Reviews
"The strength of the book is the forthright discussion of the complex, collective, and various roles northern women assumed during the Civil War."--Barbara Worthy, Florida Historical Quarterly, "Attie's in-depth look at Civil War home front activism unravels many of the complicated socioeconomic issues that resurfaced in the movement for women's suffrage and the Herculean contribution of 'Rose the Riveter' in generations to come."--Long Island University Magazine, "This book makes a singular contribution to the growing body of historical literature on the US Civil War and its effect on gender relations. . . Attie's perceptive examination of gender conflicts in the commission offers considerable insight into the precarious state of gender relations, and its relation to the expansion of federal power, in the nineteenth-century U.S."-Nina Silver, American Historical Review, "Attie's work is one of the most complete histories of the Sanitary Commission to date. . . This book will be of particular interest to the readers of New York history because its subjects as well as their leaders were all based in New York City. In addition, her excellent analysis of the Metropolitan Fair in New York City in April 1864 provides a vivid snapshot of the city's tense social situation the last year of the war. Taken as a whole, Patriotic Toil has a great deal to offer its readers, both in terms of information and interpretation."-New York History, "An important book that makes more concrete and palpable the response of Northern women to the Civil War."-Civil War History, "An important book that makes more concrete and palpable the response of Northern women to the Civil War."--Civil War History, "A groundbreaking study of Northern women's work during the Civil War, Patriotic Toil significantly revises our understanding of the meanings of Civil War home front activism. . . . It significantly rewrites the social, cultural, and political history of the Northern home front. . . . A lively, thought-provoking, and innovative work, Patriotic Toil opens up important new territory in Civil War and gender studies."-Alice Fads, Journal of American History, "There is much of value in Patriotic Toil, which offers new insights into women's contributions to Union victory. Attie shows us that although its nature and meaning were contested terrain, women's support of the Union proved, in the end, an important factor in the war's outcome."--Brett Barker, Wisconsin Magazine of History, "This fascinating study deserves to be widely read--and not only by practitioners of women's history. . . Impressively researched and exemplary in its organization, Patriotic Toil is a major study."--Martin Crawford, American Studies, "Attie's thought-provoking and analytical study is . . . a welcome addition to the far too scanty literature examining the contributions of women to the conflict and the wartime work of nationwide philanthropic organizations. . . While demonstrating the importance of their contributions, Ate also shows that women acted intelligently to maintain control over the products of their domestic work."-Theresa R. McDevitt, Annals of Iowa, "Attie's book is at once a straightforward institutional history and a theoretically ambitious study of gender and women's citizenship."--Mary Saracen Zboray, The Historian, "This book admirably illustrates the tenuous position of the nineteenth-century ideology of separate spheres and the way gender systems and political ideologies were balanced during the upheaval of the Civil War. . . . The book's real strength is the exploration of women's response to the demands of the UCC. . . and the gender-based contradictions and compromises that the UCC male leadership and the women volunteers negotiated through the organization's work."--Gwen Gooney Erickson, North Carolina Historical Review, "Attie's work is one of the most complete histories of the Sanitary Commission to date. . . This book will be of particular interest to the readers of New York history because its subjects as well as their leaders were all based in New York City. In addition, her excellent analysis of the Metropolitan Fair in New York City in April 1864 provides a vivid snapshot of the city's tense social situation the last year of the war. Taken as a whole, Patriotic Toil has a great deal to offer its readers, both in terms of information and interpretation."--New York History, "This book makes a singular contribution to the growing body of historical literature on the US Civil War and its effect on gender relations. . . Attie's perceptive examination of gender conflicts in the commission offers considerable insight into the precarious state of gender relations, and its relation to the expansion of federal power, in the nineteenth-century U.S."--Nina Silver, American Historical Review, "A groundbreaking study of Northern women's work during the Civil War, Patriotic Toil significantly revises our understanding of the meanings of Civil War home front activism. . . . It significantly rewrites the social, cultural, and political history of the Northern home front. . . . A lively, thought-provoking, and innovative work, Patriotic Toil opens up important new territory in Civil War and gender studies."--Alice Fads, Journal of American History, "Attie's thought-provoking and analytical study is . . . a welcome addition to the far too scanty literature examining the contributions of women to the conflict and the wartime work of nationwide philanthropic organizations. . . While demonstrating the importance of their contributions, Ate also shows that women acted intelligently to maintain control over the products of their domestic work."--Theresa R. McDevitt, Annals of Iowa, "The strength of the book is the forthright discussion of the complex, collective, and various roles northern women assumed during the Civil War."-Barbara Worthy, Florida Historical Quarterly, "There is much of value in Patriotic Toil, which offers new insights into women's contributions to Union victory. Attie shows us that although its nature and meaning were contested terrain, women's support of the Union proved, in the end, an important factor in the war's outcome."-Brett Barker, Wisconsin Magazine of History, "Attie's book is at once a straightforward institutional history and a theoretically ambitious study of gender and women's citizenship."-Mary Saracen Zboray, The Historian
