Literature and Poetry

Jo Freeman writes: This is a political biography. Published only a week before Kamala Harris was inaugurated as this country’s first female Vice President, this book is an overview of Harris’ life in California politics. The author was able to write it so quickly because he has reported on California politics, policy and justice for two newspapers in that state for four decades; Harris has been politically active for about three. more »

Working with primary sources, Nimura documents the courage, drive, and training that the sisters drew upon to establish the dispensary and hospital. They had no personal wealth. Their mission was not merely to aid women who were ill but to educate them in the power of hygiene and sanitation at a time when it was not understood that germs caused illness. Indeed, they were teaching hygiene to mothers at a time when doctors rarely washed their hands between patients. In her excellent new biography, The Doctors Blackwell, Janice Nimura documents another important force for change: individuals. In this book, written with grace and clarity, Nimura describes how the Blackwells brought women to medicine and medicine to women. more »

There were only three black lawyers in the entire state of Mississippi and white lawyers wouldn’t take these cases. They were assisted by law students, for which this was a summer job. Gil was one of those students, having completed his first year at the University of Pittsburgh Law School. He returned committed to becoming a public interest lawyer. He joined the Pittsburgh ACLU, and after graduation, became its first executive director. About a quarter of the book is about his work with the ACLU. In 1970 Gil moved to Arizona to become Assistant Dean of the ASU law school. He stayed to raise a family while involved with social justice issues. This book tells you about more than his legal work. You learn a lot about his ancestors and his girlfriends. more »

"This book is primarily based on one hundred oral histories of outstanding women lawyers commissioned by the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession. Impressed by Norgren's other books on women lawyers, two members of the Commission offered to make the transcripts available if she would write another book. Norgren explores childhood influences, law school experiences, and the various types of practice that these women engaged in. Until 1972, most law schools had quotas on women, usually about 7 percent, if they admitted any at all. Law professors told them that they were taking a man's place. But the fact that Amy Coney Barrett, who was born in 1972, could become a Supreme Court Justice while raising seven children is evidence of how far it has declined as a barrier to having a successful career." more »