Choice 评论
Barbara Holmes, trained as both lawyer and scholar of religion (Memphis Theological Seminary), devotes this book to the ethical vision and legal views of Barbara Jordan. Jordan burst onto the national scene as a member of the US House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee, which considered the impeachment of President Nixon in 1974. Her stirring oratory in defense of the Constitution brought her immediate public attention. Jordan was an African American from Texas, raised in a religious environment, who integrated not only political bodies but also the fields of education, law, ethics, and public policy. Holmes traces the development of Jordan's thought, giving special attention to her moral principles and abiding faith in the law. She regards Jordan as a "liminal" figure, standing as a large African American woman between a variety of "cultures," never completely confined by any one of them. While clearly deeply admiring of Jordan, Holmes does not spare her criticism, especially Jordan's undue optimism about what adherence to American jurisprudence can bring to those who have been the victims of legal discrimination. The book is an excellent short introduction to the thought of a remarkable American. All readership levels; academic, public, and school libraries. F. G. Kirkpatrick; Trinity College (CT)