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Summary
Summary
Here is a much-needed and long-overdue reference that pays homage to women's many contributions to life in the United States. The Encyclopedia of Women's History in America is a concise, one-volume reference that highlights women whose determination and perseverance has led to the recognition of all women today.
Reviews (3)
Booklist Review
There is no shortage of encyclopedias of women's history. American Women's History [RBB Je 1 94], Handbook of American Women's History [RBB Mr 15 90], and The ABC-Clio Companion to Women's Progress in America (1994) all cover much of the same ground as this new title. Volume 3 of the Women's Studies Encyclopedia (Greenwood, 1991) covers history but is international in scope and therefore has less overlap. The title under review covers people, significant events, organizations, legislation, court cases, and issues affecting women. Each entry is followed by a bibliography of one to five items. A bibliography at the end of the volume provides complete citations for these items. Rounding out the more than 500 entries are appendixes containing the complete texts of 34 documents ranging from a 1647 request for suffrage to a 1992 court case. A detailed index concludes the volume. A sample of entries includes Indigenous Women's Network, The Joy Luck Club, " Mommy Track," Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Rochester Convention, Women's Reserve of the Navy, and McClintock, Barbara (the geneticist). In comparison, coverage in American Women's History also leans heavily toward biographies and organizations, but it has some topical entries not found in the encyclopedia, such as Farm Women and Flappers. American Women's History has illustrations (which the encyclopedia does not) but no bibliographies or index. The Handbook of Women's History is more scholarly in tone, with each entry signed by its contributor and followed by a lengthy scholarly bibliography. It has an index but no illustrations. The ABC-Clio Companion has no bibliographies but does contain attractive illustrations. While each of these titles has some unique entries, this newest one is useful for its entries for landmark books (Naomi Wolf's Fire with Fire, Gail Sheehy's The Silent Passage) and coverage of recent legislation (Pregnancy and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act of 1993). High-school and public libraries that want to beef up their collections on women's history will find The Encyclopedia of Women's History in American a useful purchase. While none of these titles is the scholarly and comprehensive encyclopedia of women's history for which many librarians and their patrons have been patiently waiting, they serve a useful purpose for the general reader. (Reviewed March 15, 1996)
Choice Review
With 500 entries averaging less than half a page each, this is not the ideal encyclopedia of US women. Nevertheless, the book has strengths. Entries, selected for inclusion by Cullen-Dupont, are well written and cover an appropriately wide range of topics: individuals, events, writings, firsts, policies, and laws. References in the entries point to the 18-page bibliography. An appendix of 34 documents adds depth. One might argue that the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America (Harvard) deserves a separate entry or that Herstory merits mention. These quibbles do not detract from the book's value; it offers solid information in concise form. Recommended for academic, public, and school libraries. P. Palmer University of Memphis
Library Journal Review
In this treatment of U.S. women's history, Cullen-Dupont (Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Facts on File, 1992, a YA biography) presents over 500 entries for significant events, legislative acts, court cases, organizations, individuals, and publications. Inclusion, though unpredictable, tends to favor specific named groups rather than general concepts (e.g., Operation Rescue and Roe v. Wade; nothing under abortion), and reflects the diversity of women's backgrounds and experience in the United States. Less comprehensive than Angela Zophy's Handbook of American Women's History (LJ 3/1/90), particularly concerning women's occupations and other topics in U.S. social history, this work lacks the advantage of Zophy's specialist contributors. Its emphasis is less biographical than Doris Weatherford's American Women's History (Prentice, 1994); unlike the Weatherford title, it has no illustrations but does include suggested readings after each entry, an extensive bibliography, an appendix of 34 documents, and an index (not seen). Also on the plus side are Cullen-Dupont's engaging prose style, enlivened by frequent quotes from primary sources, and good coverage of recent topics, including entries for Anita Hill, Camille Paglia, "glass ceiling," the Violence Against Women Act (1994), and Harris v. Forklift Systems. An attractive and useful purchase for high school and public libraries, and a good, reasonably priced second choice, after Zophy's work, for academic libraries.Carolynne Myall, Eastern Washington Univ. Libs., Cheney (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Continued scholarship in the field of women's history has led to new discoveries about individuals we thought we knew completely. For example, Louisa May Alcott wrote sensationalist thrillers as well as her beloved Little Women. Clara Barton, after her Civil War work and the founding of the American Red Cross, became the first woman to head a U.S. government bureau, The Missing Soldier's Office. Present-day women are, of course, making their own great strides. The encyclopedia pays homage to women's many contributions to life in the United States from colonial times to the present. In 500 entries, this one-volume resource brings together information about the books and poems written, the documents signed, the demonstrations and conventions held, the laws proposed and enacted, the task forces and committees formed, and the legal decisions handed down. It also highlights the women most prominent along the way and puts a spotlight on issues such as cyber-stalking and the glass ceiling. New and updated entries include: Madeleine Albright's rise to Secretary of State Eileen Collins's historic flight as the first woman to command a U.S. space shuttle mission in 1998 United States v. Virginia, the 1996 Supreme Court decision that forced all state-supported schools--most notably the Citadel and the Virginia Military Institute--to admit women as a condition of taxpayer support Burlington Industries v. Ellerth and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, two 1998 Supreme Court decisions that outline broad terms under which employers could be held legally and financially responsible for employees' acts of sexual harassment Anti-stalking legislation passed by various states and upheld as constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1998 Updated biographies of such prominent women as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Janet Reno. Excerpted from The Encyclopedia of Women's History in America by Kathryn Cullen-DuPont All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
