Jane Fonda's Words of Politics and Passion

Jane Fonda's Words of Politics and Passion, ed. by Mary Hershberger (2006)

This collection of Fonda’s writings and speeches spans over 30 years and includes transcripts of the actor/activist’s broadcasts for Radio Hanoi.

Many readers past a certain age will know Fonda for her vocal opposition to the war in Vietnam, but far fewer will know of her work to curb teen pregnancy. She speaks often of her efforts with The Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, which she founded in 1995.

Fonda seems to have come full circle with her feminist ideals. Her opposition to Vietnam came relatively late in the course of that conflict and coincided with her discovery that in the course of pursuing her career as an entertainer, she had allowed herself to be made over to meet others notions of what she should look like. By the early 70s, she seems to have reached the conclusion that America was being lied to about Vietnam. At the same time, she felt as though she had been living a lie. Ever aware of how long it took her to find her own voice, Fonda continues to work on a number of efforts to elevate the status of women in society.

The writings in this collection are well chosen and, because they are smartly arranged, they follow the arc of Fonda’s political and philosophical development. It’s hard to disagree with much of what she says, with the exception of one passage in which the activist suggests that the way to deal with Osama bin Laden is to sit him down and talk to him. (It is this reviewer’s opinion this statement places her other ideas—most of them perfectly valid—in jeopardy.)

Whatever one thinks of Fonda as a political figure, this is a well-edited volume of words from an important voice in American life. It should have a place in most academic and public library collections.