Mary McLeod Bethune: Building a Better World [Hardcover]

Mary McLeod Bethune (Author), Audrey Thomas McCluskey (Editor), Elaine M. Smith (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2000

This volume explores the multi-faceted career of Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) in her roles as stateswoman, politician, educational leader, and social visionary. It offers a unique combination of original documentary sources and analysis of Bethune's life and work. The more than 70 documents, spanning 53 years of Bethune's public life, include letters, memoranda, position papers, newspaper columns, interviews, and speeches. Essays by the editors relate these documents to the phases of Bethune's career.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Audrey Thomas McCluskey is Assistant Professor of Afro-American Studies at Indiana University and has had a long association the National Women's Studies Association. She has published widely on Bethune. Articles have appeared in Signs, Florida Historical Quarterly, and The Western Journal of Black Studies.

Elaine M. Smith, on the history faculty at Alabama State University, is an authority on Bethune and has published articles in the Journal of Negro History and Black Women in America: an Historical Encyclopedia . She also has written the introduction to the Guide to the Mary McLeod Bethune papers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253336260
• ISBN-13: 978-0253336262
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,619,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thorough examination of a complex hero's life, March 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Mary McLeod Bethune: Building a Better World (Hardcover)

Mary McLeod Bethune is one of those known/unknown African-American heroines. While many have heard her name, still many don't know of her longtime, prosperous friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt, or the details about her life as a young southern girl with more than a dozen brothers and sisters. Many also know there's a college in Daytona named for her, in part (Bethune-Cookman), but they don't know her relationship to the institution. This book, a comprehensive look at her life, answers many of those questions, and more. For those who already know about her life and want more depth (or even a biography written for adults, rather than the many children's books on Bethune), or for those who don't know Bethune's accomplishments, this is a godsend. It's clearly written, chocked with information, and might even be a welcome addition to many school libraries. An informational gem.