Yards and Gates : Gender in Harvard and Radcliffe History

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing.
Review: This book is actually a collection of very short essays and snippets from newspaper articles. There are opinions put forth but very little analysis that is grounded in theory. Furthermore, some of the essays, while offering interesting insights, also present their respective authors' mistaken understandings of some of the history of Harvard and Racliffe, and the mistakes undermine the articles' cogency. One also wonders how the editor went about selecting which essays/ remembrances to include and whether others were conveniently left out.

All in all, this book comes across as both cheap and weak intellectually. Too bad, as the editor had a fascinating topic to work with.