,’ as a Los Angeles Times reporter wrote of Smith, to ‘shake it up, make it change,’ as Chisholm aimed to do? Fitzpatrick’s compelling portraits supply not just the how and when, but also the why, teaching valuable lessons that everyone who cares about American Presidential politics will be grateful to learn.”―Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life

“Women’s quest for the U.S. presidency has been long and arduous―and Ellen Fitzpatrick, a superb scholar and writer, is the perfect author for this fascinating and overdue history. This book is a triumph, and an inspiration.”―Theda Skocpol, Harvard University

“Fitzpatrick offers a rich story of quick-witted and resilient women who preceded Hillary Clinton’s quest.”―Washington Post

“[A] richly textured history of women’s pursuit of the presidency…Fitzpatrick has done a tremendous job of relaying this fascinating history.”―Cherisse Jomes-Branch, H-Net Reviews

About the Author

Ellen Fitzpatrick is Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press; 1st edition (February 29, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 067408893X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674088931
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.25 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 43 ratings

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Ellen F. Fitzpatrick

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
43 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book interesting, informative, and well-researched. They also appreciate the author's skillful descriptions of the women's quests and challenges. Readers describe the writing quality as wonderful and a good read.

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4 customers mention "Interest"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting, informative, and well-researched. They also appreciate the author's skillful descriptions of women's quests and challenges.

"...this read admiring the three women and the author who skillfully describes their quests, their challenges and their ultimate defeats." Read more

"Very interesting." Read more

"Found this book interesting, well researched and very engaging...." Read more

"Very interesting, specially in the current context of the US presidential elections." Read more

4 customers mention "Writing quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and a good read. They also say it's a great way to finish a terrific book.

"...It's a great way to finish a terrific book and I highly recommend "The Highest Glass Ceiling" for its depth and timeliness." Read more

"Wonderfully written book introducing us to three women presidential candidates from various eras in history...." Read more

"I thought it was a terrific read and 'right on' for what we are currently experiencing!..." Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

Jon Hunt
5.0 out of 5 stars A keen look at a timely issue
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2016
Verified Purchase
With Hillary Clinton in a good position to become the first woman nominated and/or elected president, author Ellen Fitzpatrick has written a timely offering on women in the past who have sought the highest office in the land. Her book, "The Highest Glass Ceiling", provides a look at three women...Victoria Woodhull, Margaret Chase Smith and Shirley Chisholm....all who ran for president.

The book starts off with a bang. Woodhull, a successful businesswoman, propelled herself into an unlikely race. Not even of the minimum age to become president under the Constitution and running nearly fifty years before women could vote, Woodhull, nonetheless forged ahead in her quest. As with Chase Smith and Chisholm, it's interesting to note that women often were much more opposed to their candidacies than were men. Fast forward to Margaret Chase Smith who entered politics upon her husband's death and served Maine as both a Congresswoman and a Senator for over three decades. Her rise to stardom occurred over a long period of time, but she was no less a rebel than Woodhull or Chisholm, taking courage to denounce her Senate colleague, Joe McCarthy. But Chisholm was the real firebrand...not only being a woman but also black, Chisholm lit a torch that made history.

Fitzpatrick ends with an epilogue that discusses Hillary Clinton in her current race. It's a great way to finish a terrific book and I highly recommend "The Highest Glass Ceiling" for its depth and timeliness.
8 people found this helpful
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Ethel Joleen, Boston
5.0 out of 5 stars Three Historic Women Brought Alive in The Highest Glass Ceiling
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2016
Verified Purchase
Wonderfully written book introducing us to three women presidential candidates from various eras in history. You come away from this read admiring the three women and the author who skillfully describes their quests, their challenges and their ultimate defeats.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2016
Verified Purchase
Very interesting.
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Carol Lerch
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2016
Verified Purchase
It is interesting to see that not much has changed since Woodhull ran in the 1870s. The stories are remarkably similar in how the women have been treated in presidential politics. It is past time that women are seen as equals in this country.
2 people found this helpful
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M. Heiss
3.0 out of 5 stars attempts to answer the question: What sort of a woman seeks the presidency?
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2016
Offering a slight history of the many women who have run for president, this book seems to be little more than a tongue bath for Hillary Clinton. Am I just supposed to want to vote for her because she is a woman ? What else does she got?

Meager, scant information. Extra wide margins. Not a great read.
One person found this helpful
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Barbara J. Hoos
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and very timely
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2016
Verified Purchase
Found this book interesting, well researched and very engaging. I learned so much about the women described in the book as well as about the history of women in politics. Very relevant on today's election environment. I highly ecommend it.
One person found this helpful
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Sus
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
I'd hoped for a more thoughtful examination of the reasons for the ceiling. What I got was basically biography.
2 people found this helpful
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J. Hirsch
5.0 out of 5 stars An Eye-Popping, Jaw-Dropping Page Turner
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2016
Verified Purchase
The only time I could put this book down was when I needed to process the horrifying ways in which history repeats itself. Margaret Chase Smith dealing with Senator Joseph McCarthy is eerily similar to what's going on today with right wing bullies. And what Shirley Chisholm put up with, both from feminism's leading lights as well as Richard Nixon's dirty tricksters will take your breath away.
4 people found this helpful
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