Women's Rights

Gr 10 Up—Updating the 2007 edition, this work offers a plethora of primary documents and research tools. The main body of the book offers an overview of women's issues followed by a more detailed examination of them as they occur in the United States, France, Chile, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The issues at hand are political and social, and are further subdivided into coverage of voting rights, employment, violence against women, and many other topics. The real value of the book, however, rests in the collection of primary documents, such as transcripts of the proceedings of landmark trials. An excerpt from Elizabeth Cady Stanton's 1848 "Declaration of Sentiments" stands alongside an excerpt from the 1988 "Baby M" surrogate custody case and an excerpt from China's 2002 family planning law. A brief section then discusses how to research the women's movement, providing a list of keywords, links to useful search engines, and other practical advice. The final part of the book offers research leads in items such as a "key players" biographical glossary, an annotated bibliography arranged by subject, and a list of related agencies. This book will be a solid addition to more research-oriented collections and should replace the older edition. Students will appreciate the gathering of so many complete primary sources and statistics, and plentiful bibliographic information in one resource.—Carol Fazioli, Gwynedd-Mercy College, Gwynedd Valley, PA