No Mountain High Enough

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY FEB 2, 1997

While African American women who have risen to the top in entertainment and sports have received widespread acclaim, their counterparts in other fields have been less well recognized. California educator and activist Ehrhart-Morrison here profiles 32 women who have succeeded in fields as varied as architecture, medicine and diplomacy. Rather than presenting capsule biographies, however, she uses a far more effective thematic approach, considering such elements as family, education, racism and sexism, career strategies, balancing domestic and professional lives and spirituality. Among the contributors are Norma Sklarek, architect; Pat Cowings, NASA scientist; Susan Taylor, editor-in-chief of Essence magazine; Cynthia Perry, former ambassador to Sierra Leone and Burundi. These women, the author points out, are exceptionally talented and tenacious. If a certain element of didacticism runs throughout this revealing book, it never becomes obtrusive. Photos.