(Ms.)reading Erica Jong's Fear of Flying

In 1973—the same year that the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion, the U.S. House of Representatives accepted its first female page, and AT&T settled a major lawsuit by agreeing to end pay discrimination against women—Holt, Rinehart and Winston published Erica Jong's Fear of Flying, the mock memoir of a young woman's quest for autonomy, adventure, and mind-altering sex. Love it or hate it, the book made history. The hardback edition (November 1973) reached the lower rungs of the best-seller list with reviews that ranged from rave to scathing. The paperback (November 1974) sold three million copies within months and was number one on the charts.