Brown (U. of Alberta) collects 22 essays by contributors who dare to be optimistic about women in the academy and to hope for the possibility of new 'waves' of feminism. Some describe the challenges and emotional costs of being feminists in the university, while others suggest that feminists are holding strong in faculties, research groups, journals, courtrooms, and boardrooms. Some specific topics explored include academic mothering, adventures of a female associate dean, Western feminism and the multicultural university, reviving Wollstonecraft for future feminists, and the United Alumnae Association and women's co-education at Toronto. The book has its origins in an October 2006 conference held at the University of Alberta. It is distributed in the US by Michigan State University Press. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)