"When I was a third grader my mother, who was a teacher, and my father, who was the principal of the school, had a concern for adults in the community who were illiterate. My mother taught those adults at home, evenings. Sometimes she would check on something being cooked or whatever, and she would leave me to listen to these adults’ lessons as they read. I was a good reader, and I was able then to correct them in their reading. I was seven. That was my beginning interest, I suppose, in teaching, but it was also something else, a healthy respect for the fact that a lot of people had not had the chance to go to school. – Elizabeth Duncan Koontz, from 'Particular Passions: Talks with Women Who Shaped Our Times', by Lynn Gilbert.
PARTICULAR PASSIONS recounts the rich oral histories of pioneering women of the twentieth century from the arts and sciences, athletics and law, mathematics and politics.We share their journeys as they pursue successful paths with intelligence and determination, changing the world for the millions of women and men who were inspired by them.
These stories will captivate, educate, and inspire you.