Women Writers in German-Speaking Countries: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook ed. by Elke P. Frederiksen and Elizabeth G. Ametsbichler (review)

erary achievement, leaving this task entirely to the critics and scholars whom he cites. This omission will prove a source ofdisappointment for readers looking for insight into the place ofJünger's literary output along the horizon of modern German literature. Neaman's most significant contribution is his treatment of Jünger's complex relations with the fringes of right-wing European intellectual circles. However, this approach leads him to relegateJünger's texts to the status of political allegories that serve to illustrate the ideological frontlines between Marxism , Conservatism, and Fascism at various moments in recent history. He neglects any thorough discussion ofcontemporary literary developments, referring to the other writers only in passing. Ofthe many contemporary writers who might have served as valuable points ofreference forJünger as an author, only Gottfried Benn and Heiner Müller receive any sustained attention in Neaman's book. Contemporaries such as Erich Maria Remarque, Bertolt Brecht, and Thomas Mann receive scant attention. The occasionally random sequence of topics and subheadings also presents hurdles to the reader, particularly those less familiar with Jünger's works. But despite the lack of clear transitions, the book adheres to a roughly chronological sequence in which several themes are repeated: Jünger's ambiguous place within both modernism and the conservative revolution of the Weimar era, the notion ofpost-histoire as a vehicle for approaching Jünger's politics, the consistency of Jünger's aloofaestheticism, and the facility with which various incongruous political movements have successfully appropriatedJünger's texts for their own competing aims. Neaman's book thus represents a valuable, if incomplete, contribution to futureJünger scholarship that models a balanced approach for the critical reception of this troubling figure. % Elke P. Frederiksen and Elizabeth G. Ametsbichler, eds. Women Writers in German-Speaking Countries:A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. 56lp. Carol Anne Costabile-Heming Southwest Missouri State University This bio-bibliographical reference work on women writers from German-speaking countries is the first of its kind in English. In almost 600 pages the volume presents essays on 54 women writers from the 10th century through the present, from Hrotsvit von Gandersheim, Hildegard von Bingen, Mechthild von Magdeburg, Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg, Anna Louise Karsch, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, Elisabeth Langgasser, to Irmtraud Morgner and Christa 116 * ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW * FALL 2001 Reviews Wolf, to name only some of the prominent women writers treated here. The entries were written by leading scholars in the fields of Germanistik and women's studies. Each essay is organized chronologically according to die author's last name or common pseudonym (e.g., Anna Seghers is located under "S"). All entries are carefully researched and written, and include information on the writer's biography , major themes and narrative or poetic strategies, and a survey of criticism. Completing each entry is a bibliography ofworks by the author, translations, and a listing ofsecondary sources and works cited in the entry. This volume's strength lies in its consistency; each essay is similar in style and tone, a tribute to the editorial expertise of Frederiksen and Ametsbichler. The scholars selected to contribute are also authorities on their respective authors: Sara Lennox on Ingeborg Bachmann, Ruth-Ellen B. Joeres on Hedwig Dohm and Marie Luise Kaschnitz, Ruth Dinesen on Nelly Sachs, to name just a few. As a research tool, the editors have included a variety of appendices and indexes that make the book accessible to a range ofusers from a multiplicity ofperspectives . Included is a list of the authors by date for quick chronological reference and a selected bibliography ofa variety of texts ranging from general reference works, theoretical and methodological discussions, critical anthologies, sociohistorical studies, as well as reference works on specific periods. Finally, three indices (name, subject, title) make cross-referencing and item searching a breeze. A drawback to this volume is its limited scope. Ofthe women writers treated, the majority is ofGerman or Austrian origin; exceptions include Rose Ausländer, Libuse Moníková, and Erica Pedretti. Currently, the study ofminority literatures in Germany is expanding, and there are a number ofAfro-German, Turkish-German , and Rumanian-German writers who have been omitted. The...