Honig writes a very organized book with a clear purpose and provides a good understanding of the multiple facets of the women in the cotton mills. Her book is good for someone who does not have much background knowledge about Chinese history or industrial culture. Yet it is also a worhtwhile read for someone who already has a background in Chinese history, as it provides valubale information about the Green Gang and Communist mobilization. Honig does a good job of examining how women from different backgrounds came to and fit into the Shanghai mill environment.

Emily Hahn was an American expatriate in China during the 1930s. She came to know the Soong sisters, who in their day were among the world's most famous and powerful women. This book, written in 1939-40 is an entertaining, informative introduction to the Soongs. At the time it was published, The Soong Sisters created a storm of controversy and provoked powerful emotions. It was one of the first biographies of the Soongs, and it continues to be one of the best. Critics charged Hahn had "gone easy" on the Soongs; Soong supporters said the book was a "hatchet job." The real truth lies somewhere in between. Hahn is a witty, engaging and perceptive writer. For that reason, The Soong Sisters is still good read, and it provides a contemporary perspective on three of the personalities who shaped post-war China.

This informative book tells how the Jewish Sabbath, called Shabbat, originated. It also tells how it has been celebrated at different times and how to celebrate it now. The new illustrations by Emily Lisker include even more Jewish traditions. They are bright and clear paintings, acrylics on canvas. At the end there is a recipe for challah and instructions on how to make a challah cover.

This is a very good book for children who are Jewish or who want to learn more about the Jewish Sabbath.

The story focuses on three teenaged girls who are roommates at a New England boarding school. This particular book is centered around the summer after their first year there. 'Summer Blues' had the realistic elements of heartbreak, friendship, and adolescent confusion. It was a light, funny story that most teenage girls can relate to.

As a woman and soon-to-be physician, I took notice of Friedman's book with a predictable curiosity. The title conveyed a message that had a familiar ring to it--a message about women and empowerment that had once been conveyed loudly and clearly during my years at Bryn Mawr College, one of our nation's elite all women's liberal arts colleges. As I thumbed through the book, it occurred to me that it had been a long while since I had stumbled upon any lectures or discussion groups relating to women's health issues, despite being an active member of my medical school community. As I reflected on my past 4 years of medical school, I tried to recall the role models I had come across. I began to notice that the first several names that came to mind were those of men, not women. With the turn of each page of Friedman's book, my passing curiosity was replaced by an earnest attentiveness as I quickly identified familiar themes--about women as natural caregivers, the need for women in leadership positions, and the importance of women's health issues. In discussing these themes, the authors convey to the reader a sense of the struggles that women have faced as providers and receivers of health care. These struggles, however, were not those of some amorphous, unknown entity. The struggles they describe were, undoubtedly, also my own.

A compilation of papers on the complicated relationship between health care and women, An Unfinished Revolution provides an in-depth look at the varied roles of women: as patients, as informal caregivers, as health care practitioners and as health care leaders. This interesting approach sets this book apart from the plethora of other writings on the topic that often focus on women in any one of these roles. In taking this approach, the authors portray the relationship between women and health care as an interdependent and intricate one, much like that between the "bramble and the rose." As a large proportion of the nursing and allied health professional workforce, and as the entity at the center of national debates regarding abortion and contraception, women undoubtedly play an important role on both the providing and receiving ends of health care. It makes good sense, then, to think of health care as a field with a special connection to women. The authors, no doubt, convey this idea in both the content and structure of their book.

The contributing authors and editors are, for the most part, women. 2 out of the 20 authors are men. These women, with their varied backgrounds in medicine, in health care policy and research, health law and women's rights advocacy, undoubtedly speak from experience. Yet this book does not delve into personal experiences to convey a point. The authors speak with authority, using scientific, social and economic research to back up even the most casual assertions regarding the emotional strain of being a caregiver. The authors manage to comment on profoundly personal battles relating to the stresses of being a caregiver--frustration, guilt, feelings of inadequacy and so on--without ever letting us hear the voices of these women themselves. In some sense, the reader is left wondering whether most women who find themselves in the positions described--caring for their elderly parents or a chronically ill child, for example--would agree with the assertions in these chapters. Aside from merely elucidating the dimensions of this experience, such anecdotes could provide one with insight not obtainable via analytic methods--insight regarding coping strategies or unique perspective on balancing home and professional caregiver roles.

The book opens with a historical look at the beginnings of the women's health movement and how it has changed the landscape of women's health care. The reader obtains an extensive overview of the early accomplishments of the movement including efforts in the early 1970s to de-hospitalize childbirth and efforts to make abortion safe and legal. The chapter documents how the women's movement contributed to the development of a healthy skepticism towards the medical establishment--a skepticism that questioned the rampant use of hysterectomies and spoke out against the tendencies to provide less thorough workups for women. The reader slowly begins to realize that many current features of our health care system--the presence of husbands in the delivery room, the routine appearance of both lay and professional women at FDA and Congressional hearings on medical matters, self-help groups/books on women's health care issues, and even the emphasis on empathy and communication in medical school training--exist only as a result of a group that noticed the need for improvement and were moved to action. With this understanding, the authors provide the reader with the ability to examine the current state of our health care system knowing that some features are not to be taken for granted while others are not to be accepted. The groundwork for change has been laid.

The authors invoke a familiar image of women as mothers in the second section of book. By calling her an informal caregiver, the authors make the creative point that women may be naturally predisposed to the caregiver role. Before we question the bias of such an assertion, we quickly learn that many women often accept this role (caring for chronically ill children, elderly parents/in-laws, for example) for whatever reasons, at great personal cost. The informal caregivers, an unseen, underpaid and under-appreciated workforce, bear a very heavy burden according to the authors. The chapter examines the value conflicts faced by many women who face old values at home despite changes in values at work, informing us that more than 75% of all married female physicians perform all their household work. These conflicts, in some cases intensified by demographic changes that have made elder care a more common experience, often contribute to the great physical and emotional strain experienced by caregivers. Several studies, in fact, have demonstrated that caregivers use more prescription drugs and health care services than control groups. Yet women have traditionally accepted the caregiver's role for generations. The reader cannot help but speculate at this point as to the contributions women must be capable of as formal caregivers.

Such speculation naturally progresses to the final (and most extensive) sections on women as health care practitioners and leaders. Despite their contributions as informal caregivers and as allied health care professionals, women have been poorly represented among the health care leaders and experts of our nation. The section on women in medicine by Phyllis Kopriva documents the changing demographics of the medical field that were marked by a sharp growth of women physicians in the 1970s. This trend in the demographics, no doubt, has been a vast improvement from the not-so-distant days when more than 50% of US medical schools did not accept women. The chapter does not go into the details of how and why this trend occurred, but instead hits on several key issues that tune the reader into the recurring message that the need for improvement still exists.

Kopriva questions the skewed representation of women in medical specialties such as pediatrics, internal medicine or family practice as opposed to surgery. She askes whether specialty choices are based solely on preference or whether exclusionary attitudes play a role. Her skepticism is well founded. Even in specialities where women have been well represented, such as pediatrics, only a handful of department heads are women. Women currently chair only 6 of the 126 pediatric departments in the United States. Hundreds of articles have been written about barriers to women's academic advancement and leadership roles. Yet Kopriva does not spend more than ten lines discussing the details of these barriers. She instead chooses to keep a broad focus. She moves on to inform us that female physicians are younger and earn less than male physicians. She touches on concerns of women in medicine regarding the additional responsibilities as childbearers and family caregivers, the issues of sexual discrimination and harassment, the need for mentors and the disproportionate representation of women in leadership organizations.

The topics of balancing family and professional responsibilities have been dealt with extensively elsewhere in the book. However, two very serious issues regarding the need for mentors and sexual harassment and discrimination seem to be glossed over in two paragraphs. The reader cannot help but want to know more about the precise role these factors play in women's decisions to choose certain specialties over others. Kopriva informs us that a recent AMA opinion poll reported an increased reluctance among women in medicine to report incidence of sexual harassment. Such an alarming finding among educated upper class women in our society deserves adequate commentary--commentary regarding whether groups like AMWA have addressed this issue, the accuracy of the estimated prevalenc

"Tanya and Emily in a Dance for Two" is a wonderful book that introduces children to the ballet, but also to the joys of making a new friend. Tanya is an unpolished, wiggly dancer, while Emily is a graceful, agile ballerina who seems to perform moves effortlessly. The one thing they share in common: both practice alone during ballet class instead of with the other girls. One day after practice, they walk the same way past the zoo. Immediately, Tanya imitates the "dance" of an ostrich and it is not long before they begin dancing the penguin, the giraffe, the leopard and other animals. They start practicing together, with Emily helping Tanya with her moves. Their teacher notices how close they have become and puts them together for a "pas de deux" in the winter recital. Patrica Lee Gauch's text is charming and Satomi Ichikawa simply yet beautifully captures the mood of the story as well as the different ballet steps and "dances". A highly recommended book for young girls.

Tarot for Tommorrow is an excellent book for experienced students of tarot. Peach comes from a Kabbalistic discipline and as such, her interpretations are very balanced. Each card in the Major Arcana is broken down by Hebew letter, Kabbalistic Path number and title and an in-depth interpretation of the card's symbolism and placement on the tarot continuum. Unlike many of the older, classic tarot literature, Peach includes interpretations for non-White, non-heterosexual querents.

On a personal note, Tarot for Tommorrow is the only other book I consistently refer to besides Eden Grey's Complete Guide to the Tarot. I find some of Peach's interpretations more accurate (to my sensibilities) than Grey's and vice versa. Some of her interpretations (such as estimating timeframe during a reading) may be a little too complicated for the novice reader to digest and incorporate, but there is enough knowledge to be found suitable for each level of understanding. The Appendix listing quick reference meanings to each card is especially helpful to those wishing to reinforce their understanding of the cards' individual symbolism.

While learning tarot is largely an instinctive process, Tarot for Tommorrow is an excellent tool for honing one's skill.

This volume is Fathers of the Church volume 10, published by the Catholic University of America. It contains the most modern English language versions of the following works by Tertullian:

Apologeticum (Apology)
De Testimonio Animae (The Testimony of the Soul)
Ad Scapulam (To Scapula)
De Anima (On the Soul)

Also the Octavius of Minucius Felix.

The texts are translated with useful footnotes and introductions. It's a good useful volume, but I believe it is out of print.

The Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, 1899-1902, may have been known as the 'last gentleman's war' but it also produced some remarkable women. Author Brian Roberts looks at 3 of the lion-hearted females of the conflict and the title of his book is derived from Lord Kitchener's remark about one of them, as 'that bloody woman.' Lady Sarah Churchill, aunt of Winston, was a conventional jingoistic imperialist involved in one of the great sieges of the South African conflict at Mafeking ; Hansie van Warmelo was a staunchly pro-republican Boer (Afrikaner) who worked clandestinely for her people against the British army of occupation ; and of course the female colossus of the war, Emily Hobhouse, still the much-loved Englishwoman amongst Afrikaners for exposing the neglect, incompetence, and the appalling death rate in the British concentration camps. Kitchener loathed her but then he didn't have to face the consequences of his military policy that inflicted misery and death on 26,000 Boer women and children.

The two small Boer republics, the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (Transvaal), ultimately failed in their attempts to beat the British invasion but their heroes and heroines are many - including those mentioned in this fine publication.