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Stalking the Female Geographer
| Article
# : |
10527 |
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Section : |
BOOK WORLD
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| Issue
Date : |
2 / 1986 |
1,772 Words |
| Author
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Eloise Engle
Eloise Engle is a member of the Society of Woman Geographers
and author of The America I Love. |
WOMEN OF THE FOUR WINDS
The Adventures of Four of
America's First Women Explorers
Elizabeth Fagg Olds
Houghton Mifflin, 1985
318 pp., $17.95 (cloth), $8.95 (paper)
What may appear on the surface as yet another strident attack on male dominance by feminists, this book is an "everyperson's" story of courage, skill, kindness and determination to succeed--in spite of age, fashion, expected behavior, and the serious perils of exploring unknown regions. The four Victorian women selected by author Elizabeth Fagg Olds were explorers of serious intent. Their goal was to enlighten the world with scientific observations, and to contribute to the world's permanent store of knowledge.
They explored at the risk of life and limb, chronicled their observations, and in 1925 founded the Society of Woman Geographers, a group sharing a common goal of professionalism. Author Elizabeth Fagg Olds draws on her membership, association, and experience as international president of the Society of 500 members to bring intimate details and insight into the lives of the women she portrays. There is a rich lode from which to draw, of course…famous names past and present. The SWG flag flies only on "firsts," and has gone out 30 times in science and exploration. It flew with Amelia Earhart on her last flight. It went with Margaret Mead into Bali and New Guinea. Jackie Ronne took it with her to the Antarctic (the first woman explorer to stay the winter). It went with Mary Livingston Ripley to India and with Eugenie Clark
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