06-07 AAUW BN Book Club

All Branch Read-Out Project, 8/20/06jh

We will each select one of the following books to read before discussing them in January 2007:

Almost Heaven : the Story of Women in Space   -   Bettyann Kevles   -   288pp      [available in both local libraries]

"It was midnight at Cape Canaveral on July 18, 1999, and still hot and humid." The opening sentence takes us to a launch of the space shuttle Columbia--the first time in history that a woman, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Eileen Collins, would be in command. The final pages describe Columbia's fatal flight in January 2003 with two female astronauts on board. And from beginning to end, this book is riveting. Meticulously researched, the story of women's struggle to gain a place in space is framed by the historical context of cold war competition and the American women's movement. Within this larger frame, the entire sweep of women's fight "to decide for themselves what risks they were willing to take" plays out: the first 13 women who tried and failed to become astronauts in the early 1960s; the Soviet women cosmonauts, who faced their own version of sexism; in 1983, Sally Ride's historic flight; right to the present, when there are "so many women astronauts that few people recognize their names."   It is a testament to the skill of Kevles, who teaches history at Yale University, that the story never slows or loses focus despite its scope and its many threads.

Women and the U.S. Budget : Where the Money Goes and What You Can Do About It   -   Jane Midgley    -    202pp    [available only at Milner]

This book helps fill the gap between the significance of the national budget in women's lives and the lack of information about it by focusing on budget literacy.   In Part One, readers explore the questions: Where does the money come from? Where does the money go? Surplus or debt? and Who decides?
Part Two connects the budget with national and international economies and examines what organizations are doing around the world to create gender-sensitive and people-centered budgets.
Part Three describes values, guiding principles, and a framework for a new budget for the United States, suggests ways to take action, and provides resources. The book provides women and others with a tool for advocacy and action.   The author has 25 years' experience addressing the national budget.

Adventure Divas : Searching the World for Women Who Are Changing the World    -    Holly Morris    -    320pp      [will have to be ordered]

Morris, in partnership with her mother, produced a PBS documentary series meant to empower women by traveling to exotic locales and seeking out "divas": women creating positive change in their societies through passionate and often convention-defying actions. Among her subjects: the first female beat cop in India, who later reformed the prison system; an Iranian publisher of a feminist magazine fighting strict censorship laws; and a pop star who rocked New Zealand's cultural divides. With these women as the focus, Morris and her crew provide novel and extensive explorations of different cultures.   Morris's writing is clean, rhythmic and full of both storytelling flair and journalistic pragmatism. The story of the spunky project itself, from the obstacles overcome while producing an independent documentary series to Morris's adventures along the way (she takes on a side job hosting another travel show, eats with Malaysian headhunters, climbs Switzerland's Matterhorn and rides through the Sahara Desert on camelback), is as inspiring as the divas themselves.

page last updated 8/24/06gfj