Millions of women have held the position of secretary, alternately lauded as a breakthrough opportunity and excoriated as dead-end busy work. From the female pioneers who infiltrated Capitol Hill offices during the Civil War to today#xE2;#x80;#x99;s tech-savvy administrative assistants, secretaries have withstood criticism for abandoning their rightful sphere (the home), weathered the dubious advice of secretarial guide- books, taken hits from feminists and antifeminists alike, and demanded the right to resist making coffee#xE2;#x80;#x94;all while making their bosses look good. In Swimming in the Steno Pool, author-secretary Lynn Peril profiles the various incarnations of the secretary, from pliable, sexy mate of the #xE2;#x80;#x9C;office husband#xE2;#x80;#x9D; to postfeminist executive-in-training, drawing inspiration from a wide range of #xE2;#x80;#x9C;femorabilia#xE2;#x80;#x9D; and secretarial guidebooks of yesteryear. Featuring an array of fabulous illus-trations promoting office equipment and office girls alike, Peril delivers a feisty, witty celebration of the women who#xE2;#x80;#x99;ve been running the show for decades.