Women: American Women in Their Own Words

Baker ( Cops ) interviewed 100 women, most of them between ages 30 and 45. A few are black, five are lesbian, six admitted to having been sexually or physically abused in childhood; all remain anonymous here. Snippets of their conversations, often intense and heartfelt, at times prosaic, are loosely woven around such themes as relationships with men, conforming to female stereotypes (being ``nice''), work, careers, rape and sexual betrayal. One chapter focuses on four women, all of them stoic in the face of reversals, and self-sacrificing to the point of ignoring their own needs and feelings. Except for this quartet, there is almost no continuity in the tales, but readers who dip into this montage can readily identify with the problems, opinions and experiences aired. (Feb.)