Alice B. reviewed on 7/30/2013 + 3559 more book reviews

This is a beautiful, great book about women's contribution to American History, mainly in the 20 th century. Each of these 9 women had a major role in our history The women are Ida B. Wells-Barnett (18621931), an African-American journalist who brought the horrors of lynching to public attention; Mother Jones (c. 18371930), an Irish immigrant and lifelong crusader for workers' rights; and Frances Perkins (18821965), the first woman Cabinet member, appointed by FDR. Schiff also illuminates less renowned but highly influential figures, including Alice Hamilton (18691970) a physician and pioneer in calling attention to the dangers of industrial poisons, and Septima Poinsette Clark (18981987), child of a former slave, who became a teacher and tireless advocate for racial equality. Several of the subjects are still alive, like Dolores Huerta, cofounder with César Chávez of the United Farm Workers, and Gretchen Buchenholz, who established the Association to Benefit Children. Schiff has done excellent research, and though her prose isn't especially stylish, she shows her heroines as fully rounded figures. She points out, for example, that Wells-Barnett's feud with the NAACP was counterproductive and that Mother Jones's opposition to women's suffrage limited her reach.

This is an outstanding book of our history.

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