Gone WIth the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

A beautifully written story of love, conflict and war. The pulitzer prize winning novel by Margaret Mitchell has been inspirational to women since 1939. Mitchell writes of a teenage girl, Scarlett O'Hara, and her experiences with love and dealing with the pain of the Civil War. Scarlett is a vivacious, awe-striking, outspoken young woman. Men fall at her feet; she can seduce them with just saying "hello." Her many beau result in a deceiving reputation. Although many find her to be self-centered (as portrayed in the movie), Scarlett is actually an extremely strong individual. She takes over her father's plantation, Tara, when her mother is sick and her dad becomes psychotic. She fights off the carpetbaggers when they try to take Tara from her due to taxes and proves herself to be extremely courageous. The strength and courage of Scarlett acts as a motivation for the thousands of women who read this book to be more proactive with their own lives and live freely and rambunctiously, as Scarlett has.