The Feminine Mystique is a book by Betty Friedan first published in 1963. It is often credited with starting the second-wave feminism in the United States. In the book, Friedan conducts a number of interviews with classmates, and finds that many of them were unhappy with their lives as housewives. Friedan had wanted to publish an article about housewives who were unhappy with their role, but no magazine would publish the article. The book has sold more than three million copies.