Women: American Women in Their Own Words - Hardcover

Baker ( Cops ) interviewed 100 women, most of them between ages 30 and 45. A few are black, five are lesbian, six admitted to having been sexually or physically abused in childhood; all remain anonymous here. Snippets of their conversations, often intense and heartfelt, at times prosaic, are loosely woven around such themes as relationships with men, conforming to female stereotypes (being "nice"), work, careers, rape and sexual betrayal. One chapter focuses on four women, all of them stoic in the face of reversals, and self-sacrificing to the point of ignoring their own needs and feelings. Except for this quartet, there is almost no continuity in the tales, but readers who dip into this montage can readily identify with the problems, opinions and experiences aired.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This book purports to be an oral history which assembles "a composite portrayal of the experience of being female in contemporary America." At best, the book is superficial. It adds little to our knowledge of the roles played in American society by women. The histories lack the clarity necessary to bring the characters and experiences of these women into focus. Despite differences in the women's life experiences, the writing/editing of the book leaves all the women speaking in the same idiom. It compares unfavorably with Jonathan Kozol's wonderful study of homeless women, Rachel and Her Children ( LJ 3/15/88), and similar works. Not recommended.
- Eleanor A. Schwab, South Dakota State Univ., Brookings
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.