Thorough and insightful, this edited collection will benefit scholars at every level of expertise. It is a must-read for gender and politics scholars. However, it should be a must-read for every scholar whose work touches on U.S. electoral and legislative politics. Indeed, it brings to light the gendered nature of institutions and culture. In doing so, it sets the stage for rethinking the fairness of those things that are taken for granted as the ways a democracy “should” work, and for establishing new standards against which traditions, old and new, should be measured. The book contributes to the movement of gender into the core of political science and democratic political theory, even as it makes a compelling case that the revolution in women's political representation has far to go before the ideals of gender equity are reached.

The aims of the editors are 1) to understand the impact of second-wave feminism's “revolution” on women's relationship to the political and on the field of political science, and 2) to define the direction of future research. The contributors push beyond simple questions to highlight the sometimes glaring gaps in our understanding of gender and the potential for a transformation of our political system. As Christina Wolbrecht notes in the introduction, “The authors of these chapters do not simply recount the findings of the vast literature that has grown up in the past three-plus decades; rather they provide frameworks for understanding and organizing that scholarship; focus attention on critical theoretical, methodological, and empirical debates; and point us all in valuable and important directions for the future of this subfield” (p. 4).

The dialogue in this collection—and it truly does feel like a dialogue —among the well-respected scholars, both established and emerging, drives home a critical message: The system of oppression that historically deprived women of their political voice, whether as participants or as the represented, is so deeply embedded in the fabric of U.S. political culture that the goals of the “revolution” can only be achieved through a complex formula of women's voices at both the mass and elite levels. Increasing descriptive representation is not enough. It is about redefining the political by empowering and enabling women to find their voices, by harnessing institutional incentives in ways that not only put women into those institutions but also create an environment where the political is as much the property of women as men. The authors move beyond essentialist assumptions and expectations in order to explore how the gendered nature of U.S. institutions and the political processes provides incentives and disincentives to act for women.

Together, this team of scholars brings to life ideas that may be difficult for some to grasp. The sex/gender distinction is taken to new levels here, as the contributors not only drive home the critical distinction in ways that should resonate with those guilty of using them interchangeably but also expand the notion of gender in ways that capture the contextual nature of it, and the gendered nature of context. In particular, the notion that gender is more than a simple characteristic of individuals is addressed in a comprehensive, multidimensional way that is easily accessible to all. Together, these scholars suggest that progress toward gender equity is the result of a tapestry of forces—forces driven by women elites as well as by average women voters.

The editors' decision to largely exclude the literature on women in executive and judicial branches from their analysis may disappoint some; nevertheless, by delving deeply into the remaining literature and by creating a dialogue about the relevance of often overlooked perspectives (e.g., cross-national perspectives, political development) for understanding women in the U.S. democracy, this team of scholars provides a depth of analysis that is rare in edited volumes. Their reviews of the literature will inspire gender and politics scholars at every level as they look toward future directions for research and action. If the potential of Political Women and American Democracy is ultimately recognized, its influence will ultimately go beyond the gender and politics subfield, to shape the work of the broader U.S. politics field, inspiring scholars previously unaware of gender's centrality to their own work to think in new ways.