So much has been written about male–female power dynamics, Trump’s grotesqueries, the public outing of protected abusers, and the growing chorus of women speaking out about sexual harassment that it’s hard to believe there could be anything new to add. Yet Rebecca Solnit, author of celebrated essays ‘Men Explain Things to Me’ and ‘If I Were a Man’, is skilled at filtering cultural commentary into thoughtfully argued and nuanced think-pieces; at combing through the clamorous voices to find the nub. Some of what Solnit writes is far from new, but her ability to see connections between seemingly unrelated events or ideas, while highlighting the pervasiveness of gender inequality and its deep entrenchment in many of our institutions, is what makes her work stand out from others.