Whatever It Takes: Women on Women's Sport
A companion to A Whole Other Ball Game, in which Sandoz collected women's short fiction on women's sports, this book collects women's essays (and some poetry) on the same subject. The authors of the 56 pieces include Diane Ackerman, Annie Dillard, Grace Butcher, Mariah Burton Nelson, Maxine Kumin, and Jewelle Gomez. Although the book covers the expected wide range of athletics, the writing is so superb that it does not feel as if the pieces were selected just to be representative. Standout essays include Teresa Leo's self-deprecating "Seconds," about her high-school decision to leave her dead-end Pennsylvania mining town, and Megan McNamer's "Longing and Bliss," about the importance of basketball in her life despite its being a boys-only sport in her youth. The few short historical pieces included seem pale by comparison. More suited to public libraries, this book could also be added to women's studies collections in academic libraries. Highly recommended.AKathryn Ruffle, Coll. of New Caledonia Lib., Prince George, BCCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.