Introduction<br >In June 1977， the book editor of the Chicago Tribune asked<br >me if I considered myself capable of writing an objective re-<br >view of Phyllis Schlafly s ninth book， The Power of the Posi-<br >tive Woman. By then， of course， Schlafly had an entrenched<br >national reputation as the woman who， against all odds， had<br >:stalled， and perhaps stopped， the Equal Rights Amendment<br >(ERA)---on its way to easy ratification in 1972 when<br >Sehlafly declared all-out war. Among my fellow writers，<br >Phyllis Sehlafly was about as popular as Anita Bryant.<br > "Of course，" I replied. I had no ax to grind. I support ERA，<br >but I had never worked actively for it. I considered myself a<br >feminist， but， at times， I had found leaders of the pro-ERA<br > side as ridiculous as leaders of the anti-ERA side. Besides， I<br > liked to think I could， under all circumstances， judge a book<br > by what s between its covers， not by my opinion of its au-<br > thor s politics.<br > The Power of the Positive Woman， a mix of Schlafly s ad-<br > vice on "How to Be a Happy Housewife" and her seemingly<br > endless parade of arguments against the ERA， was a chal-<br >