*Starred Review* Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia (Carlson, 1993) was universally acclaimed, winning the 1994 Dartmouth Medal. The second edition, also edited by Hine, now comprises three volumes. The first edition's chronological coverage began with 1619 and ended in 1992. This edition extends coverage through 2004, noting Condoleezza Rice's confirmation as Secretary of State, Johnnetta Cole's leadership of United Way, and Laila Ali's boxing title. It includes approximately 150 topical entries and 325 biographies. Seventy-eight of the topical articles are new, including Black Panther Women, Marriage, Rape, Revolutionary War, Rock and Roll, Vietnam, and Voodoo. Updating, restructuring, and revising resulted in many first edition articles being incorporated into more comprehensive entries. For example, Historically Black Colleges and Universities replaces articles on individual colleges. Most topics that no longer have separate entries are accessible through the detailed index. Conversely, topics that have increased in importance since publication of the first-edition now have specialized articles. The second edition still includes a general article on Sports but also offers articles on Basketball, Golf, Tennis, and Track and Field. RBB praised the first edition for the quality of its illustrations; this edition includes 600 carefully selected illustrations ranging from archival images (e.g., a 1773 drawing of Phillis Wheatley from the Schomberg Center) to photographs of contemporary sports and entertainment figures (e.g., both Serena and Venus Williams). The new edition includes special features, often topical compilations of biographies. Biographies of 11 female entrepreneurs accompany the article on Beauty Culture, and Rock and Roll includes biographies of rhythm-and-blues singers. Sidebars highlight items of special interest, such as the text of a letter written by journalist and activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett (Antilynching Movement) and a biography of Union spy Elizabeth Bowser (Civil War). Biographical articles added to this edition include those for Halle Berry, Gail Devers, Alexis Herman, and Condoleezza Rice. Both new articles and those retained from the first edition have updated bibliographies, including books, articles, and Web sites. A chronology, a thematic outline of entries, a bibliography listing items published through 2004, and a directory of contributors complete the set. Some contributors are also subjects of articles (e.g., Marian Wright Edelman).The second edition of this landmark reference work is an essential purchase for academic, public, and high-school libraries, especially those with well-worn first editions. Because Black Women in America is such a valuable source and because the new edition does not include all of the entries in the first, libraries should retain the first edition, perhaps in the circulating collection. Christine Whittington
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Book Description
The seminal reference that shattered the silence about black women in America -- now fully updated and revised
About the Author
Darlene Clark Hine is the Board of Trustees Professor of African American Studies and Professor of History at Northwestern University. The numerous books and articles she has written and edited include A Shining Thread of Hope: The History of Black Women in America; Hine Sight: Black Women and the Re-Construction of American History; Eyes on the Prize, History of the Civil Rights Era, A Reader; Black Women in White: Racial Conflict and Cooperation in the Nursing Profession, 1890-1950; Black Victory: The Rise and Fall of the White Primary in Texas; and "Black Women's History, White Women's History: the Juncture of Race and Class." She is a past president of both the Organization of American Historians and the Southern Historical Association.
