"Ella Baker, one woman worth reading about. The cover photo alone is worth the price of the book. Ella Baker clutches her ballpoint pen, eyeglass case and big purse. She's wearing a blue wool coat, earbobs and Sunday school hat. It's a portrait of a lifelong activist."--The Atlanta Journal Constitution

"Splendid biography . . . A valuable contribution to the growing body of literature on the critical roles of women in civil rights."--The Washington Post Book World

"A warm, tender, and incisive portrait of an unheralded mover in this century's struggle for the rights of African Americans."--Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children's Defense Fund

"The definitive biography of Ella Baker, a force behind the civil rights movement and almost every social justice movement of this century."--Gloria Steinem

"Will be received with plaudits for its empathy, insightfulness, and gendered narration of an astonishingly neglected life that was pivotal in the pursuit of American justice and humanity."--David Levering Lewis, Pulitzer prize-winning author of W.E.B. DuBois