The book showcases Miller’s editing prowess as evidenced by what she chooses to omit. She has the ability to draw the reader in with an impressive cannon of literary content, yet trusts her writing enough to inject humor when necessary. In the Land of Men is both tender and painful. It’s power and mercy. If you love literature, novels, or anything that has to do with the written word, you will enjoy In the Land of Men..

'When people show you who they are, believe them the first time,' Maya Angelou once told Oprah Winfrey. Unfortunately, two decades on, Miller still seems only half-willing to believe, and even less willing than that to pass judgment on, a man who, his prodigious talents and premature death by suicide notwithstanding, did not apparently see or treat women as fully human. It is this reluctance that ultimately renders In the Land of Men a painful and frustrating read.

Miller, 47, writes with daunting authority and suffers no lack of self-confidence.

Bookworms, former English majors, and anyone tired of Old White Men novels will enjoy the blunt descriptions of petulant literary giants (John Updike), high-brow celebrities (Todd Solondz), and other behind-the-scenes figures (editor Rust Hills). Miller likes to emphasize her level-headed Midwestern sensibility and rarely presents events salaciously. She needn’t, as the awfulness is so explicit.

... lavish with a repulsive combination of backbiting and self-pity, with ample anecdotes cutting famous male authors down to size and citing how massively overworked Miller was while fielding literary submissions all day long.

Miller’s description of New York City as perceived by her young, fresh-from-Ohio self is funny and shrewd.

Miller permits the reader to behold the complexities of the renowned writer by sharing intimate details of their relationship. She was his sounding board, his anchor, and his advocate.

The paradox (for a feminist reader, anyway) is that, while you want to celebrate the story of a woman carving out a space in a culture of male entitlement, there’s no escaping the guilty sense that the book becomes a great deal more lively once the famous male writer takes centre stage.

Miller, who is also the author of the novel The Coast of Akron, is an excellent storyteller and philosopher. She infuses her personal narratives with questions: What does it mean to be a mere cog in a machine, even with an esteemed editor’s title? Is power is really just a false construct? Is appreciation perhaps the most important characteristic to have in a world you can’t control? In the Land of Men is part of the ongoing discussion about how we answer the question: What do we do with the art of bad men?.

...[an] intimate account.

Many passages movingly recount the sexism [Miller] endured.