Pioneering Women in Plant Pathology

"I loved reading this book. As a graduate student in the 1960's, I heard stories about the exploits of women who commanded attention at meetings and proved their hypotheses with clearly stated facts. These stories gave me the courage to report my work and this book will be an inspiration to women and men who continue the search for scientific knowledge."
– Sandra L. Anagnostakis, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT, USA, Published in Inoculum

" [...] amply illustrated with black-and-white photographs and diagrams. One will find it a pleasure to read about the accomplishments of all these brilliant scientists. Highly recommended."
– CHOICE (Current Reviews for Academic Libraries)

"These chapters describe the lives and accomplishments of the early women plant pathologists in a way that is both moving and scholarly. The unifying theme is that our foremothers in this field loved their science so well that they persisted and succeeded in the face of considerable explicit prejudice. Their stories remind us that we are fortunate to work freely on the subject that fascinates us. Moreover, readers may be surprised to learn how many bricks in the foundation of plant pathology were laid by these persistent women."
– Caitilyn Allen, Professor of Plant Pathology and Affiliate Professor of Women's Studies, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"This fascinating book contains chapters on 26 women plant pathologists starting with Mary Banning who worked on the fungi of Maryland between the 1860's and the 1890's. A few of the subjects, born in the early years of the last century, are still alive in their 80s and 90s, a testament to the benefits of plant pathology. Each chapter has been written by one or more authors with a particular knowledge of the scientist in question and in several cases, the authors were, or still are, personally acquainted with their subject. I can recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of our subject and particularly to my fellow female plant pathologists."
– Plant Pathology

"Pioneering breakthroughs by these women are truly amazing [...] a factual basis for informing students of "the full history of our science."
– IMPnet News

"..many chapters tell of major achievements by remarkable people [...] an appropriate one for university libraries and institutes concerned with microbiology, and for plant pathologists with historical interests."
– Microbiology Today

"It is recommended that this book be on the shelves of every plant pathology department library, not only to show the valuable contributions made by these scientists, but also to show the courage and dedication of these pioneering women in the face of the prejudices of those times. It is most interesting to read, and gives one a very good indication of what these plant pathologists have contributed to this field."
– The Canadian Field-Naturalist

"Reading Pioneering Women in Plant Pathology brings you into contact with a host of fascinating fellow scientists across barriers of both time and geography – we've known some of their names, but we've had very little idea of the lives and career paths of most of the female plant pathologists who have gone before us. I especially enjoyed making the acquaintance of some of the ladies whose life's work helped me directly, such as Anna Jenkins, who had the (incredible) patience to study the spot anthracnose pathogen of dogwoods, and Cynthia Westcott, whose indomitable spirit and successful career long ago convinced Cornell's Department of Plant Pathology that women could be pathologists of ornamental plants.

If you feel the need to learn from every book you read, you won't be disappointed in this volume: as you read the biographies of these pioneering pathologists you'll learn from their discoveries while you marvel at their dedication."
– Margery Daughtrey, Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, and Editor-in-Chief, APS PRESS

"This book pays a meritorious tribute to those tireless and eminent women who contributed or are still greatly contributing to the science of plant pathology in America and in Europe."
– Nematologia Mediterranea