Rating: 
Summary: "Not even a nun on the cover?" Puh-leeze!
Review: "A Reader" complains that the cover depicts a "sister" rather than a nun on the cover, adding: "What a blunder!" Clearly "Reader" him- or herself needs to read a little harder. The book's introduction says: "I use the terms 'nun,' 'sister,' 'consecrated woman' and 'religious' interchangeably, although there are differences according to Church canonical law." (For the layperson, "nuns," strictly speaking, are members of religious orders, usually monastic, whereas "sisters" are members of religious congregations, generally working among the people.) It would be nice if the authors of such comments would take the trouble to look at the text as well as the cover, before rushing onto the Web to show us all how clever they are.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful book fills a gap
Review: +JXPMs. Kuhns--a convert--wrote this book as an act of love for the Church and our women religious. Her work answers questions that have long lingered in the minds of Catholics and non-Catholics alike: Where did the nun's habit come from? Why did the nuns throw their habits away? Both questions are respectfully answered. I was very happy to see a clothing list included, also. Ms. Kuhns is not a mystic trying to explain the heavenly side of the habit. I cannot understand what else the other reviewers were wanting. However, if she had included more mystical information, and photos with details of the habits, culled from fresh research, then I imagine I would have given the book a five star review. However, out of charity and encouragement, I give her three stars. The book definitely fills a gap, and the information needed in today's world. In this age of air conditioning, why should long habits be discarded? Even some austere Capuchin nuns in the American southwest have air conditioning in their dorm and chapel. I can understand lighter fabrics for the missions, but in this world of hard-molded plastic, some of the starched items could have been replaced with something requiring less maintenance. Many communities have summer and winter habits. As everyone is beginning to learn, religious orders who have retained a modest habit, are faithful to the Holy Father, have community prayer, and areas of cloister in their convents are blessed with the lion's share of the vocations. Traditionalist orders are bursting at the seams. Unfortunately, our "undercover sisters" do not want to wake up and smell the incense. They continue on their path of modern day fashions, which in our opinion, are not modest enough. "The Habit"--well worth the price in hardback--is a wonderful addition to the bookshelf, sitting alongside Elenor Tong Dehey's monumental "Religious Orders of Women in the United States," and Fr. McCarthy's synoptic "Guide to the Catholic Sisterhoods in the United States," both of which have been reprinted. Gemma, Lay Passionist
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book fills a gap
Review: +JXP Ms. Kuhns--a convert--wrote this book as an act of love for the Church and our women religious. Her work answers questions that have long lingered in the minds of Catholics and non-Catholics alike: Where did the nun's habit come from? Why did the nuns throw their habits away? Both questions are respectfully answered. I was very happy to see a clothing list included, also. Ms. Kuhns is not a mystic trying to explain the heavenly side of the habit. I cannot understand what else the other reviewers were wanting. However, if she had included more mystical information, and photos with details of the habits, culled from fresh research, then I imagine I would have given the book a five star review. However, out of charity and encouragement, I give her three stars. The book definitely fills a gap, and the information needed in today's world. In this age of air conditioning, why should long habits be discarded? Even some austere Capuchin nuns in the American southwest have air conditioning in their dorm and chapel. I can understand lighter fabrics for the missions, but in this world of hard-molded plastic, some of the starched items could have been replaced with something requiring less maintenance. Many communities have summer and winter habits. As everyone is beginning to learn, religious orders who have retained a modest habit, are faithful to the Holy Father, have community prayer, and areas of cloister in their convents are blessed with the lion's share of the vocations. Traditionalist orders are bursting at the seams. Unfortunately, our "undercover sisters" do not want to wake up and smell the incense. They continue on their path of modern day fashions, which in our opinion, are not modest enough. "The Habit"--well worth the price in hardback--is a wonderful addition to the bookshelf, sitting alongside Elenor Tong Dehey's monumental "Religious Orders of Women in the United States," and Fr. McCarthy's synoptic "Guide to the Catholic Sisterhoods in the United States," both of which have been reprinted. Gemma, Lay Passionist
Rating:
Summary: Needed better pictures and detail
Review: After a long wait for this book and seeing the price shoot up to over $50 on eBay for advanced copies. I was not impressed when I finally purchased my copy. Its a very nice book for those who are just learning about the history of the Sisters. For someone who has other books on the nuns and are searching for something new and fresh they wont find it in this book, many of the pictures can be found in other books about nuns that I already have. I was sorry there were not more detailed pictures of the pendents and crosses the nuns wore that identified the order they belonged to, and the lack of attention to detail. I was eager to learn about details the clothing and customs, and did not find in this book. It would of been nice to have the Sisters who wore the habit share personal stories about the garb while they are still around to do so.
Rating: 
Summary: A very good introduction to the history of the habit.
Review: And not only a history of the habit, but a history of women in religious communities through the centuries. There is a great deal of information in the book, even though it seems to be meant as only an introduction. Both sides of the issue regarding the wearing of the habit today are presented. It is interesting to me that those communities that wear some sort of habit are the communities that are most likely to draw interested women. And yet, those women who belong to communities that don't wear a habit of any kind seem so dead-set against the wearing of a habit. Also, the book's illustrations are quite nice. The photos are a history in and of themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Packed with information and great photographs!
Review: Definitely worth getting. There's a treasure of information, and one can learn a lot. A must for every Catholic's bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: Not as up to date or comprehensive as I wished
Review: If you are interested in the historical clothing and traditions of Catholic religious women, this book is certainly worth having, and the author does a better job of getting things right than some reviewers are willing to admit. (One reviewer chides that the woman on the cover is not a nun but a 'sister', but if she had read the forward, she'd know that the author DID discuss the distinctions while explaining that she would, for the purposes of narrative, use the terms 'nun' and 'sister' interchangably...which is perfectly alright to do, btw.)
I have two issues with the book which kept me from really enjoying it. The first is that while she discusses those modern and rapidly growing religious orders (such as the Sisters of Life, the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, the Kentucky Dominicans, the cloistered sisters at the Abbey of Regina Laudis, etc) which have retained or re-introduced a more traditional habit to their order, she does not enhance her narrative with visuals. One would appreciate seeing what these new young nuns LOOK like, as doubtless, they're not still in multi-pleated architectural headpieces and heavy woolen skirts. A few images would have made the whole exercise feel more 'up to date'. And it would be good to see a few modern religious in their more casual wear, too.
The second quibble I have is that the author - good and devoted as she is - makes some statements that are much too broad and sweeping to be excused, as in "all mail was censored, and the nuns would even have to ask permission to use a piece of thread".
Well, no. While some orders did censor mail - most of them did not, and it would be very interesting to find out which orders did and didn't. I would be willing to bet that those orders that did censor mail have also died out, while orders like Benedictines and Dominicans, which did not censor, did not listen in at private conversations and did not treat their members like idiot children, are still existant and flourishing. And while some very over-controlling or pinch-penny order might have quibbled about a length of thread, most nuns had their own sewing boxes and those personal items such as they needed in order to live life with some dignity! As to the REASON why a sisters and nuns so frequently needed to ask permission to do those things which we modern/civilian women would not think twice of, the system was not so iniquitious as it seems. This communication was what would keep supervisors apprised of the state of the community, of its holdings, its supplies, its mindset, etc. In a community of busy women, each with her own responsibilities, only in such a way could a supervisor such as an abbess, prioress or reverend mother keep good track of her 'flock', still interact with them on a daily and 'usual' basis, and still have a good sense of where they were at and what they each needed. It is, in fact, wiser than it first seems.
These are minor quibbles, as I said, but they detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I am hopeful that the author will write a SECOND book of nuns, a compilation of those orders (like those mentioned above and so many more) who are growing rather than dying, who are celebrating their conspicuous consecration rather than shrinking from it and who seem to be vibrant and happy women. The world needs to hear about them, I think.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing, poorly written material. Pass it by.
Review: Sad to say, the definitive history of the clothing of religious women has yet to be published in the English language. Kuhns' book purports to tell the history of the nuns' habit - why they wore those odd uncomfortable looking clothes, and what those component parts meant. She has cobbled together a synopsis of costume history from the middle ages onward - which information is available elsewhere in more enlightening format. Unfortunately for the reader, Kuhns' prose is dry as toast, totally lacking in interesting anecdotes, and poorly edited. There are a number of typographical errors throughout the book (couldn't she afford an editor?), and in one case, one of the photos in the appendix is miscaptioned with the name of the wrong religious order. For those of us who have a strong interest in the material, you will not find anything new or compelling presented here. The book is "padded" with several chapters on the history of religious women's foundations, which material is best presented in Joann Kay McNamara's book "Sisters in Arms." The informed reader may safely skip this section entirely. The book is illustrated with some vintage photographs, many of them courtesy of Fr. Eugene McCarthy, whose own series of books, "Guide to the Catholic Sisterhoods in the United States," published between 1952 and 1964, are considered the "fashion bibles" of pre-Vatican II nuns' habits. (These photos were originally commissioned by Gonzaga University beginning in the 1940s and later appropriated by said Fr. McCarthy - apparently, the clergy have no compunction about not assigning credit when due.) Serious scholars should pass this work by completely, and opt instead for the hefty, expensive Italian-language tome "La Sostanza dell' Effimero", published by the Daughters of St. Paul in Rome but obtainable through their bookstores throughout the United States on special order.
Rating:
Summary: A Pastiche of Other's Work
Review: Save your money on this one. From an average introduction, things went steadily downhill. If there was any original research in this book, it could not be found. Pictures were dated and can be found elsewhere in several other sources. All were all full body shots with little or no detail. Perhaps strangest was the Glossary of Church Terms, few if any were used in the body of the text. What that had to do with the main topic is still a mystery. About the only redeeming feature is it is an example of "pastiche."
Rating:
Summary: that's not even a nun on the cover
Review: The habit depicted on the cover of this book is that of a Daughter of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, before 1964. They do not identify themselves as nuns, since they do not take perpetual vows. They are "sisters." What a blunder!
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