Women Books - Page 12

May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons: A Journey Among the Women of India

Elisabeth Bumiller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A sensitive, honest, well-researched report on the lives of Indian women 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 15 people found this review helpful.

Elisabeth Bumiller's account of the lives of women from various walks of life, accumulated during her time spent living in India in the 1980s via interviews and friendships and augmented by the extensive reading she did on the subject before, during, and after her time in India, proved to be a "good read". It was not merely a series of personal anecdotes (lacking in broader perspectives and studies) nor did it err on the other end by being little more than a dry, academic, emotionally detached account of bride burning, dowry murders, female infanticide, the film industry of Bollywood, overpopulation, arranged marriages, domestic hardships, and the like. Instead it was a passionate and thoughtful account by a Westerner living in India who grew to love the people she met and whose research reflected the respect and curiosity she had for the women of India.

Some of the reviews of this book have accused it of being "stereotypically western", "condescending", "shallow", "overgeneralized to the point of being trashy", exhibiting a "Western imperialism", "colonial mindset", or being a "stereotypical account with a liberal dose of sensationalism". I can only say that I found none of those things to be the case when I read the book. There is no doubt that the author's western background and mode of thinking provided the platform from which she observed and evaluated her experiences in India, but she went to a great deal of trouble to broaden her own impressions by consulting the people of India about the problems of India: through her friendships made in India, through numerous interviews (and follow-up interviews) with people from both city and rural areas and from different castes, through viewing of films and television, through reading various Indian magazines (e.g., India Today, Business India, etc.), various Indian newspapers (e.g., The Times of India, The Telegraph of Calcutta, Indian Express,etc.), through special reports (e.g., "Women in India: A Statistical Profile - 1988" put out by the Department of Women and Child Development via the Ministry of Human Resource Development in the Government of India), and through reading various books written by both Indian authors (e.g., Sudhir Kakir, Jawaharlal Nehru, Chidananda Das Gupta, et. al) and foreigners who had lived in India. The result is a balanced and broad view of some of the problems being faced by women in India, not a provincial, overgeneralized, condescending, stereotypical account of India.

Her account is certainly not a dry, emotionally detached one but rather one in which she is actively involved. Is she opinionated? Sure: that's what keeps the book from being boring. Yet it is important to note that the author is honest and fair enough to keep this book from degenerating into a one-sided polemic. Even when she disagrees with a practice she observes (such as female infanticide) she does more than present her own opinions: she also presents the opposing viewpoints and mitigating life circumstances that lead people to act as they do. Moreover, her disagreements are not made in a spirit of self-righteous condemnation but rather with a good deal of compassion. The reader is allowed to see the emotional and intellectual struggles the author goes through as she has her viewpoints challenged by what she sees and hears.

Having read about and traveled in India myself, I found this book to be enlightening. As I mentioned earler, it is a "good read", meaning that the book doesn't drag. Is it the "definitive" book about women in India? Of course not. Such a book doesn't exist. Moreoever, coming out as it did in 1990 (1991 for the paperback), it grows a little more dated each year. However, both as a valuable historical document and an anthropological tool for helping understand more of the Indian character, "May you be the Mother of a Hundred Sons" deserves a place alongside other books that are rightfully praised for their usefulness in throwing light on a fascinating country full of an immense diversity of peoples and practices.

Editorial Review:

"The most stimulating and thought-provoking book on India in a long time..Bumiller has made India new and immediate again."
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
In a chronicle rich in diversity, detail, and empathy, Elisabeth Bumiller illuminates the many women's lives she shared--from wealthy sophisticates in New Delhi, to villagers in the dusty northern plains, to movie stars in Bombay, intellectuals in Calcutta, and health workers in the south--and the contradictions she encountered, during her three and a half years in India as a reporter for THE WASHINGTON POST. In their fascinating, and often tragic stories, Bumiller found a strength even in powerlessness, and a universality that raises questions for women around the world.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild

Deborah Siegel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

building a tenuous bridge 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

As if we needed more proof of the very existence of feminism - and how it has been interpreted through the mainstream culture - Deborah Seigel has handed us a history lesson wrapped in a hot pink love letter. In her nonfiction book, Sisterhood Interrupted, Seigel imparts that not only has feminism had its mis-steps, it's fallen clear away from its foundation. But maybe that foundation needs a shake.

Don't misunderstand me: Seigel's words aren't an attack on the "f-word." Rather, she's building that tenuous bridge between the young and seemingly unmotivated, feminists and their burnt-out mothers. As a 26-year-old, self-identified woman in America, I can look around and see where the American feminist movement has failed my generation more than I can see it's successes, at times. And that's where Seigel makes her best historical point. I, with all my privilege, have the power of choice based on the historical outcomes of the movement. And I have feminists - past and present - to thank for that choice.

Sisterhood Interrupted is a quick and exciting read; Seigel exposes knowledge on where (and why) the movement split, between the more highly profiled Betty Freidan and Gloria Steinem, as well as the justification for retiring some words, like, "sisterhood." "But now I realize that sisterhood is phony. Even when there's consensus, there isn't," says Amy Richards, co-author of ManifestA, in a conversation with Seigel. "I think younger women have a better sense that it is a big façade." This 'façade' is not a backlash, or an attempt to dis-empower feminism, it's just a reality of the movement. We're not sisters based on gender alone or simply based on feminist history. I believe opening the discussion to a few things that have been deemed `sacred' isn't such a terrible thing at all.

Editorial Review:

Contrary to clichés about the end of feminism, Deborah Siegel argues that younger women are reliving the battles of its past, and reinventing it--with a vengeance. From feminist blogging to the popularity of the WNBA, girl culture is on the rise. A lively and compelling look back at the framing of one of the most contentious social movements of our time, Sisterhood, Interrupted exposes the key issues still at stake, outlining how a twenty-first century feminist can reconcile the personal with the political and combat long-standing inequalities that continue today.

Finding God's Path Through Your Trials: His Help for Every Difficulty You Face

Elizabeth George

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Using faith to get through the tough spots 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Finding God's Path Through Your Trials by Elizabeth George is not an easy book to read. George asks the reader to take the words of James "count your trials as joys" to heart, and that's a tough one. It's far easier to complain about our troubles and look for a way out from them. But George explains through Scripture that God brings each trial into our life for a specific reason. There is something to learn, something to be gained from it. There are many ways we try to get out of these trials, but unless we embrace them, we will have to experience them again and again until the lesson is learned. Suffering from the chronic pain of rheumatoid arthritis, this book came just at the right time in my life, and it spoke to my heart. Looking for the joy in this trial, I've found several lessons I've been taught and blessings that have come from it. George writes in a conversational manner that's easy to read and incredibly thoughtful. I can tell that she prayed over her words before she shared them. Going through a difficult time in your life? This book will help you find the joy in it, even if that seems impossible.

Editorial Review:

From bestselling author Elizabeth George (nearly 4 million books sold) comes a book born of her desire to help others through difficult times. Finding God’s Path Through Your Trials acknowledges the hard times we all face and reveals how people can “count it all joy,” including:

• understanding trials are not punishment
• realizing God’s grace is sufficient to get them through trials
• knowing the benefits brought by trials—patience, endurance, empathy
• experiencing deeper faith as they depend on God through trials
• trusting God to use everything for His glory

Emphasizing God is always with them and will help them every step of the way, Elizabeth reminds readers they will not be given trials they cannot bear without including a way of escape. She encourages people to turn to Jesus, where they will find hope, joy, and meaning in the journey, no matter how bumpy it seems.

Helen Keller: From tragedy to triumph (Childhood of famous Americans)

Katharine Elliott Wilkie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A GOOD INTERMEDIATE BIOGRAPHY 3 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book covers Helen Keller's life from her precocious babyhood wherein she greeted people with "how d'ye" and "tea, tea, tea" to her impressive adulthood as a crusader for persons who are blind.

Helen became blind and deaf after an extended, unidentified illness she suffered at 1 1/2. Unable to see, hear or speak, Helen communicated by a series of rudimentary signs and showed great precocity in learning to fold clothing and recognizing her own. She was also unruly and given to fits of temper, which was understandable considering her lack of access to ready communication.

When Helen was 3 months off 7, her now famous teacher, Annie Sullivan was hired to work with her. The redoubtable Ms. Sullivan taught Helen the manual alphabet and from her stellar progress at identifying familiar objects, taught her Braille as well. Helen's progress is nothing short of spectacular and she makes an impressive academic showing at the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston.

I liked the fact that this book did not dwell on that now tired scene at the water pump when Helen learns after having "water" spelled onto her fingers that "all things have a name." Instead of gasping and losing speed after the now overworked water pump scene, this biography picks up speed and the reader is treated to following Helen's academic progress at Perkins and later as a Radcliffe alumna.

This book glosses over Helen's radical socialism during her adulthood and also glosses over the challenges she and Annie faced as they matured together. It's a nice biography, but you do end up wanting more.

Editorial Review:

A biography, focusing on the childhood years, of the blind and deaf woman who overcame her handicaps with the help of her teacher, Annie Sullivan.

Gal: A True Life

Ruthie Mae Bolton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 52 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Ruthie Mae Bolton was born January 6, 1961, in the Hungry Neck section of Charleston, South Carolina. At the time, her mother was thirteen; she has never known who her father was. Her mother was the wandering kind, so Ruthie Mae-nicknamed "Gal" by her stepgrandfather-was raised in her grandparents' home. One day Grandmama died as a result of a severe beating by her husband-it occured to no one to call this to the attention of the authorities-and Gal was left in the brutal hands of her granddaddy, who beat her unmercifully as well. Ruthie Mae began to steal things in school and she developed a stutter; she drank and smoked dope. But she stuck resolutely with her education and graduated from high school, which was likely her salvation, for today Ruthie Mae is happily married, with children and a fine job. At last she is at peace-with herself and even with the memory of her grandfather. It is nigh impossible to convey the astonishingly eloquent simplicity of Ruthie Mae's witnessing to her time. Here is an absolutely remarkable document, as touching as it is painful, as ageless as it is timely.

The Hite Report: A National Study of Female Sexuality

Shere Hite

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

glad to have read this as an adolescent boy 5 out of 5 stars.
23 of 23 people found this review helpful.

"The Hite Report" (on female sexuality) is a seminal and indispensible text. It is by turn shocking, inspiring, disturbing, titillating, and sometimes boring, but always informative. What you get is practically PURE information, but of a sort rarely found elsewhere -- if sex weren't sex, the report would be a bone-dry academic snoozefest. Along with a bit of methodology and comment, the book's content is simply collected testimonies of American womens' subjective experiences of their sexuality. The reader is left to draw his or her own conclusions. As a study it assumes no strong thesis (unlike some of Hite's later work), therefore as a critic one can't say much more about it. That said, although the good people at Amazon insist we reviewers focus on the "product," I have something to add about my experience of the "product" that may be of more interest.

Back in the late 70's, my mother, in uncharacteristic daring and playfulness, shelved an early edition of the "The Hite Report" next to her cookbooks on the kitchen bookshelf and left it there. Years later, around the age of 13, her son (me) noticed this book was not like the other ones. Needless to say, after reading just a bit standing there in the kitchen, the son absconded with it to his room and read the whole thing. And reread. Many times. It was years before it got replaced next to "Larouse Gastronomique. " To this day, it lives there, and I've never asked Mom if she ever noticed its leave of absence.

My primary purpose at the time was titillation, but underneath my arousal was a sense of wonder and curiousity. Feminine sexuality was demystified for me even as my awe grew. Looking back, I see how I formed the basis of a deeply respectful understanding of the power of ALL sexuality. I accepted how taboos, shame, etc. might form around sex, but that sex in and of itself was not just neutral, but beautiful and precious. I authentically experienced what many (I believe) can only offer as a platitude or abstraction.

I could go on about what good I think "The Hite Report" did for me, but more important to me now is that it helped me become both a good lover and a good friend. As a young adult, having been taught to think I was "just a guy," I was repeatedly surprised to find myself being more insightful, accepting and compassionate about the twists and turns of many of my female companion's sexuality than they, their girlfriends, their mothers, or even their therapists could be. I don't say this to brag, but as a heartfelt testimonial to the educational and maturational value of having read this book during the right formative years. I was fortunate. In fact, I paused to write this review while shopping for a copy for a friend whom I wish could have read it 15 years ago.

Everybody, regardless of gender or background, should be availed of "The Hite Report" at the apporpriate age by the approriate person (and perhaps the report on male sexuality too). The only drawback to this report is its age; while it is incorrect to call it outdated, mores and customs do change, and a study like this should be repeated at least once a generation.

Editorial Review:

Featuring a new foreword by the author, this is the classic feminist analysis of sex that galvanized a cultural revolution. Originally published in 1976, The Hite Report revealed the most intimate sexual feelings of 3,000 women: what they like and don't like; how orgasm really feels, with and without intercourse; how it feels to not have an orgasm during sex; the importance of clitoral stimulation and masturbation; and the greatest pleasures and frustrations of their sexual lives. The most shocking revelation was that orgasm is simply and easily achieved with the right stimulation, and that sex is a cultural institution - not just a biological one. Hite explains in her introduction that while society has in theory made great strides with regard to female sexuality since the book's first edition, the dissatisfactions with their sex lives some women voice today are reminiscent of the issues raised in the 1970s..

Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett

Jennifer Gonnerman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Life on the Outside tells the story of Elaine Bartlett, who spent sixteen years in Bedford Hills prison for selling cocaine--a first offense--under New York's Rockefeller drug laws. The book opens on the morning of January 26, 2000, when Bartlett is set free and returns to New York City. At 42, she has virtually nothing: no money, no job, no real home. All she does have is a large and troubled family, including four children, who live in a decrepit housing project on the Lower East Side. "I left one prison to come home to another," Elaine says. Over the next months, she clashes with her daughters, hunts for a job, visits her son and husband in prison, negotiates the rules of parole, and campaigns for the repeal of the laws that led to her long prison term. Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam Records, says: "At a time when the prison-industrial complex is destroying African American families and neighborhoods, Elaine Bartlett is more than a survivor: she is a heroine. The future of our communities depends on women like her."

Heart of gold

Kerri Strug

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

I HOPE KERRI HAS A NEW BOOK SOON 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

KERRI WON AMERICA'S HEART IN '96 AND CONTINUES TO STUN MEZMERIZE AND INTRIGUE M

INSPIRATIONAL 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This was a very enjoyable book even if you are not a gymnastics fan. It tells how she rose to the top and about her injuries along the way. I think everyone should read this book!

Her Autobiography for a Younger Audience 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This was a great biography of Kerri Strug, though it was meant for a younger audience and reading level, it was still very appealing. It included many great pictures, and her biography. I think all Kerri Strug fans will enjoy the book, nevertheless how old they are. Great book, awesome pictures!

Kerri Strug - Heart of Gold 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I thought that Heart of Gold was a good biography based book for school aged kids. It was an easy read for the elementary early middle school kids and it had a good positive message throughout. Kerri talked about her struggles with not only gymnastics but being away from family, jealosy between teammates, and self doubt and insecurities that everyone has at some time in their lives. She teaches through her book that if you stay true to yourself, you will always win out in the end. I recommend this book to any gymnast who loves the sport of gymnastics.

Editorial Review:

In her first book, Olympic gold medalist Kerri Strug reveals the keys to her success in the demanding and pressure-packed world of elite gymnastics. Strug's insights will provide children with a road map for attaining a heart of gold. Color photos/illustrations.

Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations

bell hooks, Bell Hooks

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A very indepth medium to connect reality with proposition 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 10 people found this review helpful.

I came across bell hooks very recently. I have found her work to be very direct and very, very challenging. Resisting Reresentations has done a lot of things to my mind. Although I consider myself "in-the-now" with ideas on social issues, after reading this book I am left with a feeling of re-birth. hooks speaks of many issues I agree with (and some I am not so sure I swallow completely). These issues and hooks' analysis of them has made me learn to laterally think and critically observe our world. I am a woman who believes in the eradication of sexism on all levels but now I must make my belief the engine to keep the eradication machine existent. Any woman, or man, who needs inspiration to challenge the many institutions that support racism, sexism and captalism start with bell hooks. She forces you to use your brain and think. This is a quality that many intellectualists fail to possess.

Editorial Review:

bell hooks, one of America's leading black intellectuals, is one of our most clear-eyed and penetrating analysts of culture. Outlaw Culture -- the culture of the margin, of women, of the disenfranchised, of racial and other minorities -- lies at the heart of bell hooks' America. Raising her powerful voice against racism and other forms of oppression in the United States, hooks unlocks the politics of representation and the meaning of that politics for and in our lives.

Using the mix of essays and highly personal dialogues for which she is well known, Outlaw Culture gives us hooks on Spike Lee and Naomi Wolf, Malcolm X and Madonna, Camille Paglia, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Ice Cube, and such films as The Bodyguard and The Crying Game.

True Identity: The Bible for Women (TNIV) (Today's New International Version)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

AMAZING & A TRUE BLESSING!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

THIS IS TRULY A BLESSING TO ALL WOMEN TODAY!!! I AM 27 & HAVE TRIED TO RECCOMEND IT TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS! THE BIBLE OF COURSE IS TREMENDOUS BECAUSE IT IS THE WORD OF GOD. BUT THE EXTRAS & PERKS ARE REALLY STELLAR. THE CONVERSATIONS AS WELL AS WORDLY MYTHS REALLY PUT A LOT INTO PERSPECTIVE. IT IS NOT OPINION BASED, BUT SCRIPTURE & BIBLICAL BASED WHICH IS WHAT WE NEED AS WOMEN OF GOD. GOD BLESS YOU!

Easy to understand 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I bought this bible for my sister and as I was flipping through it on last Sunday I realized I had to have my own. It has wonderful devotional components and TNIV is an easy to understand read. It is also very beautiful. I love it.

Best bible for women 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I think this edition - best Bible for women. I present it for my girlfriend

True Indentity 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is one of the best Bible/Reference books I have ever owned. I have given it as gifts and every person (woman) has loved it. I will be giving them as gifts again this year. True Indentity is a standard Bible, with reference guides, letters written from woman dealing with real-life issues and more! I highly recommend adding this to your devotional collection.

Editorial Review:

Discover your true identity in Christ through his Word.