Oldenziel is to be applauded for the boldness of her approach, and she deserves special recognition for her use of a variety of sources to unravel the complex connections among class, race, and gender in the professionalization of engineers. She is especially convincing when she details the status and class anxieties that figured prominently among white male engineers as they sought professional distinction and identity. Such exaggeration of the few succeeded in ensuring that women's presence in the fields of science and technology would always seem unusual. But it is here that Oldenziel's work is much less satisfying and in need of more precision and clarity, much better editing, and the elimination of certain inpenetrable, jargon-laden phrases. Moreover, despite the repetition of key points, the separate chapters do not form a coherent whole.
Stylistic lapses compound the lack of clarity in certain chapters.
4 Jo Ann E. Argersinger Southern Illinois University Content in the History Cooperative database is intended for personal, noncommercial use only. You may not reproduce, publish, distribute, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, modify, create derivative works from, display, or in any way exploit the History Cooperative database in whole or in part without the written permission of the copyright holder.