BOOKS IN BRIEF

BOOKS IN BRIEF

Stealing Democracy: The New Politics of Voter Suppression, by Spencer Overton (W.W. Norton, $24.95). The author, a member of the Jimmy Carter/James Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform, spells out the true state of American democracy ("far from ideal"), details how both major political parties manipulate election regulations and offers solutions to correct the problems.

Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs: Black Women, Food, & Power, by Psyche A. Williams-Forson (University of North Carolina Press, $55, $19.95 paperback). Using a wide range of sources, from humor to commercial advertisements, art, cookbooks, literature and firsthand interviews, the author, an assistant professor of American studies at the University of Maryland at College Park, demonstrates how Black women from slavery to present times have "shaped their own economic and cultural lives" raising, cooking, selling and communing over chicken.

The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam, by Ayaan Hirsi AIi (Free Press, $19.95). Born in Somalia and raised Muslim, the author fled to the Netherlands to escape an arranged marriage. In this collection of essays, the former member of Dutch Parliament and outspoken critic of her religion's oppressive treatment of women distills how the West should address the divide with Islamic nations, describes how to build bridges between Muslim immigrants and their adopted countries and calls for a defense of the rights of Muslim women.

New News Out of Africa: Uncovering Africa's Renaissance, by Charlayne Hunter-Gault (Oxford University Press, $23). The author goes beyond the requisite bad news that is generally reported about Africa. Blending her own experience covering the continent with her reporting on South Africa, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Angola, she debunks myths and highlights economic, health and political accomplishments.

Copyright Crisis Publishing Company, Incorporated Jul/Aug 2006
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