Women Scientists in America

Rossiter gives the foundation, on the basis of which it is possible for other scholars to ask and answer such questions. Nor does she discuss in her books, what feminism is and other theoretical questions. Her style of work is very meticulous and scholarly, as she digs up all the names and all the facts, and she is a very knowledgeable historian and a skilled and sophisticated statistician. Her last mentioned quality is of course of special value to us mathematicians.

Rossiter's extraordinarily detailed account offers compelling data alongside the multiple stories of individual women, both those thwarted by discrimination and those who emerged as outstanding success stories... This book should be read by skeptics who don't believe that there is persisting prejudice. It also provides inspiration and ideas for those who relish the stories of women who now deservedly do make history.

Rossiter has performed a herculean task, gathering and synthesizing an abundance of information into a narrative that shows both the positive developments that have taken place since 1972 and the many challenges that remain.

What we have here is a remarkable example of historian as detective... The attention Rossiter gives to identifying individuals and the details she provides about marriage, barriers,... underrecognition, disappointments, and—yes—real accomplishments and rewards breathe life into her frequently poignant account.

Highly readable and exquisitely informative. Rossiter's documentation of this gloomy chapter in the history of women striving to make a place for themselves in science serves as a pungent antidote for questions concerning the fairness of affirmative action.