FOLLOWING IS A SAMPLE BOOK REVIEW. NOTE THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS:

1) IT ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS LISTED IN YOUR SYLLABUS
2) PARAGRAPH BREAKS ARE LOGICAL
3) SPECIFIC EXAMPLES ARE GIVEN
4) BRIEF DIRECT QUOTES ARE USED AND PROPERLY NOTATED
5) THE AUTHOR, NOT THE SUBJECT, IS ANALYZED
6) THE HEADING IS SINGLE SPACED; THE BODY IS DOUBLE-SPACED; BOOK TITLES ARE ITALICIZED
7) WITHOUT ANNOTATION THE REVIEW IS FOUR PAGES LONG

Notes in red are designed to help you understand the process of writing the review.

Z. I. VanSandt
HIST 1301/1302/2341
Current Semester

Anne M. Butler. Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Mercy: Prostitutes in the American West 1865-90.
Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1985. 155 pages with notes, bibliography, and index.

The first paragraph explains what the book is about and serves as an introduction.

Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Mercy brings to life the role of prostitutes in the development of the post-Civil War

far west. Butler writes about the complexity of life for women in the "wild west' and gives the reader a new

understanding of why women--voluntarily or by force--turned to this way of making money. In six concise

chapters, the author explains the circumstances that led women to become prostitutes, what their daily lives

were like, the complex relationships between prostitutes, and how they interacted with representatives of the

legal system and the ever-present military.

The second paragraph explains the author's thesis.

Butler's thesis is made clear in the preface of the book. She wants to rescue the subject of prostitution in the

far west from the romantic myths that surround it and present a realistic picture of western prostitutes. She

intends to go beyond the usual popular portrayal of women in this business as soiled doves or harlots with hearts

of gold and demonstrate that they were working women, just as seamstresses and shop keepers were working

women. She also explores how location affected a prostitute's life.

The third and fourth paragraphs provide specific examples of how the author supports her thesis.

One example of how Butler supports her thesis is found in the chapter titled "The Prostitutes." In this section

of the book, the author focuses on the economics and racial realities in the post-Civil War west. She compares

prostitution in San Antonio, Texas, and Laramie, Wyoming. In San Antonio, there were "three distinct groups of

prostitutes"--Anglos, Mexican-Americans, and African-Americans (4). While white women tended to fair better

economically than the other two groups, all three groups were characterized by destitution. In Laramie, on the

other hand, Anglo and African-American women were joined by Native-American and Chinese women. In

both towns, however, prostitution was closely tied to the presence of a large number of military personnel.

Another example that shows the realities of prostitutes' lives is found in the chapter titled "Lives without

Comfort." Butler makes it clear that for the vast majority of women in the profession, there was little luxury and a

great deal of disease, violence, and early death. The women used earnings to pay rent to a landlord or

madam, pay legal fines, or support an addiction. Drug abuse and suicide plagued the population.

"Suicide emerged as the most commonly employed means to retire from prostitution" (68).

The next two paragraphs explain the author's source materials and give specific examples.

Butler traveled 8,000 miles while researching prostitutes in the far west and uses many primary sources not

heretofore accessed. She relies heavily on primary sources, but also utilizes secondary source material. At the

end of each chapter is an annotated notes section. An example of her use of primary source material is found

in the chapter titled "Legal Entanglements". Butler uses court cases to demonstrate the different

circumstances leading to a prostitute's appearance in court. For example, court cases from various states in

the west indicate that prostitutes, "like other citizens, appeared in civil cases as either plaintiffs or

defendants"(104). Litigation covered everything from tax evasion to theft to acts of self-defense.

An example of secondary source material is also found in "Legal Entanglements." She refers to several

historians' work from the past forty years, such as James W. Hurst's 1967 book Laws and the Conditions of

Freedom in the Nineteenth Century United States. In the notes section following the chapter, Butler provides

some detail about Hurst's work and how it is useful to her own research. The primary and secondary sources

support her goal of showing the reality of life for a prostitute in the far west.

The following paragraph tells why this book is easy to read and provides a specific example.

Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Mercy is easy to read and understand. The women's stories are interesting and

the structure of the book lets the reader gain a broad understanding of what day-to-day life was like for

prostitutes. Photographs are reproduced to provide a useful visual aid. Butler's language is sophisticated but

not obtuse, as illustrated in the following quote: "Perhaps the major contribution of madams in established

houses came from their ability to regulate the economy and reduce the competition for the women within the

house" (43).

The following paragraph explains an issue the reader would like for the author to have covered.

One topic that was not addressed to my satisfaction was the impact of feminist historiography on a study of

prostitution. This could be partly due to the fact that Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Mercy was published more

than twenty years ago, when feminist history was still in its infancy. What would a feminist interpretation of this

same material render? Perhaps there would be more information and discussion of the responsibility of the

media in perpetuating the myths. Or perhaps prostitution could be discussed within the context of patriarchal

oppression of lower socio-economic status women.

The following paragraph compares the book to the class textbook, with specific reference to the textbook.

<FOR HIST 1301> The textbook Of the People does not specifically discuss prositution, but there is

a discussion of social and moral reform in chapter 12.

<FOR HIST 1302> The textbook Of the People discusses prostitution within the context of late Victorian sexual mores.

It is mentioned again in the chapter covering World War I. A military draft law sought to protect inductees from exposure to ladies of the

night.

<FOR HIST 2341> Through Women's Eyes discusses prostitution in the context of westward

expansion (both pre- and post-Civil War) and the late 19th century immigrant boom. The emphasis is similar to

that of Daughters, emphasizing the exploitative realities of the work and the difficulties experienced by women

who found themselves plying this trade.

The following paragraph answers the question about recommending the book and serves as a conclusion.

I would recommend this book to other students and teachers. It is informative and accessible, and speaks to

an often taboo subject. It appeals to many interests--women's issues, western frontier development,

Americana, economics, etc. Anne Butler does a great job in presenting the fruits of her extensive research in

an engaging manner.