Written by Herself: Volume 2: Women's Memoirs From Britain, Africa, Asia and the United States

WBH is a fascinating selection of 20th century women's autobiographies. Any collection pointing readers toward Vera Brittain's exquisite "Testament of Youth" is worthwhile, but there's much to admire here. It's confined to Anglophone countries, and literacy itself ensures a self-selecting sample of exceptional women. But within these limits there is wide variety, making it valuable for womens' studies, sociology and world history. Indian memoirs by Alexander, Mazumdar and Pandit form an especially coherent section on the nationalist movement there, as do the South Africans to a lesser extent. Many chapters highlight the crucial role of education in broadening horizons and opening doors, while offering insight on fundamental aspects of relations between women and men. More detail on authors and their countries is needed, and readers will miss the diversity of the originals, but Conway did well to include lengthy excerpts instead of mere snippets maximizing the number of contributors. (The title evokes "The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano," an early African narrative.)