American Women Activists' Writings

March 15, 2002
Cullen-DuPont, who has created several reference works about American women, including The Encyclopedia of Women's History in America, here offers an anthology of writings by women. This work is distinguished from many similar efforts by both its chronological scope it ranges from Anne Hutchinson's 1637 trial to Hillary Clinton's 1995 speech at the World Conference on Women in Beijing and by the breadth of the activism these women have engaged in, which includes Eileen Collins's being the first woman to pilot a U.S. space shuttle. Cullen-DuPont provides somewhat longer and less standard passages from the writings of her subjects than those found in other anthologies and introduces each with a one-paragraph discussion that sets the work in historical perspective. Although many of the names are familiar, she strives to make this collection more diverse by giving us excerpts from the work of women like Jessie Lopez de la Cruz, Merle Woo, Wilma Mankiller, and Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii. Also included are Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, who fought the military exclusion on gays, and Phyllis Schlafly, representing antifeminist activist women. A good value, this is recommended for public libraries, though librarians should check that the unusually large number of typos in the uncorrected page proofs have been addressed. Cynthia Harrison, George Washington Univ., Washington, DC

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2002
Women's rights have not always been preserved or protected, but fortunately their words have been. Cullen-DuPont, author of " The Encyclopedia of Women's History in America" (1996), celebrates this prescience in a reverent compilation of private and public reflections by women, both famous and unknown, whose dedication to causes they valued changed the world we live in. Nearly 100 women speak through these pages, telling stories of injustice and degradation, devotion and commitment, determination and triumph. Their voices are strong and compelling, for who will not be moved by the logic and eloquence of an Elizabeth Cady Stanton or the passion and frustration of a Sojourner Truth? Who will not be inspired by Elizabeth Blackwell's embattled admission to medical school or unnerved by Elizabeth Packard's inhumane incarceration? From Amelia Earhart to Eileen Collins, the first woman space shuttle pilot, freed slave Truth to early civil rights activist Anne Moody, Cullen-DuPont honors women motivated by an unfading dream, whether to preach a sermon, pursue an education, or vote one's conscience. Humanity is forever in their debt.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)