Women World Leaders: Fifteen Great Politicians Tell Their Stories

The author, a lawyer and international advocate of women's rights, interviewed 15 current and former presidents and prime ministers: Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan; Mary Robinson, Ireland; Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh; Vigdis Finnbogadottir, Iceland; Tansu Ciller, Turkey; Eugenia Charles, Dominica; Violeta Chamorro, Nicaragua; Gro Harlem Bruntland, Norway; and former leaders Corazon Aquino, Philippines; Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Sri Lanka; Edith Cresson, France; Maria Liberia-Peters, Netherlands Antilles; Kazimiera Prunskiene, Lithuania; Hanna Suchoka, Poland; Margaret Thatcher, Great Britain. Liswood discusses with these distinguished women their family backgrounds, how they got into politics (roughly a quarter came to office after the assassination of their politically active husbands), their leadership styles and their advice to women who want to go into politics. Other subjects are also treated, such as marianismo in Nicaragua-the idea that women must be virtuous and humble ``like the Virgin Mary''; Bangladesh as an example of how family planning can be made to work even in impoverished nations. The women also discuss matters of a more personal nature, e.g., Finnbogadottir speaks of the advantages of being unmarried. The book includes an informative review of the status of women in each of the countries represented. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Feb.)