Fantastic book. Like so many subjects and activities that have been cut from schools (usually for budgetary reasons and/or lack of qualified people to teach them), home economics has been unfairly downplayed and underestimated. Home ec, as this book discusses, was originally intended to improve the lives of women and society as a whole by reducing "drudgery" through science. A revival of home economics classes and careers seems long overdue.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is a fascinating history of home economics, tracing its development and the many ways that the field helped shape society. Danielle Dreilinger highlights the many contributions of women of color to the field while also pointing out the racism rampant at every level of its development, and argues that we all still need home economics. Dreilinger argues that the Covid-19 pandemic reawakened interest in baking and sewing, as well as the need for household budgeting and repair, and that perhaps this is the perfect moment for a home economics revival.

The Secret History of Home Economics by Danielle Dreilinger takes an in-depth look at this often misunderstood field. While many who hear home economics, myself previously included, think of poorly made cakes or the belittling of women into roles that limit them, that is not the true history of this field. From impacting nutrition, childhood development, war efforts, and the everyday American consumer, home economics has transformed our lives.

This movement not only revolutionized the science of better living, but also provided women with jobs as professors, engineers, chemists, and businesspeople. The field truly 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 the impact of women, rather than keeping them in the kitchen. Many became academics and overall fierce fighters for social change (some even became POWs who saved fellow prisoners through their knowledge of nutrition). While racism was very prevalent within the movement, Dreilinger also shares the history of POC who broke down all the barriers placed before them.

I really enjoyed this read. While it was incredibly dense, it often read more like a textbook, I was fascinated to better understand this incredibly misunderstood field. As COVID sparked a recent "back-to-the-basics" moment where baking bread, planting a garden, and sewing essentials (hello masks 👋) was revived, this book felt like a timely commentary on a topic many, women especially, feel demeans rather than uplifts.

I recommend this book if you love a quality, and detailed, nonfiction read that is very informative, eye-opening, and encouraging. This is a book about women stepping into the fray to fight for a better future.

Fascinating. This comprehensive history of the field of Home Economics is packed also with the stories of individual home economists -- many of whom I had never heard of before. Dreilinger's writing style is scholarly without being dry, and amusing without being snarky. She treats her subject (and subjects) with respect. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

In The Secret History of Home Economics, Danielle Dreilinger paints a fascinating picture of what we call Family and Consumer Science today but what used to be called Home Economics. While rooting for the return of home ec to our school curriculum and our daily lives, she doesn't pull the punches on what used to be a way for many women to get degrees and join the work force. The book has a lot of information packed in while still being relatively focused enough that you can follow a few story lines - though I did get lost a few times along the way. Learning about home economics through Dreilinger's lens provided some much needed perspective about the variety of contributions made by a variety of people in the subject's history. Though I did not always agree with the modern framing of certain historical actions taken by the books "characters" so to speak, I still enjoyed the read.

Really enjoyed this book! I had no idea the history behind my content area. I will be recommending to other teachers!

The Secret History of Home Economics promised to be interesting, but I had no idea how radical this history was, ot how pervasive its impact on society and politics. Danielle Drelinger's history is full of surprises.

I was in junior high, girls were required to take a semester of Home Economics classes. In cooking, I learned how to use displacement to accurately measure shortening. In sewing, we used the Bishop method to make an apron and an A-line skirt.

I admit, I thought that Home Ec was pretty lame and meant for future housewives. And yet...I taught myself to cook from scratch and to sew, how to organic garden and bake bread, and how to follow a pattern and to make quilts.

It turns out that there was a reason I felt that way. In the 1960s when I had those classes, the concept of home economics had been diminished from it's roots when scientists and feminists founded home economics studies. I was unaware of the impact on society the home economics had during wartime or in promoting social and advancing racial equity. And I certainly did not know that home economics also enforced a middle class, American, white life style on immigrants, people of color, and the rural poor.

As society changed, the use of home economics reflected the times.

Drelinger introduces us to a series of intelligent women who were barred from male-dominated careers. Their used their skills in science to study nutrition to help the war effort, support government control to enforce pure foods and temperance, and they created the first nutritional guidelines.

They worked with business to promote new electronic appliances and created recipes for food companies. They wrote pamphlets to support food conservation and the remaking of clothes during the war.

On the dark side, some supported Eugenics and immigrants traditional heritage was ignored as they were pressured to assimilate.

Overall, a fascinating and enlightening read.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

A fascinating look at the history of home economics and its role in shaping a growing and changing country. I was unaware of just what a role furthering domestic skills played in feminism and, often, in keeping families afloat during America’s toughest times.

By combining history and narrative, Dreilinger illustrated how women used home economics as an entry point to STEM fields, higher education and economic independence. While time and time again, this history shows flaws in terms of racism, xenophobia and socioeconomic elitism, seeing how the field evolved (or perhaps didn't) with the times was very interesting.

This book carefully evaluates the ways that “women’s work” has saved a nation time and time again while being brutally honest about the not so savory aspects of the field. A very informative and engaging read.

A terrific eye opening read about the world of home economics.Contrary to the view we have of these women as just behind the kitchen sink or in the classroom teaching ,I was fascinated by their stories their strength and determination.This is a deeply researched well written absorbing book that I will be recommending..Perfrct for classrooms or book club discussions.#netgalley #ww.nortonbooks.

Such an interesting book- one that I think contributes a lot to understanding women's roles in the private sphere throughout the 20th century. The idea of turning domestic work into a science isn't one that I think is ever thought about but makes perfect sense.

This is written well, also. There is a good mix of analytical history but also great story telling about individuals who have shaped this science and academic study

I teach at an all-girls school and will definitely incorporate some of this information into my teaching. It is a great tool to connect to other larger themes in history and to make it more relevant for them.

This was a fantastic read that did much to challenge the traditional interpretation of Home Economics as an inherently conservative field of study. The feminists presented here forged pathways for women in the working world, a surprising number in STEM fields. Dreilinger also does an excellent job highlighting the voices of marginalized women, particularly women of color, in her narrative. This particular focus challenged many of my preconceptions of Home Economics as a white dominated field. A fascinating history of an underappreciated and often overlooked discipline. Highly recommended.