Synopses & Reviews
Emma Goldman is the story of a modern radical who took seriously the idea that inner liberation is the first business of social revolution. Her politics, from beginning to end, was based on resistance to that which thwarted the free development of the inner self. The right to stay alive in oneand#8217;s senses, to enjoy freedom of thought and speech, to reject the arbitrary use of powerand#8212;these were key demands in the many public protest movements she helped mount.
Anarchist par excellence, Goldman is one of the memorable political figures of our time, not because of her gift for theory or analysis or even strategy, but because some extraordinary force of life in her burned, without rest or respite, on behalf of human integrityand#8212;and she was able to make the thousands of people who, for decades on end, flocked to her lectures, feel intimately connected to the pain inherent in the abuse of that integrity. To hear Emma describe, in language as magnetic as it was illuminating, what the boot felt like on the neck, was to experience the mythic quality of organized oppression. As the women and men in her audience listened to her, the homeliness of their own small lives became invested with a sense of drama that acted as a catalyst for the wild, vagrant hope that things need not always be as they were. All you had to do, she promised, was resist. In time, she herself would become a world-famous symbol for the spirit of resistance to the power of institutional authority over the lone individual.
In Emma Goldman, Vivian Gornick draws a surpassingly intimate and insightful portrait of a woman of heroic proportions whose performance on the stage of history did what Tolstoy said a work of art should do: it made people love life more.
Review
and#8220;Gornickand#8217;s portrayal of Goldman captures Goldmanand#8217;s psychological makeup in a profound, empathetic, and eloquent way.and#8221;and#8212;Alice Wexler, author of Emma Goldman:andnbsp;Anandnbsp;Intimate Life
Review
"Vivian Gornick brings Emma Goldman to life, evokes her spirit in all its ambition and anguish, and explains why today's reader should care about her rebelliousness and audacity. Gornick makes clear that, ideology aside, Goldman's will to take her life in her hands, her striving to reconcile the stirrings of the personal soul with the social imperative, are an inspiration."and#8212;Todd Gitlin, author of The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage
Review
"A vivid snapshot of Gilded Age liberal activism.... Gornick lucidly presents her subjectand#8217;s significance within a fascinating historical moment."and#8212;Kirkus Reviews
Review
"With wit and insight, Gornick urges readers to feel what Goldman felt, to ponder what made her kick against conditions that her contemporaries meekly accepted, and to ask whether things are so different today."and#8212;Publishers Weekly
Review
"[An] elegant portrait."—Russell Baker, New York Review of Books Russell Baker
Review
and#8220;Vivian Gornick has a gripping new entry in Yaleand#8217;s Jewish Lives series...She has breathed new life into one of the liveliest figures of modern historyand#8212;not a rebel without a cause but a rebel with many causes.and#8221;and#8212;David Shribman, Boston Globe
Review
"An intense, engrossing essay written with an allusive, sinuous style."and#8212;Fred Siegel, Wall Street Journal
Review
"A ferocious, high-strung and enlightening biography . . . This slender volume, out from Yale University Press as part of their Jewish Lives series, can now be counted among the indispensable guides to Goldman's life."and#8212;Virginia Hefferman, Moment
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"Gornick offers a surprisingly nuanced account of Goldman's political dilemmas . . . What's truly haunting is the way Gornick shows us a woman ahead of her timesand#8212;maybe even ahead of our times."and#8212;Bettina Berch, Jewish Book Council
Review
"Arresting . . . Gornick sees Goldman's lifelong commitment to anarchism as doing 'what Tolstoy said a work of art should do: It made people love life more'; this generous book does the same."and#8212;New Yorker
Review
"[T]his compact biography packs a lot of punch for its size."—Judy Maltz, Haaretz New Yorker
Review
Finalist for the 2011 National Jewish Book Award in the Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir category, as given by the Jewish Book Council.
Review
"[L]ean and searching . . . Gornicks subdued prose is a welcome foil to what she rightly calls Goldmans “high-flown rhetoric,” and her biography is a fine primer into 'the despair and the excitement of revolt'—for the budding anarchist, the seasoned activist, and the armchair occupier alike."—Anne Gray Fischer, Ploughshares National Jewish Book Award - Jewish Book Council
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Honorable Mentionand#160;in the Biography/Autobiography category at the Los Angeles Book Festival.
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Won Honorable Mention for the 2011-2012 Los Angeles Book Festival in the Biography/Autobiography category Book of the Year Bronze Winner - ForeWord Magazine
Review
"[An] elegant portrait."and#8212;Russelland#160;Baker, New Yorkand#160;Review of Books
Review
Honorable Mentionand#160;in the Biography/Autobiography category at the Los Angeles Book Festival.
Review
Finalist for the 2012 Book of the Year in the Biography category, as awarded by ForeWord Magazine.
Review
and#8220;[A] fascinating biographyand#8230;Gornick weaves it together in an accessible and engaging wayand#8230;a timely and valuable contribution.and#8221;and#8212;Jennifer Lipman, Jewish Chronicle
Review
and#8220;Emma Goldmanand#8217;s life is a biographerand#8217;s dream, with walk-on parts for many of the great figures of 20th-century history, from Lenin to Freud, and an astounding trajectory from poverty in Lithuania to Americaand#8217;s most famous anarchist.and#8221;and#8212;The Sunday Telegraph
Review
and#8220;Cathleen Millerand#8217;s Champion of Choice is a rigorous yet eloquent account of Dr. Sadikand#8217;s inspirational career, and a beautiful and long-awaited tribute to one of the greatest womenand#8217;s advocates of the twentieth century. The issues to which Dr. Sadik has so passionately dedicated her life are becoming only more salient as our global community strives to protect both our people and our planet, and Dr. Sadik will certainly remain an invaluable and unequaled leader in this field for years to come.and#8221;and#8212;Ted Turner, UN Foundation Founder and Chairman and Founder of CNN
Review
and#8220;Dr. Sadikand#8217;s invaluable contribution to improving maternal and child health deserves the gratitude of millions of people around the world.and#8221;and#8212;Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
Review
and#8220;Nafis Sadik is a great leader, one of the worldand#8217;s most powerful women.and#8221;and#8212;Carolyn Maloney, U.S. congresswoman
Review
andquot;Nafis Sadik is a woman who set out to andquot;change the worldandquot;andmdash;and in many ways she did just that.andquot;andmdash;Diane Brandley, New York Journal of Books
Review
"Extensively researched, Miller's engrossing biography illuminates Sadik's formidable passion. . . .and#160;An indefatigable supporter, tenacious crusader, and powerful proponent of womenand#8217;s autonomy, Sadik is a hero for all ages and genders."and#8212;Carol Haggas, Booklist starred review
Review
"The truly valuable biographies bring to our attention people whose exemplary lives have somehow escaped public notice. Dr. Nafis Sadik is this sort of person, and
Champion of Choice is this kind of book."and#8212;Nick Taylor, On the Page
Synopsis
A vibrant, deeply human portrait of a woman dedicated to fierce protest against the tyranny of institutions over individuals, by the celebrated author
Synopsis
A vibrant, deeply human portrait of a woman dedicated to fierce protest against the tyranny of institutions over individuals, by the celebrated author
Emma Goldman is the story of a modern radical who took seriously the idea that inner liberation is the first business of social revolution. Her politics, from beginning to end, was based on resistance to that which thwarted the free development of the inner self. The right to stay alive in one's senses, to enjoy freedom of thought and speech, to reject the arbitrary use of power--these were key demands in the many public protest movements she helped mount.
Anarchist par excellence, Goldman is one of the memorable political figures of our time, not because of her gift for theory or analysis or even strategy, but because some extraordinary force of life in her burned, without rest or respite, on behalf of human integrity--and she was able to make the thousands of people who, for decades on end, flocked to her lectures, feel intimately connected to the pain inherent in the abuse of that integrity. To hear Emma describe, in language as magnetic as it was illuminating, what the boot felt like on the neck, was to experience the mythic quality of organized oppression. As the women and men in her audience listened to her, the homeliness of their own small lives became invested with a sense of drama that acted as a catalyst for the wild, vagrant hope that things need not always be as they were. All you had to do, she promised, was resist. In time, she herself would become a world-famous symbol for the spirit of resistance to the power of institutional authority over the lone individual.
In Emma Goldman, Vivian Gornick draws a surpassingly intimate and insightful portrait of a woman of heroic proportions whose performance on the stage of history did what Tolstoy said a work of art should do: it made people love life more.
Synopsis
Not many women can claim to have changed history, but Nafis Sadik set that goal in her youth, and change the world she did.
Champion of Choice tells the remarkable story of how Sadik, born into a prominent Indian family in 1929, came to be the worldand#8217;s foremost advocate for womenand#8217;s health and reproductive rights, the first female director of a United Nations agency, and and#8220;one of the most powerful women in the worldand#8221; (
London Times).
An obstetrician, wife, mother,and#160;and devout Muslim, Sadik has been a courageous and tireless advocate for women, insisting on discussing the difficult issues that impact their lives: education, contraception, abortion, as well as rape and other forms of violence. After Sadik joined the fledgling UN Population Fund in 1971, her groundbreaking strategy for providing females with education and the tools to control their own fertility has dramatically influenced the global birthrate. This book is the first to examine Sadikand#8217;s contribution to history and the unconventional methods she has employed to go head-to-head with world leaders to improve millions of womenand#8217;s lives.
Interspersed between the chapters recounting Sadikand#8217;s life are vignettes of females around the globe who represent her campaign against domestic abuse, child marriage, genital mutilation, and other human rights violations. With its insights into the political, religious, and domestic battles that have dominated womenand#8217;s destinies, Sadikand#8217;s life story is as inspirational as it is dramatic.
About the Author
Cathleen Miller circled the globe to interview the sources for this book. Her previous work includes the international bestseller Desert Flower, a tale of female genital mutilation that has been translated into fifty-five languages and adapted as a feature film. Millerand#8217;s travel essays have appeared in numerous publications including the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. She teaches creative writing at San Josand#233; State University.