Sensational

 Sensational: The Hidden History of America's "Girl Stunt Reporters" by Kim Todd, 400 pages.

In 1887 Elizabeth Cochran, better known today under pen name Nellie Bly, convinced the court she was insane and was committed to the insane asylum on Blackwell's Island. The exposé she wrote about the following ten days changed the face of journalism in the golden age. "Stunt reporting" covered a huge range of topics, but generally it was reporting that was very exciting, a little dangerous, and largely done by women. Stunt reporters often went undercover to get their stories, and said stories were very often about exposing social ills. However, sometimes the "stunts" were more about showing the bigness of a world that was rapidly opening up in the 19th century, and might include things like riding elephants or racing around the world in less than 80 days (another Nellie Bly stunt).

This book is mostly focused on the decade or so that stunt reporting took America by storm, and it's impact on the social landscape. I was a little nervous starting this book, despite being interested in the topic, because I've found that a lot of history books about women (as a group, not so much books about specific individuals) end up containing a whole lot of speculation (from a lack of historical records focused on women) or soap-boxing. This book avoided both of these common pitfalls completely and made for a really enjoyable work of non-fiction that felt extremely informative to read. I also really enjoyed the photographs of key subjects and reproductions of newspaper illustrations, as well as the chapter at the end where Todd talks about the legacy of stunt journalism. Definitely worth the read for a thorough look at a largely unknown piece of history.