I expected to be enlightened about the travails of women in academic life (and about the "kindness of strangers" in the mentoring system. But I didn't expect to be emotionally moved by the stories and the valiant spirit of the women behind them! This book offers a completely humanistic prescription to many of the ills which have, since time immemorial, infected higher education. I plan to buy a copy and give it to my department chairperson (if he reads it, he may at least learn how far short of the mark he and his colleagues are and what he might do to improve the situation at our school). Kudos to the writers of this book and to those who allowed their stories to be told.

Presented with passionate conviction and eloquent wisdom, these life-stories show that the Groves of Academe need not be the heartless and treacherous mind-fields that they often have been. There is another way, a better way. Spore et al. offer an alternative, person-centered vision that challenges us to understand that professionalism need not exclude compassion, that the quest for scholastic excellence does not preclude the need for enabling (and yes, ennobling) nurturing. Whether you are male or female, already involved in higher education or planning to be, this book is essential reading.