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Encyclopedia of Women in American Politics
Reviews
767
being placed on the shelf. Finally, the authors should have included citations to UN documents where the statistical information used in the book could be found. Overall, this book is very useful and filled with good information. It would be an excellent addition in any library where patrons have basic questions about the UN or as a part of the reference collection to help find websites and contacts for the various UN organizations. KRISTINE OGILVIE Reference and Government Documents Golden Gate University Law Library 536 Mission St. San Francisco, CA 94105 USA PII S1352-0237(99)00122-7
Encyclopedia of Women in American Politics. Edited by Jeffrey D. Schultz and Laura van Assendelft. The American Political Landscape Series, No. 1. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1999. 354p. ISBN 1-57356-131-2 (cloth). LCCN 98-36327. $99.00. There has been a wealth of women’s studies published in the last 20 years, but gaps still exist. Bits and pieces of women’s contributions to the American political process are scattered in general encyclopedias of women’s studies and women’s history. International chronologies only include the most prominent political leaders and the most significant milestones of achievement. This encyclopedia was designed to meet the gap—a comprehensive one-volume reference resource focusing on women in American politics from colonial times to the present. More than 50 scholars prepared entries aimed at the information needs of both students and researchers. Entries vary from concise biographical sketches to short essays. Every entry provides references for further research. Crossreferences guide readers to related entries. The index links names with topics. More than 400 women are identified, including everyone elected to a national office, first ladies, and those holding cabinet-level appointments. Minority women, from Pocahontas to Shirley Chisholm, are included. Women were selected from opposing sides of major political issues and theories to provide balanced coverage. Rita Mae Brown, Rachel Carson, and Margaret Mead represent political influence by women from the arts and sciences. Many of these entries recognize political “firsts” accomplished by women. The encyclopedia also recognizes the impact fictional women have had on the political arena. World War II’s symbol of female patriotism, Rosie the Riveter, and television’s Murphy Brown are among the icons of popular culture that have transcended their milieu and made a difference in the real world. Many women’s entries are enhanced with black and white photographs. One-seventh of the entries are constitutional amendments, court cases, and laws. Brief legislative histories often identify key supporters or opponents of a bill. The consequences of judicial decisions on the quality of women’s lives are noted. Recurring themes in these entries are childcare, pay equity, reproductive rights, challenges to gender discrimination, and the rights of a woman as an individual legal entity. Short essays define and explain more than 170 topics, from nineteenth-century women’s involvement in abolition to contemporary women’s grappling with the glass ceiling. Students can learn the distinctions between feminism and women’s liberation. Entries for national organizations identify their goals and success rate. Historic documents, commemorative events, high-profile demonstrations, and women’s publications fall within this category. The basic elements of women’s political issues are defined. Some of those issues are abortion, comparable worth, gender equity in medical research, women in the military, and violence against women. The divisive nature of these issues is acknowledged in the entries for major political parties and theories, including conservatism and liberalism. Appendices comprise more than 10 percent of the encyclopedia. Appendix 1 provides the full text of 14 speeches and historic documents that help track women’s political concerns from 1848 to 1979. Among these are the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the text of the pro-
768
Reviews
posed Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the National Organization for Women’s 1966 Statement of Purpose, and many famous speeches by women. Appendix 2 consists of six tables that track women’s involvement in American politics. The first table shows the number of women in Congress from 1789 to 1997. Women representatives, senators, and governors are listed alphabetically, with their state, party affiliation, and years of service. The table for “First Ladies and Presidential Wives” provides the life dates for the women, the year of their marriage, and their husband’s term of office. A listing of women cabinet members includes date of appointment, position and the President who made the appointment. Appendix 3 is a directory of women’s political organizations. The mailing addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and website, when available, are provided for 128 groups. Each entry also identifies a contact person, describes the organization’s goals, and lists its publications, if any. A listing of women’s political action committees (PACs) and donor networks is also included in this appendix. This directory of addresses and telephone numbers is not annotated. The 59 entries reflect a range of geographic locations and political stances. They represent women at the city, county, state, and national level. Governors’ wives, women of color, and professional women’s groups are among those listed. Appendix 4 is a timeline of American women’s political history, from 1848 to 1998. The chronology has the categories of “Women’s History,” “United States History,” and “World History.” This arrangement enables students to comprehend the national and global environments in which American women have experienced political gains and setbacks. The timeline begins with the historic Seneca Falls Convention on women’s rights and ends with Monica Lewinsky’s tawdry contribution to American politics. The encyclopedia meets its goals admirably. The double-column pages are easy to read. The entries are written in clear language for comprehension by younger readers while not sacrificing critical content for more sophisticated researchers. Perhaps the nearest equivalent to this book is The Encyclopedia of Women’s History in America [1]. Neither it nor Ready Reference Women’s Issues [2], however, offer directories of contemporary women’s political organizations or comprehensive coverage of women in America’s national political arena. A good companion reference is Feminist Chronicles 1953–1993 [3], which provides more in-depth coverage from the era of The Feminine Mystique to a record number of women running for political office in 1992. Reference librarians and students will appreciate the convenience of so many resources within one volume. Those seeking to answer the question, “What do [American] women want?” need look no further. Recommended for all high school, college, and university libraries.
NOTES 1. Kathryn Cullen-DuPont, The Encyclopedia of Women’s History in America (New York: Facts on File, 1996). 2. Margaret McFadden, ed., Ready Reference Women’s Issues, 3 vols. (Pasadena: Salem Press, 1997). 3. T. Carabillo, J. Meuli, and J. B. Csida, Feminist Chronicles 1953–1993 (Los Angeles: Womens Graphics, 1993).
BETTY J. GLASS Reference Department Getchell Library University of Nevada, Reno Reno, NV 89557-0044 USA PII S1352-0237(99)00123-9
Development with a Human Face: Experiences in Social Achievement and Economic Growth. Edited by Santosh Mehrotra and Richard Jolly. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 493p. ISBN 0-19-829076-4. LCCN 97026762. $90.00. Development with a Human Face is a result of studies commissioned by The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to “provide a multi-disciplinary analysis of the experiences of a
767
being placed on the shelf. Finally, the authors should have included citations to UN documents where the statistical information used in the book could be found. Overall, this book is very useful and filled with good information. It would be an excellent addition in any library where patrons have basic questions about the UN or as a part of the reference collection to help find websites and contacts for the various UN organizations. KRISTINE OGILVIE Reference and Government Documents Golden Gate University Law Library 536 Mission St. San Francisco, CA 94105 USA PII S1352-0237(99)00122-7
Encyclopedia of Women in American Politics. Edited by Jeffrey D. Schultz and Laura van Assendelft. The American Political Landscape Series, No. 1. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1999. 354p. ISBN 1-57356-131-2 (cloth). LCCN 98-36327. $99.00. There has been a wealth of women’s studies published in the last 20 years, but gaps still exist. Bits and pieces of women’s contributions to the American political process are scattered in general encyclopedias of women’s studies and women’s history. International chronologies only include the most prominent political leaders and the most significant milestones of achievement. This encyclopedia was designed to meet the gap—a comprehensive one-volume reference resource focusing on women in American politics from colonial times to the present. More than 50 scholars prepared entries aimed at the information needs of both students and researchers. Entries vary from concise biographical sketches to short essays. Every entry provides references for further research. Crossreferences guide readers to related entries. The index links names with topics. More than 400 women are identified, including everyone elected to a national office, first ladies, and those holding cabinet-level appointments. Minority women, from Pocahontas to Shirley Chisholm, are included. Women were selected from opposing sides of major political issues and theories to provide balanced coverage. Rita Mae Brown, Rachel Carson, and Margaret Mead represent political influence by women from the arts and sciences. Many of these entries recognize political “firsts” accomplished by women. The encyclopedia also recognizes the impact fictional women have had on the political arena. World War II’s symbol of female patriotism, Rosie the Riveter, and television’s Murphy Brown are among the icons of popular culture that have transcended their milieu and made a difference in the real world. Many women’s entries are enhanced with black and white photographs. One-seventh of the entries are constitutional amendments, court cases, and laws. Brief legislative histories often identify key supporters or opponents of a bill. The consequences of judicial decisions on the quality of women’s lives are noted. Recurring themes in these entries are childcare, pay equity, reproductive rights, challenges to gender discrimination, and the rights of a woman as an individual legal entity. Short essays define and explain more than 170 topics, from nineteenth-century women’s involvement in abolition to contemporary women’s grappling with the glass ceiling. Students can learn the distinctions between feminism and women’s liberation. Entries for national organizations identify their goals and success rate. Historic documents, commemorative events, high-profile demonstrations, and women’s publications fall within this category. The basic elements of women’s political issues are defined. Some of those issues are abortion, comparable worth, gender equity in medical research, women in the military, and violence against women. The divisive nature of these issues is acknowledged in the entries for major political parties and theories, including conservatism and liberalism. Appendices comprise more than 10 percent of the encyclopedia. Appendix 1 provides the full text of 14 speeches and historic documents that help track women’s political concerns from 1848 to 1979. Among these are the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the text of the pro-
768
Reviews
posed Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the National Organization for Women’s 1966 Statement of Purpose, and many famous speeches by women. Appendix 2 consists of six tables that track women’s involvement in American politics. The first table shows the number of women in Congress from 1789 to 1997. Women representatives, senators, and governors are listed alphabetically, with their state, party affiliation, and years of service. The table for “First Ladies and Presidential Wives” provides the life dates for the women, the year of their marriage, and their husband’s term of office. A listing of women cabinet members includes date of appointment, position and the President who made the appointment. Appendix 3 is a directory of women’s political organizations. The mailing addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and website, when available, are provided for 128 groups. Each entry also identifies a contact person, describes the organization’s goals, and lists its publications, if any. A listing of women’s political action committees (PACs) and donor networks is also included in this appendix. This directory of addresses and telephone numbers is not annotated. The 59 entries reflect a range of geographic locations and political stances. They represent women at the city, county, state, and national level. Governors’ wives, women of color, and professional women’s groups are among those listed. Appendix 4 is a timeline of American women’s political history, from 1848 to 1998. The chronology has the categories of “Women’s History,” “United States History,” and “World History.” This arrangement enables students to comprehend the national and global environments in which American women have experienced political gains and setbacks. The timeline begins with the historic Seneca Falls Convention on women’s rights and ends with Monica Lewinsky’s tawdry contribution to American politics. The encyclopedia meets its goals admirably. The double-column pages are easy to read. The entries are written in clear language for comprehension by younger readers while not sacrificing critical content for more sophisticated researchers. Perhaps the nearest equivalent to this book is The Encyclopedia of Women’s History in America [1]. Neither it nor Ready Reference Women’s Issues [2], however, offer directories of contemporary women’s political organizations or comprehensive coverage of women in America’s national political arena. A good companion reference is Feminist Chronicles 1953–1993 [3], which provides more in-depth coverage from the era of The Feminine Mystique to a record number of women running for political office in 1992. Reference librarians and students will appreciate the convenience of so many resources within one volume. Those seeking to answer the question, “What do [American] women want?” need look no further. Recommended for all high school, college, and university libraries.
NOTES 1. Kathryn Cullen-DuPont, The Encyclopedia of Women’s History in America (New York: Facts on File, 1996). 2. Margaret McFadden, ed., Ready Reference Women’s Issues, 3 vols. (Pasadena: Salem Press, 1997). 3. T. Carabillo, J. Meuli, and J. B. Csida, Feminist Chronicles 1953–1993 (Los Angeles: Womens Graphics, 1993).
BETTY J. GLASS Reference Department Getchell Library University of Nevada, Reno Reno, NV 89557-0044 USA PII S1352-0237(99)00123-9
Development with a Human Face: Experiences in Social Achievement and Economic Growth. Edited by Santosh Mehrotra and Richard Jolly. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 493p. ISBN 0-19-829076-4. LCCN 97026762. $90.00. Development with a Human Face is a result of studies commissioned by The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to “provide a multi-disciplinary analysis of the experiences of a