Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine

I am thoroughly enjoying this book! I first attempted to read The Secret History of Wonder Woman after hearing a podcast by the author. I couldn't make it more than 3% into the book with the terrible, Tarantino style storytelling. This book is much better in my opinion and faces the contradictory nature of Wonder Woman's creator (ie: being a feminist and progressive, yet still sexualizing women for the pleasure of heterosexual men). This book reveals exactly why I never liked traditional comic books as a kid, and even why I actively disliked Superman (he treated Lois like crap, openly insulted her, and sabotaged her career multiple times) and most other comic heroes that my guy friends adore. The author also sprinkles in the history of the entire comic book genre to let readers know what was going on at any given time, and how it evolved.If you want to learn more about Wonder Woman, comics, and the sociological state of the country that spawned them, definitely take the time to read this.

I've been a fan of Wonder Woman since I was in elementary school. I've been a feminist all of my life so I immediately fell in love with Wonder Woman as soon as I found out about her!This book is great because it discusses the complete history of Wonder Woman from her beginnings to the present day (circa 2014, that is). Even being a diehard Wonder Woman fan there were parts of her history that I didn't even know. I didn't know that there was a point in time in which Wonder Woman lost her powers. I would love to find some of those old comic books to read them. This is a great book for any diehard Wonder Woman fan as well as anyone new to Wonder Woman. This book contains a lot of information and is an excellent resource!Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World’s Most Famous Heroine is an entertaining and thoughtful history of the creation and evolution of the most iconic female character is comics. The author begins where all good comic book stories begin: the origin story. In 1941, psychologist and inventor William Moulton Marston (the creator of the systolic blood pressure test, the precursor of the polygraph test) set out to create a comic book heroine that not only would appeal to women, but also prepare young men for a feminist future. Marston’s philosophy was strongly rooted in the belief of female superiority, and he believed that one day women would take their place as the leaders of the world. Wonder Woman, then, was originally meant as a guide to teach boys to submit to female authority.The author has clearly made a valuable contribution to comic book historical research, yet I found that Wonder Woman Unbound is best enjoyed if it’s not treated like a scholarly tome. If Wonder Woman Unbound ends up on the required reading list for a college course on gender studies, popular culture, or freshman composition, I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s the kind of book that can get conversations going, and no professor is going to miss this opportunity to push sex into the forefront of the discussion. Great book, highly recommended!!

I want to give this a 4.5 since I am somewhere in the middle between these two. This is a well research and thoughtful book... When I bought it, I expected basically a rehash of some of the stories through the characters long history. But what i got was so much more - a deep and deeply affecting history of the character and it's reflection (Or abandonment) of feminism throughout the latter half of the 20th century and first part of the 21st century. It's excellent. I am unsure if I agree with all of Tim Hanley's conclusions - and I am sure there are others that will agree with me on that - but it cannot be denied that Hanley has put in the rigorous work to argue his ideas pretty conclusively. Highly recommended!

Weirdly, for somebody who reads a lot of comics and almost exclusively sticks to female led titles or group titles featuring my favorite female leads, I haven't read much Wonder Woman. I'm familiar with her from the DC Bombshells series and have read some of her New 52 run, but that's it. I think in a lot of ways this book was more interesting to me because of that, but I would have enjoyed it either way. It was interesting to read this a few years after it was published, because I think things have improved for female superheroes since it was written.I've really enjoyed both of Hanley's books - would love to read a book by him on Barbara Gordon!

I am a huge Wonder Woman fan. I remember the 70's TV show, but really didn't know much else about the character. This book tells of all the changes the character made through the years. How she was created by Marston, and his views on feminism and psychology. About Wonder Woman's influence on the Women's Liberation movement in the 60's and 70's. The book mainly focuses on how Wonder Woman was presented in the comics, but goes beyond that to discuss the character's influence on the rest of society. I learned a lot from it.

Single character studies can be tricky but Hanley excels in this entertaining and smart look at Wonder Woman. Readers not familiar with the character will find it accessible and a great entry point for learning more about the history of women comic book characters and the unusual circumstances surrounding Wonder Woman’s entry into American pop culture.

This is THE book, if you are a Wonder Woman enthusiast. It details her beginning and end!

Very interesting book. I had to read this book for a class.

Great book, for diehard comics fans in search of a wealth of information or those just interested in cultural history or women's issues. A bonus is that it is written with wit and style. Highly recommended.