I loved this book and have the 1st printing. I have re-read this book so many times and it just gets better. The women who have isolated themselves on the island gave up so much to shape the future of their plant. The men have had to curtail their war making because of the population control the women held over them. The women and men in the story are very strong characters, yet both have to bend to bring the two societies back together and make it work.