International Women in Science

May 1, 2002
Gr 8 Up-These titles profile notable women scientists from around the world, past and present. International Women is a companion to Martha Bailey's American Women in Science (1994) and American Women in Science, 1950 to the Present (1998, both ABC-CLIO) and contains approximately 400 entries. The individuals included "contributed to scientific development" from the year 1600 and had "started their careers by 1950." Alphabetically arranged entries provide basic information, note education and employment, and include short accessible essays. Both traditional and nontraditional (illustration, communications, education) science disciplines are included. International Encyclopedia contains 500 biographical entries covering 400 B.C.E. through the 21st century and is more comprehensive than Lisa Yount's A to Z of Women in Science and Math (Facts On File, 1999). While traditional fields such as physics, chemistry, and biology dominate, other disciplines (anthropology, medicine, psychology) are included. Each alphabetically arranged entry contains basic biographical information and an essay of 500 to 1000 words. The accessible articles cover education, research, awards, and lifetime achievements. There are four indexes. The volume concludes with a useful chronology. Both books include average-quality, black-and-white photos. Pamela Proffitt's Notable Women Scientists (Gale, 1999) is similar in scope and incorporates the best features of both International Women and International Encyclopedia. Haines's work is an additional purchase because of its limited scope or is for those collections that already own American Women in Science. Oakes's title would be a useful tool for school and public libraries.-Shauna Yusko, King County Library System, Bellevue, WA

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2002
The focus here is on British women, although the book does include women from Europe, South Africa, China, Japan, Australia, India, and New Zealand. It covers the time period from around 1600 to the present (i.e., those who began their careers in the 1950s). As with other dictionaries of women scientists, "scientist" is broadly defined, encompassing archaeologists, home economists, and scientific illustrators as well as chemists, engineers, and physicians. American women are not included unless they spent a majority of their careers in Great Britain. ABC-CLIO published a complementary volume, "American Women in Science": "Colonial Times to 1950," in 1994.

The 400 or so entries are in alphabetical order by surname and include birth names and nicknames, followed by the woman's area(s) of expertise. Birth and death dates and details of education, employment, and marital status are outlined before the main part of the entry. Fewer than half of the entries include a portrait. The entries average three to five paragraphs, with several taking a page or more. They explain, in as much depth as is appropriate for a dictionary, the work and significance of the woman profiled. The bibliographies attached to each entry reflect extensive use of primary materials. A list of "Women by Profession" facilitates access to the dictionary's content.

Some of the recognizable names included are Charlotte Auerbach, Edith Bulbring, Marie Curie, and Janet Vaughan. One particularly interesting entry is for James Miranda Steuart Barry, 1795-1865, who went to medical school disguised as a man and became a respected military physician. After her death her gender was revealed, and she was stripped of all her military honors.

There are a number of other biographical resources on international women scientists, including "The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid-Twentieth Century "(Routledge, 2000), which profiles approximately 2,500 women; and "Notable Women Scientists "(Gale, 1999), which covers 485. Even with fewer entries, "International Women in Science" includes a number of women absent from these titles, among them ornithologist Phyllis Barclay-Smith (1903-1980), the first woman to be named a Member of the Order of the British Empire for work in conservation; Lilian Lindsay (1871-1960), the first British woman to be licensed as a dentist; and mathematician Elizabeth Stephansen (1872-1961), the first Norwegian woman to obtain a doctorate. "International Women in Science" is recommended for high- school, public, and academic libraries, although its British emphasis may make it a secondary purchase. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)