Legends2
Editors John & Kirsten Miller
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 New World Library
ISBN: 1577314395

Women Who Have Changed The World. Through the eyes of great women writers.

In this stunning collection of photos women writers pay tribute to 50 of the most influential women of our time:
Alice Walker & Alice Waters, Ann Landers & Barbara Jordan
Barbara Walters & Bessie Smith, Bianca Jagger & Bonnie Raitt
Candice Bergen & Carly Fiorina, Cate Blanchett & Cathy Freeman
Chrissie Hynde & Christiane Amanpour, Diane Arbus & Diane Keaton
Donna Karan & Dorothy Day, Eleanor Holmes Horton & Eva Hesse
Evelyn Cisneros & Faye Dunaway, Halle Berry & Hillary Clinton
Ingrid Betancourt & J. K. Rowling, Jamie Lee Curtis & Janis Joplin
Jessica Lange & Joan Didion, k. d. lang & Maria Callas
Mitsuko Uchida & Nicole Kidman, Nigella Lawson & Nora Ephron
Norah Jones & Patsy Cline, Queen Latifah & Raquel Welch
Rebecca Lobo & Selena, Terry Gross & Toni Morrison
Twyla Tharp & Zelda Fitzgerald, Venus & Serena Williams
Vera Wang & Zaha Hadid.

The writers are household names in their own rights, & not necessarily for writing essays:
Alexis de Veaux & Amy Fisher, Andrea Leand & Beth Randall
Myra Friedman & Claudia Dreyfuss, Dinitia Smith & Dodie Kazanjian
Catherine Vasquez-Revilla & Coretta Scott King, Maria Shriver & Molly Ivins
Deborah Gregory & Margalit Fox, Dorothy Summers & Elizabeth Brandt
Elizabeth Hardwick & Evelyn McDonnell, Gail Sheehy & Holly Brubach
Irene Middleman Thomas, Jennet Conant & Joan Juliet Buck
Katherine Tradd & Kelly Beamon, Leslie Bennetts & Linda Richards
Lynda Richardson & Lynn Hirschberg, Marian Burros & Marina Carroll
Mary Paulson & Melissande Clarke, Orna Feldman & Patricia Bosworth
Roseanne Cash & Sally Jenkins, Sarah Goldman & Sarah Kinsell
Sherry Ricchiardi, Stephanie Mansfield & Stephanie von Buchau
Susan Orlean, Susannah McCorkle & Joanne Kaufman.

The photos are in lush full-page duotone by such luminaries as Annie Leibowtiz, Matthew Rolston, Brigit LaCombe, & Michael Collopy.

I don't know who was all included in the original Legends, & I don't agree with all the selections in Legends2, nor why all the writers chose who they did, however, 90% of the women featured, I wholeheartedly endorse.

Legends2 deserves a place in everywoman's library, to be brought down & enjoyed whenever two or more women are gathered to remember their heroines.
(02/26/06)

Rebecca