What readers think of Half the Sky, plus links to write your own review.

Outstanding book that everyone should read. The oppression and abuse of women occurs worldwide. This book will open your eyes and you will want to make a difference. Read it and tell others to read it and then think about what can be done to help women who are oppressed.

Reading this book opened my eyes to a lot of problems been faced by a lot of women and girls in this century. lets all not just seat and listen to this stories but try to aid in one way or the other and it will make a lot of difference in many life's of the affected.

Half The Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, is a “must read”. It is by no means an easy book to read; it is sometimes quite confronting; in places you will cry; you will be disgusted by the actions of some members of the human race, both male and female; the words and actions of some medical personnel, aid agencies, churches and governments will leave you gasping. But ultimately, this is a hopeful book. The authors explore causes of, and possible solutions to, maternal mortality, human trafficking, sexual violence, discrimination against girls and female genital mutilation. This book tells us that at least part of the answer is gender equality: educate and empower women. It is full of data, but also full of humanity. It has a few surprising facts about diverse things such as sweatshops, about Rwanda, about what interventions are and aren’t effective, about TV and about salt. It demonstrates how local knowledge and grassroots programs are most effective in educating and empowering women.
I found myself frowning, smiling, crying and, quite a few times, laughing out loud! I especially enjoyed the way the Huichol tribe in Mexico ensure that the pain of childbirth is shared. If you despair at whether you can make a difference to the plight of women in the Third World, this book shows that you can. If the only action a person can take is to donate money, then this book guides the reader to where that will be most effective. We owe it to every woman who has ever suffered in the Third World to read this book.

I had to read this book for my anthropology class, and it seems like a good read at first. Though as you read you see some inconsistencies, such as the the girl from Nepal not considered as a trafficked victim cause she didn't cross the border, when in the introduction to her story it was said that she was kidnapped from her mother in nepal. Then the way the one of the authors talked to and indian official and a Chinese official. One any official of any nation is not allowed to say such things that he had written in the book. Two if u talk to an official like that u can get jailed. Many of the claims in this book seem to based on personal bias and have no support. One claim is that most chinese prostitutes are self made and were not forced. Its very hard to believe that since China has a scarcity of women now and there's bride kidnapping and a high rate of prostitution to in a way tame men's sexual needs, since they can't get any, because of the low female count. The authors also disregard the trafficking that's happening in the us too, claiming that there's pretty much none. I find this book to be very good in learning the struggles and the way of life of a victi. But tasteless and biased in the way the authors showed the cultures around the world