Women Activists is a long overdue book of stories written by women who have been involved in community political activities. The author, Anne Wette Garland, is to be commended for her ability to organize the stories told by fourteen women in an organized and interesting manner

Jones, Allene

English

VCU Scholars Compass

language classroom. Considering the readability and interest factor of the book, it would be one which the instructor would not have to pressure the students into reading. - Glen M. Kraig California State University, San Bernardino Anne Wette Garland. Women Activists: Challenging the Abuse of Power. (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988) 145 pp., $9.95 paper. Women Activists is a long overdue book of stories written by women who have been involved in community political activities. The author, Anne Wette Garland, is to be commended for her ability to organize the stories told by fourteen women in an organized and interesting manner. Women Activists includes a one-page foreword written by Ralph Nader and a nine-page informative introduction by Frances T. Farenthold. The text is divided into three units with each unit divided into chapters. The chapters are stories told by fourteen women activists. The first unit, "Community and Neighborhood, " includes four chapters: "Every Mountain Hollow" by Marie Cirillo, "The Human Element" by Bernice Kaczynski, "We Found the Enemy" by Gale Cincotta, and "Education's the Thing" by Maria Fava and Mildred Tudy. The second unit, "Environment and Public Safety," includes three chapters: "The Tongues of Angels" by Mary Sinclair, "Vocif­erous Residents" by Cathy Hinds, and "Common Sense" by Alice Weinstein and Marion Weisfelner. The third and last unit, "Justice and Peace, " includes "Good Noise" by Cora Tucker and "Emboldened" by Greenham Common Women. This book deals with four important issues: the roots of activism, certain conditions of activism, principles of political action, and feminism. In the introduction, Frances T. Farenthold does an excellent job of illustrating how these authors deal with the four aforementioned issues. For example, the anger which is at the roots of activism in the stories told by these women comes from a variety of sources. Differences in age, religion, education, background, income, and political beliefs were sources of anger and the roots of activism in the stories told by these women activists. The second issue, "Certain Conditions of Activism, " appears to have stemmed from the feeling of being much alone in their efforts when they first attempted to effect change. Many of these women were ostracized by friends, church, and community. But this feeling of being alone did not deter them from striving to reach their goals; instead, it increased their momentum for reaching them. The third issue, "Principles of Political Action, " had to be dealt with by all activists in this book. One of the first things that the women had to do was to identify the problem. Once the problem was identified, the next step was to Explorations in Sights and Sounds No. 1 1  (Summer 1991)  25 identify and develop political strategies for dealing with the problem. These women often encountered problems dealing with the political issues because people did not often trust their ability to handle politics. They were forced to prove themselves before they could get support from others. The final issue, "Feminism," is dealt with extensively by the women of this book. This book and similar books and articles point to the fact that women are leaders in the movement for change. The women activists in this book come from all walks oflife. The nurturing abilities of women appear to make them good activists. I do not find any particular weakness in this book. At times certain issues might be repetitious, but this cannot be avoided due to the nature of the book. In summary, this is an excellent book written by women who caused or effected change. It should be a part of every library and be read by people in general and those in particular who are interested in activism. - Allene Jones Texas Christian University Marj orie Harness Goodwin. He-Said-She-Said: Talk as Social Organization Among Black Children. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991) 371 pp., $19.95 paper. The author, acting both as ethnographer and sociolinguist, recorded conversations of black children in a working-class neighborhood of Phila­delphia over a period of one-and-a-half years. She acted as observer of children's games and talk as they interacted with their peers in their after school surroundings. Goodwin argues that peer setting provides the best opportunity to observe children as they develop social organization, and she challenges the traditional view of anthropology that perceives children as being in the process of internalizing adult values in order to integrate into the social world. Goodwin states that she has "treated children as actors actively engaged in the construction oftheir social worlds rather than as passive objects who are the recipients of their culture." Rather than taking an active role in her fieldwork and manipulating the environment to create her project, Goodwin did not elicit speech from the children she studied. Instead, she followed them around and, over a period of time, became a standard fixture during their play time. Occasionally they would address her in their conversations , but for the most part she became unobtrusive in their everyday activities .  The study was situated in the children's neighborhood and occurred during those times of day when adults were still at work and primarily absent from the area. This allowed the study to concentrate on peer interaction rather than situations where adults might dominate conversation. This text is particularly important because it argues with studies that typify female speech as different from male speech. Though female speech 26 Explorations in Sights and Sounds No. 11 (Summer 1991) 

[Review of] Anne Wette Garland. Women Activists: Challenging the Abuse of Power

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[Review of] Anne Wette Garland. Women Activists: Challenging the Abuse of Power

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