An Army of Lovers

What’s not to like and for many of us trip down memory lane!

Everyone should learn about "Women's Music"

This book was a dream. Jamie Anderson (whom I met once at the National Women's Music Festival in the 80's) accomplished something that would have been impossible for me, although it was my dream - to chronicle every single detail of every aspect of women's music and festivals in the 1970's and 80's. I was very involved in this realm from 1975 until 1995, and I can't think of a single observation she missed. I have kept journals all my life, and if look back through twenty years of my own writing, I still find that I neglected to mention some of the most significant events, brave and talented women, festival dramas, memorable songs, cultural issues, magical concerts, and all the hard wook that went on behind the scenes. Jamie, thank you for doing this! Having spent 35 years as a paraprofessional librarian, I can tell you that this is the best reference book I have ever seen; beautifully written, scrupulously indexed and logically arranged. I had to stop reading about every ten minutes to buy another .mp3 of a song I'd forgotten, such as "We Shall Go Forth" and "Spirit Healer." I'm proud to have lived through that era, the Shigella Summer notwithstanding. Good, happy nostalgia. Love you, Jamie!

I love to read so I do read a lot of books. Some by very boring authors and some who make their stories jump off the page, so first let me share that Jamie Anderson did an excellent job as an author! From the first words typed, I couldn't put the book down! It's not just a summary, not just campfire stories, not just data, and facts typed endlessly on a page, Jamie's book, An Army of Lovers, lets me go "backstage" to see the history of women's music that shaped me, saved me, inspired me and lives within me! If you love women's music then you are going to love this book. It's a must-read!

I was very grateful in the 70’s for women’s music and the joy and feeling of power it provided. I have attended 8 Michigan Womyn’ s festival, including the first one. This book gives a thorough review of female musicians and the wonderful music they made.

This book is worth every penny and more.

Totally enjoyed reading this book.

"An Army of Lovers: Women's Music of the '70s and '80s" by Jamie Anderson is a marvelous book. I produced the radio show Queer Music Heritage from 2000 to 2015 and while I tried to cover all of the history of LGBT music Women's Music was a special love of mine. So I know this subject really well and therefore can revel in all of the book, and appreciate the difficulty of doing justice to such a far-ranging area. She starts...where she should...with Maxine Feldman and then rounds up many of the nuances of the artists on the Olivia label, a bit like herding cats. Of course the "Big Four" are there (Cris, Holly, Meg, and Margie), and then Alix and Kay and Cassie...first names are enough for these pioneers. As I interviewed many of these folks for my radio shows, and of course researched them, I can appreciate the epic task Jamie had at deciding not only who to include but also what Not to include. There is so much. I know she knew many bits of history and amusing anecdotes but there would just not be room to include them, without writing a Britannica. Realizing what you cannot fit in is part of the task, and she does an admirable job.Jamie does a quite thorough recounting of the history of the women's music festivals, with the triumphs and struggles. An important chapter was entitled "Trouble in Paradise," diving into oh, a lot of areas: racism, class issues, alcohol and drugs, homophobia, money, etc, etc. Lots of angles regarding networking were covered...how do these artists sell and market their music? How did time change these approaches? There are many more chapters that when you read you think, oh yeah, this was important as well, and, I didn't know what a struggle this area was. I especially want to commend the organization of the Appendix areas, making it easy to find particular artists and events when using the book as a resource after reading. This book will stand as The reference book on this vital part of our culture.