Reading the United States congressional debates leading to the passage of the welfare legislation in 1996, I was struck by the vehemence with which many members of Congress disparaged the poor's “entitlement” to public assistance. How had the national conversation about social rights turned so against welfare-reliant women and children? What factors contributed to the disentitling of those most vulnerable in our society? Why was there so little feminist outcry against the coercive new legislation? Gwendolyn Mink's new book attempts to answer these important questions. In a concise and accessible presentation, Mink explores the historic precursors, legislative context, and political pressures that led to the termination of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)—the economic safety net for poor women and children first established by the Social Security Act of 1935. Mink emphasizes two powerful points throughout her analysis: First, the loss of the social right to economic security undermines women's equality, and second, feminists, to a certain extent, have been complicit in this process.