5 comments about Kinsey: Sex The Measure Of All Things.

1. As a Bloomington resident and a long-time admirer of Kinsey's work, I decided it was time to learn more about the man beyond what the Liam Neeson film taught me. What I found in Gathorne-Hardy's bio was a solid portrait of a man who opened the world's eyes to sexuality. The book is well-researched and interesting, but at times it can get bogged down with a bit too much analysis of Kinsey's motives and correspondence, especially as it pertains to his own sexuality.
   
   Still, the book is an easy read and well sourced, and it certainly provides an informative biography of Kinsey while acknowledging some of the man's flaws.



2. I chose to read this book because I wanted a balanced account of Kinsey's life and science, unfortunately, this book does not satisfy the requirement. Where the Jones book turns Kinsey into a demon, Gathorne-Hardy seems to want to turn him into a god. Gathorne-Hardy has a well researched account of Kinsey's life and activities, however he constantly tries to justify Kinsey's methods and continually comments on how no one has been able to do better sex research since, a patently untrue and scientifically unsupported statement. It would be difficult to cover both the biographical research on Kinsey and do an indepth study of current sex research, and I don't believe that Gathorne-Hardy even tried to do much research into current sex literature, that is why it is irritating when he tries to justify most of Kinsey's ideas. Overall, if you want a book that details the activities of Kinsey's life, this is an acceptable book, but if you are interested in his science, it is woefully lacking.



3. This book is so professionally researched, well documented and written with flowing, easy to follow prose, that it almost over-shadows the subject matter which is, of course, the fascinating life and work of Alfred C. Kinsey, and culminating with his most absorbing research work of all: the sexual habits of primarily, the American public.
   
   But don't worry, the study of sex prevails as the intriguing winner of our primary attention for it is spelled out clearly, sometimes more than one is ready for but can't turn away from and do not honestly want to. And a word of warning to the sexually squeamish- this IS sex, all about sex and sexual habits, many of which, one might not have ever thought of, but necessary for an exacting, broad-spectrum all inclusive study of the human animal.
   
   J. Gathorne-Hardy is British and that shows up in his grammar, so don't think the book is full of typos, that's the way they spell on the other side of the Pond and it lends some flavor to the American subject matter. As can be seen in his detailed research, he is a well qualified researcher, and this work is now considered by many as the de facto authority on all things Kinsey. And fortunately so because there are a tremendous amount of books about Kinsey in print, but rest assured and good as many may be, none can hold a candle to this work.
   
   Kinsey's research was as clinically studied as any highly disciplined research should be, but it is no secret that Kinsey and his fellow researchers did a tremendous amount of, ahem, shall we say, "hands-on", direct involvement work which raised scholarly eyebrows, but as Gathorne-Hardy points out, it was done with the most scientific detachment possible. Yes, well, it certainly made for some scandalous reactions for which Kinsey was acutely trying to avoid, but had an uncanny ability to dismiss and side-step.
   
   For those who have been interested in Kinsey's life and work, but were put-off by the voluminous original works, will certainly appreciate this study, because it not only summarizes Kinsey's work in great detail, it also edits down the laborious writing style of Kinsey, without loosing any important details and most importantly, it includes Kinsey's personal life from early childhood and on to his later research work- something that is missing and/or not accurately portrayed in too many other studies. It also covers many of the people who worked with Kinsey and who graciously lent their personal observations to the author for much of the critical data found here-in.
   
   This book is truly, an outstanding accomplishment and honors the deeply important work of Kinsey and his research team, notorious as many saw it, but whose dogged dedication to the subject of sex studies opened-up a more mature approach for the average citizen's awareness of what most now conclude, is step "A" in knowing oneself and the biological world we live in. I highly commend Jonathon Gathorne-Hardy for this monument to that awareness.



4. In this scholarly, well-documented biography of nearly 500 pages, Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy tells you probably all you ever wanted to know about Alfred Kinsey; and he does it in a most reader-friendly fashion. From Kinsey's early life, growing up in the confines of a narrow Methodist family, to his marriage and tenure at Indiana University, to his studies of the gall wasp and his studies of the sexual behavior of males and females that changed forever the way we look at sex-- it's all here. Since Gathorne-Hardy has written the most recent biography of Kinsey (1999) he had the benefit of the research of previous biographers. He thus attempts to set the record straight concerning the 1997 Kinsey biography by James H. Jones, ALFRED KINSEY - A PUBLIC/PRIVATE LIFE. He maintains -- and goes to considerable lengths to prove it-- that Jones ceased to be an "objective researcher" but rather attacked Kinsey's private sexual behavior. He, in Gathorne-Hardy's words, "belongs to what one might call the Kenneth Starr school of biography." Enough said.
   
   Kinsey, an extremely complicated individual, was an atheist (he rebelled vigorously against the strict religion of his father), a brilliant professor and scientist, mesmerizing lecturer, intolerant of what he considered shoddy work of other scientists, a loving husband and father, a "benevolent despot", a bisexual, a compassionate and humane person. (For years he corresponded with both prisoners and their families and often gave and/or lent them money.)
   
   Gathorne-Hardy maintains-- and offers considerable proof-- that while some of Kinsey's conclusions may have been erroneous, that no one since him has done the client interview, the heart of Kinsey's research, better than he and his staff did. For instance, he used a face-to-face interview with an elaborately coded chart he devised and did not ask the first question about sex until 20 minutes into the history. Interviewers never said, "have you ever" but rather "when did you first?" He abhorred random sampling and attempted whenever possible to take the histories of 100% of the members of a group so as to decrease the chances of error. Just as he went everywhere looking for new varieties of gall wasps, he and his group interviewed everyone they could: prostitutes, prisoners, castrates, the Yale Divinity School, amputees, rapists, lobotomy patients, professors, colleagues, students.
   
   Although Mr. Kinsey was denounced by many church leaders including Billy Graham-- after all Kinsey did most of his sex research in the 1940's-- he was revered and praised by many, and was a life line to many persons troubled about their sexuality. He received thousands of letters throughout his career from people hungry for advice and answers and attempted to respond to them all himself. He was incensed and saddened by most of the prisoners he interiewed serving sentences for "sex" crimes, since he believed that they should never have been in prison in the first place. After all, they were just doing what many other people were doing, or as he put it, everyone's sin is no one's sin. His statistics on the incidences of homosexuality in the general population, though often challenged, have never been successfully refuted even though his numbers may have been slightly exaggerated.
   
   Finally, while for the most part, Gathorne-Hardy tells the reader nothing without documentation, occasionally he makes a statement he cannot prove. For example, on page 32, he writes that Kinsey had difficulty expressing intimate personal feelings in public, but that "as often with people who have difficulty here, Kinsey loved small children nd was extremely good with them." I'm not convinced that is an accurate statement and Mr. Gathorne-Hardy makes no attempt to offer up proof. Since this book was first published in England, the author offers explanations and illuminations to his British reader about some of the "Americanisms" here. He, for example, explains the semester system in American universities, defines our corn crop as "maize," tells the reader what "tea room" means and comments often on the "ghastly" weather, meaning of course our 100 degree-in-the-shade summers. They would be a far cry indeed from England's dark, damp Decembers.
   
   You may love Kinsey or you may hate him; but when you finish this biography, you'll feel that you've got at least a glimpse as to what the man was all about and what he accomplished-- no small feat for any biographer.



5. I just saw the new movie, "Kinsey," this evening and now am especially intrigued to read more about him. If the movie is telling of the book, this will be a good read. Thanks!

No comments about I Expected to be Fired.

1 comments about Nine Months Is a Year - At Baboquívari School (Southwest Chronicle).

1. Mrs. Bourne shows, in writing about a small one room schol house in rural southern Arizona, that the issues in education have not changed greatly. Lack of funding, quarrels over bi-lingual education, educating the whole child and not just a course of study have been with us. Her solutions give hope to those of us still teaching. Very motivating. A must-read for any pre-service teacher.

No comments about Elizabeth Farrell and the History of Special Education.

1 comments about Up and Down in the Dales.

1. This whole series is a hoot. Everyone who has ever been a teacher, everyone who has ever been in a classroom will delight in these books. They are not only fun but they raise some interesting contrasts between British and American schooling. After retirement I did substitute teaching for nine years and only once did I ever have the privilege of a supervisor observing me. Now I know why the Brits have it all over us in the educational field.

4 comments about Invisible Privilege: A Memoir About Race, Class, and Gender (Feminist Ethics).

1. I have to agree with the review before me, this book is purely a Marxist totalitarian charade with extremely one sided analogies.
   To Paula Rothenberg; if you hate the U.S.A. and freedom, then leave it for a communist country!



2. If you are entirely committed to viewing human destiny almost exclusively in terms of group identity, you will love this book. Rothenberg cheerfully acknowledges that she has no pretentions toward disinterested inquiry in her college courses or in her writing. She procedes from the assumption that racism and sexism are the underlying conditions of life in the United States and sets out to illustrate this. The book is an amusing compendium of the leisure-class totalitarian orientation and quasi-Marxiast group think that has become the status quo in American "higher" education.



3. A very well-done combination of personal recollection and political insights. The questions of gender, race and class are often presented in an off-putting manner that only appeals to the already committed. Because of the genuiness and the clarity of this book, it can serve as an introduction to these areas for those who still have something to learn about them.



4. "Invisible Privilege" is a multilayered book that I will enjoy reading more than once. It has the liveliness, humor, and candor of a good autobiography. But instead of merely telling one person's story, the author wears the analytical and critical lenses through which she views our society, to look at her own life -- without apology or mea culpa. She gives up the dearly held privilege of many of us "white liberals" to pretend that, in spite of the impact of race, class, and gender on American life, we somehow wriggled through unscathed, perhaps because of our own "natural" goodness. The author provides funny, poignant, eye-opening examples of how no one can rest on the laurels of being a good person with good intentions in this whirlwind society of ours. She is deepening the discussions of discrimination and exclusion, prejudice and hate, as well as of being human, and I look forward to her next book.

5 comments about Uncle Tom or New Negro?: African Americans Reflect on Booker T. Washington and UP FROM SLAVERY 100 Years Later.

1. There appears to be new interest in the life and works of Booker T Washington. In her recent anthology, entitled Uncle Tom or New Negro? : African Americans Reflect on Booker T. Washington and UP FROM SLAVERY 100 Years Later; Rebecca Carroll includes the thoughts of a number of prominent African Americans regarding the importance of Booker T. Washington.
   
   With such a provocative title, I couldn't help but dust off my old copy of Up From Slavery to see if there are any useful insights from the dawn of the twentieth century which would be applicable in the 21st century.
   
   Traditionally, there was always a debate regarding his view of the best route for African-American progress. This debate has contrasted Booker T. Washington's advocacy for self-help and practical education against the aggressive advocacy of W.E.B. Dubois for social and political equality.
   
   It is important to place Mr. Washington's work in perspective in terms of the times in which it was written. The American civil war was over. The conflict was (and is) the costliest war for the United States in terms of lives lost. The process of reconstruction was overwhelming and flawed on many levels. Mr. Washington does a good job at describing the fact that many African Americans rushed into political and academic puruits prematurely in the wake of Slavery.
   
   The combination of poorly prepared and unethical individuals in these fields likely was responsible for a number of problems faced by former slaves. Mr. Washington's theory was that through practical education and trades, that African-Americans would be able to prove themselves as being worthy of citizenship in the United States.
   
   While I do agree with Mr. Washington that there is much be said for individuals who have merit and equip themselves with skills necessary to function in modern day society, it is also apparent that the view of Mr. Washington's ,autobiography, was overly optimistic and ultimately limiting.
   
   As a college student in the 1980s, I firmly aligned myself with the philosophies of W.E.B. Dubois as detailed in The Souls of Black Folk
   
   
   William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a professor of sociology at Atlanta University who disputed the main principles of Washington's political program, (ie, the idea that voting and civil rights were less important to black progress than acquiring property and achieving economic self-sufficiency). Unlike Washington, who foresaw the steady obliteration of racial prejudice and discrimination, Du Bois prophesied in the opening lines of The Souls of Black Folk: "The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line."
   
   
   Ultimately, all of the hard work and merit in the world has not been enough to eliminate race prejudice and discrimination of African-Americans. While the actions of Mr. Washington as outlined in his autobiography are clearly laudable; they are (in retrospect) inadequate in terms of achieving equality and justice for minorities in the United States.



2. Whether you admire, dislike or have barely heard of Booker T. Washington, he remains an important figure in American history and one, I dare say, many of us should know more about. Carroll has put together a very thoughtful and varied collection of work about him which is also the proverbial "good read."



3. UNCLE TOM OR NEW NEGRO: African Americans Reflect On Booker T. Washington and Up From Slavery 100 Years Later, edited by Rebecca Carroll takes a look back at Booker T. Washington. It was a blend of those who feel that Booker T. Washington was the man with the right ideas regarding race relations in America and those who feel that he let African Americans down in his haste to placate the white majority of the time. His defenders stressed that he worked behind the scenes to push for civil rights and those who were not so enamored of him felt his contributions were lacking in that he stressed hard work for African Americans without pushing for equality as well. Some of the contributing writers were Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Ronald Walters, Earl Ofari Hutchinson and Debra Dickerson. Each presented arguments for their position regarding Booker T. Washington. Also included was the entire text of Mr. Washington's memoir, Up From Slavery, which was extremely helpful in digesting the arguments of the various commentators.
   
   Ms. Carroll did a commendable job of getting together those who are pro Washington and those who have issues with his handling of the race question at the end of the 19th century. The book gives a wonderful overview of the issues surrounding Washington as well as a view of the times when he was successfully attempting to establish his school at Tuskegee. Whether you are for Washington's accomodationist position or against it, it is a book well worth reading for its historical value.
   
   Reviewed by Alice Holman
   of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers



4. Carroll provides a thoughtful and incisive meditation on race, history and culture--a collage of perspectives that elaborates and enriches the discourse on race.



5. After reading Saving the Race, by Rebecca Carroll, I was inspired to read her new book Uncle Tom or New Negro. I was not dissapointed. As with the amazing Saving the Race, this new book trancends race issues and provides an important perspective on ourselves as a society in uncertain times. I would suggest reading this book to anyone with a heart and a brain. Carroll moves us with her brillaint insights and the substance to back it up. It is an excellent and riveting read. Important stuff for all people of all races today.

5 comments about Helen and Teacher : The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy.

1. This is the best biography about Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller that I have read. Since I was a child I have been fascinated by them and have read everything that I could get my hands on. Lash goes beyond their heroism and describes Annie and Helen as real people with "feet of clay."
   
   He relies heavily on voluminous correspondence to show the many facets of Helen and those in her life. Many of these details are not explained in other biographies. For example, Helen's father tried to shore up his finances with loans (often defaulted) from Helen's patrons. The "Frost King" incident caused many people to doubt Annie's veracity and credibility as a teacher for the rest of her life. Mr.Sandborn and Mr. Anagnos used the controversy to divert attention from Annie's role as Teacher to Helen and to re-focus attention on the role that the Perkins Institute played in her education. Lash also shows that John Macy had a complex relationship (for the good and the bad) with both Annie and with Helen. Helen was a radical Socialist and often risked her popularity and, therefore, their income by speaking out in support of Socialist leaders and causes. In the end the reader sees that Helen and many of those around her did great things, but they were not perfect. Insecurity, jealousy, money and a desire for love and fame caused all of them to act ugly sometimes.
   
   The other point that was never clear to me before, is that Helen and Annie spent their lives marketing themselves in order to generate an income. Helen's father faced a serious financial downturn that prevented him from supporting them from Helen's young womanhood on. Therefore, to continue Helen's formal education and to maintain a home away from Alabama, they had to cultivate sponsors, write publishable material, and earn money speaking at a myriad of functions. In many ways, this was an uncertain life that dictated that they remain in good standing with public opinion at all times.
   
   The other connection that Lash made for me concerns the complexity, the depth and the breadth of Annie and Helen's relationship. Because Annie suffered through a harrowing childhood, she desperately needed to create a loving family. Helen presented the perfect opportunity for Annie to be needed and to love and be loved unconditionally. While some people construed their relationship to be unhealthy or manipulative, it seems that it was a natural outgrowth of their particular situation. Once again, it was not perfect, but it served a huge need for them both.
   
   I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to see a more realistic view of the lives of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan.



2. Informative! It does get a bit long & wordy at times, but it's a fair representation of Helen & Annie's lives. The more I read about Annie Sullivan, the more I like her. I think it was a real shame that Arthur & Kate Keller felt threatened by the close bond Annie had with Helen. I think Arthur & Kate just wanted Helen to be "trained," but not really the free independent spirit she was meant to be. I'm so glad Annie stood by her & helped her become a free person & became a lifelong friend to Helen as well. Annie was very open about whatever failings she'd had & was a warm, loving supportive guide in Helen's life. I get the feeling Helen & Annie had almost a mother-daugher-like bond, which of course practically killed Arthur & Kate. The stupid thing was, the Keller parents wanted to just shift over the responibility to Annie of educating her & getting her to fit into society, yet wanted total control over Helen's life. If anyone was manipulative & controlling, it was Arthur & Kate. Esp. Arthur, I think was really patronizing & downright domineering toward Annie. Kate didn't help matters either & when I read about her attempts to break Helen & Pete up later on & her consent to try to split Helen & Annie up, I really lost respect for Kate. I know I'm slamming Kate & Arthur here, but I see Annie as more of a loving parent figure in Helen's life. I really commend Annie for standing strong against Helen's domineering, manipulative parents. Oh, boy, was that John Macy a real creep! I was sooo glad Annie got away from him; he accused Annie of being "manipulative & controlling" when he was controlling himself! He KNEW Annie & Helen had a tight bond, yet after he married Annie, he started giving poor Annie a hard time about it! What was really contemptable was that John wrote to Kate & others badmouthing Annie behind her back & it's good that the book exposed that clearly. That made me lose respect for John too; sorry, but I have no sympathy for John Macy. I think Annie tried really hard to be a good wife, yet John just criticized her for being too close to Helen. Poor Annie, it was sad reading about her heartbreak. It was touching & kind of reassuring to read that it was Helen who came to Annie's support when Annie couldn't stop crying for several days over John. It was Helen who fired a letter off to John blasting him for badmouthing Annie. I cheered when Helen was the one who helped Annie get back on her feet, esp. since I hear that John cleaned out the Macys' joint account & closed it without Annie's consent & Annie had to struggle to get her career going again. Boy, was it inspiring to read about Annie's heart healing & her getting her writing going again as well as back on her feet financially! I love how Helen & Annie stood by each other all the way & once Polly joined them, stood by them too. Annie's shaky pride suffered a lot of blows in her life, but always she managed to get back on her feet. I always knew Helen was forever grateful to Annie for freeing her from her early wordless prison & helping her get started to an independent free life & Helen showed this gratitude by being the one to take care of Annie when Annie grew old & frail & went permanently blind. It was a touching mother-daugher bond almost...when Helen was young, Annie looked out for her, then the roles reversed; when Annie got older & weaker, Helen was the one to look out for her & it was great that Helen was able to be by her bedside when her mentor & friend died. What was wonderful also was that Annie was a really sweet, accepting person; she had so many problems in her life, yet never sank into self-pity; she even made wry jokes about her blindness & even wrote a self-effacing column "Foolish Remarks From a Foolish Woman." That part cracked me up! Annie was a quick-tempered little thing, but was quick to forgive & had a big heart & I'm glad this book acknowledged that. Even Helen said that Annie was generous "to a fault." But the last best gift Annie gave Helen was the capacity to be completely independent, even from her, so once Annie died, with only a little help from Polly, Helen was able to live a free life, even long after Annie was gone. I say kudos to both Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan!!!!



3. The lives of Helen Keller and her teacher, Ann Sullivan Macy are eternally intertwined. Helen Keller, blind and deaf since infancy depended on Annie since the age of 6 when the latter was hired to teach her.

   This comprehensive, fascinating and completely riviting biography does an excellent job of separating the two women's lives and analyzing each woman in her own right. Helen takes giant steps beyond the water pump where Annie first impressed upon her the concept of language. It is to this author's credit that the reader does not languish at that water pump, but follows these women throughout their lives.

   The true symbiosis is fully described when other teachers as well as Helen's own mother Kate, try to separate her from Annie. Feeling that her maternal authority had been usurped, Kate understandably wanted to wean Helen from Annie. Each attempt by any person to effect such a change resulted in disaster. Even Annie's marriage to a gifted editor named John Macy ended in an acrimonious split because he felt Helen took up too large a portion of their lives together. From all accounts, Macy seemed to feel that Annie used the same domineering methods she had used on the child Helen with him. He also described Annie as "manipulative and controlling," which certainly seem like apt descriptions of her approach. Resentful of Helen's constant presence and feeling like an odd member of an equally odd triadic relationship, John retreats further from the marriage.

   When Annie dies, Helen is disconsolate; she feels she can't survive without her "Teacher," although she, by that point had been at Annie's side for nearly half a century. A bright, progressive woman named Polly assumes the role of "Teacher," and Helen flourishes under her gentle tutlage and interpretation. Polly is clearly accepting of Helen's challenges and appears to make a sincere effort to see that Helen is fully included in all conversations and activities which she [Polly] is part of. One does not get the sense that Polly is a martyr. One gets the impression that Polly is loyal and determined with no agenda of her own.

   Helen's relationship with Polly does appear to be much healthier than her relationship with Annie. This book fully explores Helen's character, her life experiences and the types of relationships she forged in the post-Teacher years with intelligence and sensitivity.




4. AFB Press is the publishing arm of the American Foundation For The Blind. Helen And Teacher, written by biographer Joseph P. Lash and published by AFB Press, is a magnificent, 811-page opus that is the most comprehensive work ever done on the unique and moving story of a little blind, deaf and dumb girl, and the dedicated woman who brought her into contact with the world, and with people. The basic story is well known to the general public, the subject of stage plays and movies. But in Helen And Teacher, we are treated in exhaustive, definitive detail to this landmark biographical story of the human spirit. Also highly recommended from AFB Press is their wonderful little gift book, To Love This Life: Quotations By Helen Keller which is also available in an audiobook format.



5. There is no need to read anything else on Helen Keller or Annie Sullivan Macy, because it is all included in this incredible biography. This in-depth look at these two remarkable women was both readable and throughly informative. Of all my research on Annie Sullivan, I have found nothing that is not mentioned in Mr. Lash's work; he has truly captured her spirit, along with her triumphant pupil.

No comments about Two on the Rocks.

5 comments about A Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lilias Trotter (Northwind Book).

1. I just finished reading this book and was so impressed with the astonishing results this woman achieved because of her total surrender to God's plans. An accomplished young artist from an upper class Victorian family, she left the comforts of England and went into Algeria, a country inhabitated by Arabs who were mostly Muslim. It was a slow but steady start, because of language problems, government interference (because of suspicions about missionaries motives), and just the differences in the different ways of thinking and lifestyles of the Algerian people.
   
   Lilias spent several decades of her life doing the "basics" in securing the beginnings of a life long ministry among a people hungry for deep spiritual lessons, but finding ways to do this required much patience, thought and forgiveness. And on top of all this, she is dealing with a new language, both spoken and written.
   
   The majority of this book is taken from Lilias's copius journals, letters and writings where she kept records of what she was involved in day by day.
   
   I learned a lot about what the foreign missionary effort entails, and especially when you're the first to go into an area with some brand new ideas where life is so different. But she won them over slowly with her love. As time went on, she had much help from other women and men who worked with her in this cause.
   
   The last couple of decades her health was not good, but she just kept on plugging away, even writing from her bed the last two years.
   She wrote some beautiful booklets that have profound lessons of faith and obedience in them. "Parables of the Cross" and "Parables of the Christ Life" are just two of them.
   
   She gleaned such meaningful lessons from nature, things that the ordinary person would hardly think of. She could see great lessons from a grain of wheat, a peach, a bee, etc. She looked deeply into the whys and wherefores of the lessons that nature has to teach us.
   
   Lilias really had a heart for these people and she felt that God gave her that heart and she was to do what she could as well as she could for as long as she could. She was true to that effort.
   
   One thing I wished this book had was a map of the area that showed all the little towns and outposts that were mentioned in the book, and were developed over many years and many travels.
   This book is a good read, even though you are dealing with some new words and another way of thinking. You will learn a lot and wish you had known this woman who was totally devoted to God.



2. As the premier art critic in Victorian England, John Ruskin was the arbiter of taste. In 1883 he revealed a hard-to-believe prejudice: "For a long time I used to say . . . that except in a graceful and minor way, women could not draw or paint." Ruskin then discounted this view, based on his reaction to the art of a young woman named Lilias Trotter: "I'm beginning lately to bow myself to the much more delightful conviction that no one else can" draw or paint.

   In a 1960s book, RUSKIN TODAY, Sir Kenneth Clark mentioned Trotter as someone lost to history. But Clark hadn't turned over every leaf, as has biographer Miriam Rockness, who discovered Trotter through bequeathed volumes of her out-of-print illustrated books.

   A bright, talented daughter of a prominent stockbroker in London, Lilias Trotter (1853-1928) was comfortable in the company of privilege. At age 21 she was among guests, including George MacDonald and Bishop Wilberforce, invited to a religious retreat, the forerunner of the Keswick Conferences.

   Spiritually stirred by this and the preaching of Dwight Moody, Lilias grew discontent with the in-vogue "charity from a distance." For more than 10 years in London, she devotedly worked to help establish a hostel for working women, the forerunner of the YWCA.

   During this time, while on vacation in Venice, her meddling mother asked Ruskin to look at Lilias's watercolor paintings --- a request that led to art lessons, weekend invitations, and extended conversations and correspondence between the Miss and the Master, who claimed she could be the greatest painter of her generation if she would "give herself up to art." To the dismay of many, Lilias turned her back on Ruskin's challenge: "I cannot give myself to painting in the way he means and continue still to 'seek first the Kingdom of God.' "

   When Lilias was 35, this whole-spirited commitment dramatically "called" her to mission work in northern Africa. With two female colleagues --- none knowing Arabic, none robust enough to pass physicals required by established mission boards --- she sailed for Algeria, where she lived a life of saintly proportions until her death, at age 75.

   Two-thirds of Rockness's biography delves into the Algerian years. Learning Arabic was the first of many challenges: Muslim resistance to a Christian message, French resistance to British interlopers, male resistance to a female witness. And yet under Trotter's leadership, the original missionary band and later recruits translated portions of scripture, distributed literature, befriended women and children, opened cafés for men, and hosted summer camps for nomadic families.

   There are no imagined conversations in this book; there's no mistaking it for a novel. This is history, relying largely on journals, with some analysis and helpful foreshadowing. Ever aware of Lilias the artist, Rockness faithfully describes the palette of the desert so well that it's hard to distinguish Lilias the missionary from Lilias the artist.

   In time Lilias envisioned a "new approach to Arab literature": writings that would speak to Algerians, instead of what Trotter called the "hitherto translated stories of Jacks & Bobs whose surroundings are as foreign to children of the east as their names" and finding an affordable means of color printing, so as to attract people who delighted in color. To meet these goals, Lilias wrote and illustrated nature parables that may soon be back in print, thanks to Rockness's persistence.

   Some of the biography's most interesting material comes toward the end. In her last decade, Trotter won the respect of a group of Sufi (male) mystics. "The artist in her responded to the artist in the Sufis," notes Rockness. "Yet she never lost her spiritual focus." Confined to bed in the last two years, she wrote THE WAY OF THE SEVENFOLD SECRET, explaining to them seven "I Am" claims of Jesus --- as she managed what had become an extensive mission outreach.

   Trotter's printed word and art can indeed inspire a new generation. But only those who knew her can appreciate "perhaps her most palpable legacy": her love. As an obituary noted, "No wonder that Catholics and Jews and Moslems, as well as Protestants, are mourning her loss, for love, in the end, wins love."

   --- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence




3. There are few things that inspire me more than a true story of a child of God who is faithful in the face of success and apparent failure. I see the reality of this woman's walk with God to be the challenge and encouragement. The accounts of her passion, travels, and encounters challenge my perspective on missions. I don't believe I had a real grasp on missions until I read this book. The quotations of her own journals and other writings bring a special feeling of knowing Lilias by the end of the book. This is a book I highly encourage all believers to read.



4. I am a voracious reader of non-fiction (particularly Christian non-fiction), but out of thousands of books I have read, this biography captivated me like no other. Perhaps because I am a writer and artist, I could identify with Lilias and her passions. Ultimately, however, this is a story of adventure, sacrifice, surrender and uncompromising dedication to Jesus Christ, all set against the exotic backdrop of Algeria. I can't wait to meet Lilias in heaven and tell her how she inspired me. Of course, I also look forward to meeting the authors someday because they brought Lilias to life. The narrative is as lovely as Lilias' art!



5. This book does indeed weave a challenging and interesting tale of a pioneeer missionary, who for the sake of the gospel left a comfortable and gracious victorian life for a life of sacrifice in the northern deserts of Africa, among Muslim tribemen.It is carefully crafted and includes some prints of Lilias' own artwork, which from what can be seen, is lovely.I wish a book could be devoted to more prints and more about Lilias' travels!