Reviews
"Chang introduces many familiar names, such as Harriet Tubman, Belle Boyd, and Clara Barton, as well as women who rolled bandages at home, nursed injured soldiers near the front, or fought disguised as men. Through her use of primary-source materials such as letters and diaries, the author personalizes this history without whitewashing it. She also captures the prejudice faced by those women with nerve enough to assist in the war effort in a more public way, especially their poor treatment by men. In one of the most vivid passages, she describes Sojourner Truth facing down an audience of hostile men and bringing them to their feet cheering. The black-and-white archival photographs and reproductions are excellent, some showing how women continued to be portrayed as ''delicate and demure'' even though their work required determination and energy. This is a valuable addition to American history and women's studies collections."-- School Library Journal In the ''Young Readers' History of the Civil War'' series, a survey of women's many roles, vividly illuminated with dozens of personal stories of both the famous and the obscure. Beginning with abolitionist Angelina Grimk,, who was born a wealthy South Carolinian but moved to Philadelphia because she abhorred slavery, Chang introduces several other prewar ''Voices for Freedom,'' both black and white, from North and South. Succeeding chapters discuss ''Supplying the Armies'' (not just with sewing skills but with organizational genius); doctors and nurses who had to endure male doctors' prejudices in addition to the appalling hospital conditions; clever and courageous spies and the many women, some never revealed, who posed as men to serve as soldiers; trials and sorrows on the home front, including taking on men's roles and coping with shortages (there were bread riots all over the South); and, finally, the aftermath, when Angelina Grimk, reappears to discover that she has half-black nephews, put them through college and graduate school, and declare that ''these young men...far exceed in talents any of my other Grimk, nephews.'' Archival photos and engravings, maps, broadsides, cartoons, and boxed treatment of special topics are all skillfully chosen to support the fascinating, well-organized text. This book is Chang's debut: a splendid achievement."-- Kirkus Reviews
