Jane Addams was the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Now Citizen , Louise W. Knight's masterful biography, reveals Addams's early development as a political activist and social philosopher.  In this book we observe a powerful mind grappling with the radical ideas of her age, most notably the ever-changing meanings of democracy.  Citizen covers the first half of Addams's life, from 1860 to 1899. Knight recounts how Addams, a child of a wealthy family in rural northern Illinois, longed for a life of larger purpose. She broadened her horizons through education, reading, and travel, and, after receiving an inheritance upon her father's death, moved to Chicago in 1889 to co-found Hull House, the city's first settlement house. Citizen shows vividly what the settlement house actually was--a neighborhood center for education and social gatherings--and describes how Addams learned of the abject working conditions in American factories, the unchecked power wielded by employers, the impact of corrupt local politics on city services, and the intolerable limits placed on women by their lack of voting rights. These experiences, Knight makes clear, transformed Addams. Always a believer in democracy as an abstraction, Addams came to understand that this national ideal was also a life philosophy and a mandate for civic activism by all.  As her story unfolds, Knight astutely captures the enigmatic Addams's compassionate personality as well as her flawed human side. Written in a strong narrative voice, Citizen is an insightful portrait of the formative years of a great American leader. "Knight's decision to focus on Addams's early years is a stroke of genius. We know a great deal about Jane Addams the public figure. We know relatively little about how she made the transition from the 19th century to the 20th. In Knight's book, Jane Addams comes to life. . . . Citizen is written neither to make money nor to gain academic tenure; it is a gift, meant to enlighten and improve. Jane Addams would have understood."--Alan Wolfe, New York Times Book Review   "My only complaint about the book is that there wasn't more of it. . . .  Knight honors Addams as an American original."--Kathleen Dalton, Chicago Tribune  Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Drawing upon resources in Chicago and other U.S. depositories, as well as Addams's own writings, Knight offers a narrative of this crusading woman's life to 1899 (she died in 1935). By tracing the development of the political and social philosophy of this estimable advocate for children, immigrants, the poor, and peace, Knight intends to show how this rural Illinois woman from comfortable circumstances was "born to one life and chose another and how she was transformed by that choice." For the scholar, she uncovers no new primary sources and makes no surprising statements, but she does show that Addams admirably advanced an agenda for social improvement while also desiring and needing the acclaim that this accorded. Buttressed by notes and 45 illustrations, Knight's impressive study acknowledges recent academic interest in Addams, noting contributions such as Jean Bethke Elshtain's Jane Addams and the Dream of American Democracy and Victoria Brown's The Education of Jane Addams. Recommended for general readers as a review of one of America's greatest social reformers, although Elshtain's work would serve equally well.-Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Library of Congress (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

For independent scholar Knight, Jane Addams "was born in one life and chose another," which transformed her fundamental outlook and hence her influence. One of the book's strengths is its care not to read "late" Addams back into "early" Addams. Knight stresses experiences, associates, and thoughtful reflection as key forces in Addams's remarkable development, a process largely accomplished by 1899. Though defensible, that terminus is not entirely satisfactory for general readers; the author must scramble in her last chapters to connect the dots after the century's turn. Nor does Knight really explain why Addams's contemporaries found her so important. The author assumes a fair grounding in the histories of women, labor, and class; do not look here for the textures of late-19th-century everyday life. This is primarily intellectual history--modestly done, lucidly written. In addition to full scholarly apparatus, Knight includes photos and, as afterword, a helpful discussion of academic thinking about Addams. Most tellingly, Knight makes one want to read (or reread with new eyes) Addams's writing. This fine book ought to be an undebated purchase by academic libraries with US history holdings. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. A. Graebner formerly, College of St. Catherine From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

List of Illustrations	p. x
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Part I The Given Life, 1860-88	p. 7
Chapter 1 Self-Reliance, 1822-60	p. 9
Chapter 2 Three Mothers, 1860-73	p. 34
Chapter 3 Dreams, 1873-77	p. 56
Chapter 4 Ambition, 1877-81	p. 80
Chapter 5 Failure, 1881-83	p. 109
Chapter 6 Culture, 1883-86	p. 130
Chapter 7 Crisis, 1886-88	p. 158
Part II The Chosen Life, 1889-99	p. 177
Chapter 8 Chicago, 1889	p. 179
Chapter 9 Halsted Street, 1889-91	p. 199
Chapter 10 Fellowship, 1892	p. 229
Chapter 11 Baptism, 1893	p. 260
Chapter 12 Cooperation, 1893-94	p. 282
Chapter 13 Claims, 1894	p. 306
Chapter 14 Justice, 1895	p. 334
Chapter 15 Democracy, 1896-98	p. 363
Chapter 16 Ethics, 1898-99	p. 384
Afterword: Scholarship and Jane Addams	p. 405
List of Abbreviations	p. 413
Notes	p. 417
Bibliography	p. 523
Index	p. 565

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.