Jane Fonda: There’s a Great Deal to Say
Praise for Jane Fonda: There’s a Great Deal to Say:
“Brilliantly researched and utterly compelling…With nuance and insight, Marilyn Greenwald shows there is, indeed, a great deal to say about a woman who continues to challenge America’s ideas about fame, feminism, and power.”
—Tracy Lucht, author of Sylvia Porter: America’s Original Personal Finance Columnist
“Many people think of Jane Fonda as a rabble rouser who crops up now and then to bring attention to her cause du jour. Marilyn Greenwald’s compelling book shows us how this accomplished and controversial actor discovered a unique voice beyond the screen.”
—Douglass K. Daniel, author of Anne Bancroft: A Life
“A fully realized portrait of a multifaceted woman whose public persona was defined early and often inaccurately.”— Booklist
“An effective look at one of Hollywood’s most notable activists.”—Library Journal
A book …. that will fascinate people who care about film and politics. It adds a valuable layer…. to our overall view of the complex human being who is Jane Fonda. — Daily Hampshire Gazette
Author Marilyn Greenwald’s latest book, Jane Fonda: There’s a Great Deal to Say, examines the activism of Jane Fonda, one of the most talented and controversial actors of her generation. Using material from several archives – including Fonda’s own personal files – Greenwald traces how the pretty female lead in 1960s comedies and domestic dramas found a higher purpose beyond the cinema to become a force in American politics and culture, using her high profile to draw attention to causes she believes should be important to her fellow citizens.
Few modern stars have been as simultaneously acclaimed and vilified as Fonda. Even as she won two Academy Awards and was a major box office draw of the 1970s and 1980s, she routinely received hate mail and threats for her political activism and anti-war stances. This book explores Fonda’s devotion to movement politics—sometimes at the expense of her career and her own safety.
Greenwald shows how Fonda came to view acting as a “side gig” that gives her a worldwide platform to convey her personal and political views. Greenwald focuses on the years from 1968 – when she was jarred out of complacency by the Vietnam War – to1980, after the release of The China Syndrome and the Three Mile Island nuclear crisis. Greenwald details how three of her films – Klute (1971), (1978), and The China Syndrome (1979) – were designed to further her personal beliefs.
Hear Greenwald on WOSU Public Radio: https://www.wosu.org/show/all-sides/2026-08-17/ohio-university-professor-authors-new-book-on-iconic-actress-and-activist-jane-fonda
Hear Greenwald on WOUB Public Radio: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1248539126/next-witness-please
Hear Greenwald on TRE Radio (Talk Radio Europe): https://www.talkradioeurope.com/clients/msgreenwald220626.mp3
Hear Greenwald on the “Hidden Hollywood” podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-435-jane-fonda-theres-a-great-deal-to-say/id1554877313?i=1000771639225