"This is a groundbreaking contribution to the literature of sexual assault and family violence." —Susan Brownmiller

"[Russell] has done a superb study which yields comprehensive and undeniable findings about a subject no one had even whispered about before . . . a classic work." —Phyllis Chesler

One out of seven American women who have ever been married has been raped by a husband or ex-husband. Written by the principal investigator for the National Institute of Mental Health study that discovered this shocking statistic, this book is a monumental, eye-opening work that dispels misinformation and illusions about a previously ignored aspect of family violence.