A Washington Post style editor's fascinating and irresistible look back on the Miss America pageant as it approaches its 100th anniversary. At its heyday, Miss America was viewed across the country by over 70 million people each year. It was considered the highest honor a young woman could achieve. In many ways, it was the first reality TV show. Yet today, fewer and fewer people tune in to watch what was once a national sensation. As the pageant struggles for relevance, many wonder what happened. Now, the hidden world of the iconic competition comes to life in this deeply reported journey through Miss America's past and present, including intimate interviews with dozens of the women who sought or won the title-and those still beginning their quest in local "Miss" pageants across the country. Amy Argetsinger traces how the dusty institution collided with a women's liberation movement that sought to abolish it, and how it was reborn thanks to the new...