Profiles of Ohio Women, 1803–2003 by Jacqueline Jones Royster (review)

stereotypes or myths developed by outsiders about mountain people. Hsiung argues somewhat uniquely that Appalachian stereotypes originated in conflicts between town dwelling Appalachians and country folk, but that outsiders also exaggerated stories to an extreme. In other essays, we discover that there is no uniquely Appalachian music, folk customs, language or literature. Even bluegrass, log cabins and the words " plumb"and " right smart" are not particular to Appalachia! (148) In fact, these cultural analyses suggest that Appalachia, like every other place in America, was divided by social class and race, and had the added misfortune of being rich in natural resources that modernizing capitalists from outside the region exploited with vigor and abandonnot that they did not have allies within the region, as shown in the final essay by Ronald Ellen As a result, much that we perceive today as " Appalachian"proves to be a construction by outsiders created either to justify exploitation,especially in the industrial era, or to romanticize mountaineers, as in the 1960s. None of this is new, of course, but the authors of High Mountains Rising have written new versions of their work aimed at appealing to newcomers to the field of Appalachian life and history,and they have done so successfully. Altina Walley University of Connecticut Jacqueline Jones Royster. Profiles of Obio Women,18032003 . Athens: Ohio University Press, 2003. 264 pp. ISBN: 8021415085 ( cloth), $ 39.95. hio'shistoryincludesanarrayofintriguing females with complex and serendipitous stories oftentimes overlooked because of research and publishing constraints. This volume ,produced collaboratively es en Ohio Bicentennial Legacy Project, is an effort to spur interest and help correct that deficiency . Profiles of Obio Women is an attractive volume that well commemorates the state' s recent bicentennial and introduces the reader to the varied contributions of numerous, fascinating female Ohioans from the past two hundred years. The lovely forward from First Lady Hope Taft is paired with an inspiring dedication to " untold numbers of Ohio women," making this book a nice keepsake for future generations . ( vi) Pro/ iles ably meets its dual purpose to " showcase leadership statewide and to depict a range of achievements demonstrating the multiple pathways by which women, typically unsung heroines, have shared their visions,time,and talents, often against incredible odds. ( xi) The volume is organized into seventeen sections representing a broad range of achievements that include business and finance, communications, community service, education, exploration and adventure, health care, law and government, literature, military service, music, public service, religion, science and technology, social activism,sports and athletics,stage and screen performance, and the visual arts. Each section includes a very brief,generalized introduction to the topic. While the introductions are inspirational and well written, they have not been grounded in the historical literature of Ohio. Choosing two hundred women from the multitude who have contributed to Ohio's development could not have been simple. The book' s introducSPRING 2005 75 BOOK REVIEWS tion details the care that the collaborating agencics took to spread the entries over time, region, achievement category,race and ethnicity. Heavy reliance was placed on a grassroots effort to identify nominees. It is, however,disturbing that only 562 names resulted from public announcements requesting nominations from sixteen hundred organizations . Hopefully,the publication of Pro/ iles will spur Ohioans working in traditional history as well as public history to search for additional ways to disseminate information about the contributions of Ohio women. The archival collections are already preserved to support this effort, although there will always be more collecting to be done. But Ohio needs an increasing number of venues for the publication of the enticing stories in these collections. Each of the two hundred Ohioans chosen is profiled with a onepage biography that includes i picture, basic vital statistics, and county of residence. The easily readable biographies include information on date and place of birth, education, marriage, and contributions to society. Readers will find this is good volume to pick up for a series of brief, relaxing reads. Each biographical sketch has enough information to satisfy the casual reader and to spark questions in the more serious student of Ohio history. One always hopes that this will lead the reader to search for more information on...