Book Recommendation Wednesday

Good evening everyone! I realized too late last night that I forgot to blog, but you know what? I'm ok with that. I'll commit to blogging regularly, but not everyday. I will figure out what will be my 'off' day soon, promise.

Meanwhile... I've been spending much of break catching up on my massive To Read pile. This past week I devoured Mad Women by Jane Maas. 

Being an advertising major, a major Mad Men fan, and someone who looks up to powerful women, I knew this book was a must-read and I was not disappointed.

The 1960's were a wild and raucous time in New York City, particularly in the advertising industry. Jane Maas, a full-time working mother of two, delves into her daily life as account manager at Ogilvy. From the truth behind three-martini lunches, to the amount of sex that was happening in the offices (and the suspiciously timed divorces and remarriages and promotions), she debunks the myths Mad Men has fostered, but cautions she didn't always know what happened at other agencies.

But she also goes into detail about her life once she clocked out at work and shifted into Mom-mode. Despite having Mabel, a full-time housekeeper Monday through Friday who did just about everything - from helping raise Maas' two daughters, to doing nearly all of the housework, Maas clearly worked just as hard at home than she did in the office - even mentioning slipping out of the office to watch her daughter preform at her school. Maas and Mabel's relationship outlasted Mabel's employment, and they have been there for each other, as friends, for years since.

Despite its reputation for having nearly perfect detail-oriented portrayals of the time period, she points out the few errors Mad Men has had. For instance, Peggy Olsen definitely would have worked everyday wearing a hat. And while Don Draper may drive into work at 9AM, only to be a few drinks in by 10AM, Maas says that the earliest people at her agency would break open the liquor was noon. But Ogilvy was a bit more conservative than the agency the show is based off of, Young & Rubicam.

I loved reading this book because I found such a heroine in Maas - she is strong-willed and could hold her own against some of the best advertising men (and women) of the past century. Funny and demure, her position as a powerful advertising women in a time when women were expected to go to college to graduate with a diamond ring on their finger and take on the role as housewife, Maas creates a role model out of herself for young professionals such as myself.