Women Activists: Challenging the Abuse of Power

This account of various inspiring achievements accomplished through grassroots activism is a welcome tonic for individuals who despair of making an impact on the big problems of our times. Garland, a freelance journalist, specifically focuses on women because they are ``the vocal, passionate leaders in fights against toxic waste dumps, against nuclear power, and against nuclear weapons.'' She sensitively charts 14 personal paths to activism, frequently including long quotations to allow her subjects to relate a story in their own words. Maria Fava and Mildred Tudy bridge racial gaps in Brooklyn communities through the National Congress of Neighborhood Women; in the wake of her premature baby's death, Cathy Hinds battles politicians and corporations over a toxic waste dump near her Maine home. The chapter on the Greenham Common women's ``peace camp'' movingly demonstrates how global issues are often highly personal. The excellent introduction by Farenthold, a founder of the National Women's Political Caucus, places Garland's interviewees in a larger context and indicates the common aims, motives and methods that unite their disparate efforts. (June)