Reviews by Sharon L. Shervington

Oprah, a Biography
Written by Kitty Kelley

For subjects that are still alive, biographies are a kind of first draft of history. And Oprah Winfrey, who represents an updated, 21st-Century female version of the Captains of Industry of yore, is in a class by herself. The impact of her still unfolding legacy as an actress, film producer, philanthropist, and, of course, talk show host, remains unsurpassed.

This unauthorized biography is worth the $30 for its sheer depth of reportage; both fans and anyone who wants to understand the cultural transformation in America over the past 40 years will want to take a look. As with any larger-than-life figure, Ms. Winfrey has her detractors, and perhaps the author, particularly in the account of the star’s early life, relies a little too heavily on those with an axe to grind, especially her Aunt Katharine.

The author cannot be faulted in the sheer scope of sources, among them over two thousand interviews Ms. Winfrey has given over the years, although she declined to be interviewed by Ms. Kelley.

It is in the area of analysis that the book sometimes falls short, particularly in identifying her as one of the richest black women in America. The fact is that, with no caveats, she is one of the richest women in the world, and perhaps the only one to have earned her fortune entirely on her own. Ms. Winfrey has profoundly changed the media landscape, in terms of the stories that have been told on her show, her philanthropy, her work in film – including Beloved, her advocacy of books, and her ability to deeply and positively impact the bottom line of many, many companies through her “Stuff I Love.” Undoubtedly she has many more surprises waiting in the wings.

This is a juicy, fun read that offers many hours of pleasure.
Crown Publishers, 525 pages, $30

The World Has Changed: Conversations
with Alice Walker

In putting together this lucid collection, Mr. Byrd, of Emory University, where Ms. Walker’s papers are housed, worked closely with her. There are many gorgeous photographs, a chronology of her life and a wonderful 35-page introduction by Mr. Byrd, in which he discusses many aspects of her history, from her loss of vision in one eye as a child, and her earliest international travel, to the interracial marriage that was against the law at the time.

A self described “daughter of the rural peasantry,” Ms.Walker has nonetheless played a vital role in the lettered life of the country, and ultimately the world, beginning in 1963 when she attended Sarah Lawrence as a transfer student from Spelman College. This book of interviews has many household names from Isabel Allende to Paula Giddings to Howard Zinn to Amy Goodman, each one bringing a personal sensibility to better illuminate the jewel of Ms. Walker’s art. Lesser-known interviewers such as Jean Shinoda Bolen, the psychoanalyst and author, and Margo Jefferson, the first African American woman to be a book reviewer at The New York Times, also are included.

We get a close look at the author’s writing process, her feelings about God and the world as well as her advocacy work in civil rights. Ultimately this is a book about how the world has changed, and is changing. In her own words, Ms. Walker says, “People need a book that is political but that is at the same time infused with spirituality.” Once again, she delivers that.

Edited with an Introduction by Rudolph P. Byrd,
The New Press, $25.95, 340 pages.

My Name is Mary Sutter
Written by Robin Oliveira

Set mostly in Albany, and in and around the years leading up and through the Civil War, this is the story of a daughter of generations of midwives. A twin, and the most gifted in her family, Mary suffers because she is not beautiful, and, more importantly, because she wants to become a surgeon more than anything in the world. This was a time when only a tiny handful of women had been able to become physicians — and even nurses — and Mary is ridiculed at every turn.

It is her aggressive pursuit of this dream that is the heart of the story, deftly set against a backdrop of competition between the sisters, a grittily realistic portrayal of the war and its repulsive gore, and tightly written pictures of surgery. Almost against their will she wins admirers enthralled by her determination, talent, and hard work, who open the doors for her that allow her to fulfill her dream. The author also convincingly and delicately renders the family relationships between Mary and her mother, twin and brother through some happy times, but more dark ones.

Viking, 364 pages, $26.95