Breaking the Chains: The Crusade of Dorothea Lynde Dix - Softcover

Penny Colman is an award-winning author of books, essays, and articles. Her books include Rosie the Riveter: Women Working on the Home Front in World War II and Adventurous Women: Eight True Stories About Women Who Made a Difference. Her book, Corpses, Coffins and Crypts: A History of Burial was named a ?Best of the Best Books for the 21st Century? by the American Library Association. She has appeared on television and radio. Colman is a Distinguished Lecturer, Queens College, The City University of New York. www.pennycolman.com

Grade 9-12-- This biography is an important addition to existing literature on Dix, a champion of social reform for the : treatment of the mentally ill. It is particularly suited to the high school level as many extant works are either dated stylistically or are too young. Colman does an excellent job of citing primary sources, with many of the passages from her subject's own writings. In addition, pertinent economic, political, and social material is included, allowing readers to appreciate better the obstacles Dix overcame in her crusade. With its black-and-white photographs and reproductions and a list of further reading, this is a preferable purchase to Schlaifer and Freeman's recent Heart's Work: Civil War Heroine and Champion of the Mentally Ill, Dorothea Lynde Dix (Paragon House, 1991), which is neither well written nor well researched. By contrast, Colman's is a must purchase in the field of women's studies. --Kathleen L. Atwood, Pomfret School, CT
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