At first glance, this book appears disjointed and unusually broad. A careful reading, however, reveals the vast nature of the subject the editors astutely attempt to cover: the transnational dynamics of a variety of issues impacting on women's rights and concurrently being impacted by women's activism.

The book is divided into three sections. In Part I, Mary Marx Ferree, Aili Mari Tripp, and Peg Snyder address the multifaceted directions of the meaning and practice of transnational feminism. This section captures the essence of the complex and difficult conceptual and practical developments in the field where human rights, social movements, development studies, and other topics interact. Ferree explains how transnational opportunity structure affects women's activism locally. Snyder sees the United Nations as a “godmother” in its role as the initiator of local activism. She argues that the UN involvement changed it as an institution, and humbly leaves out her own unique and invaluable role as the founding director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Many activist women in the developing world who have made major positive changes in their communities praise Snyder for her insight and dedication long before these issues became academically and commercially popular. Her analysis is imbued with deep experiential understanding of the history and process of women and development issues. She deservingly credits the women of developing countries for broadening and enriching the definition and practice of feminism. She also recognizes that women in the United States separate their interests from women worldwide and remain aloof from courage and determination, which colors the activism of the South. This point is echoed in Tripp's piece, which identifies several causes, including the growing complacency in the North, strengthening of conservative political forces, demise of the labor movement, and reduction in the numbers of activist women holding political position. Global networks are increasingly being initiated and led by women of the South. Due to the expansion of the Internet and other global communication networks, regional and international networking has increased. While the goals and priorities are decided in the South, the funding comes from the North.

In Part II, the readers are presented with three completely unrelated cases, all rich in data and analysis. Yakin Erturk looks at the competing forces in the unique case of Turkey where all dichotomized boundaries of Islamism and secularism, traditional and modern, democratic and authoritarian, are present and interact. She acknowledges contradictions associated with the market economy where women have opportunities but their bodies have turned into commodities. The tone is correctly cautious, as she is aware of contradictory outcomes for women. Sarah Swider's interesting piece shows us a new model of organizing by the most unlikely group, domestic workers in Hong Kong. Hilkka Pietila explains gender mainstreaming in Finland and the role of the women's movement, with useful lessons to be learned. Aida Bagic's ethnographic analysis of donor-recipient encounters in post-Yugoslav women's organizations is a must-read. As an insider with firsthand information and impressive interviews, this author presents an objective analysis of the sentiments of women activists toward outside aid givers. It makes for a fascinating read on development issues in a war-torn land, donor arrogance, agenda formation, transparency, and articulation of needs.

In Part III, we see three forms of transnational activism. “African Women's Networks and the African Union” by Melinda Adams shows the positive impact of regional networks as they go beyond state boundaries. Dorothy E. McBride and Amy G. Mazur map feminist mobilization through transnational networks in Western Europe. Ferree and Tetyana Pudrovska look at feminist nongovernmental organizations on the Web in English. In the conclusion, Nira Yuval-Davis acknowledges impressive achievements in women's rights but is understandably concerned about the increasing hegemony of neoliberalism.

One of the strengths of this edited volume is that any one article and section can be used, independent of others, as a classroom assignment. The book has good potential for use as a text and can be accompanied by other readings to cover many of its points. This work succeeds in showing the complexity of the interaction of global forces with feminist movements and agendas and changes over time. It is full of insight and ideas from activists and scholars who have pondered the problematics of the emerging system.

In conclusion, one point needs special attention. The photograph on the cover of the book shows a Muslim woman with a headcover. The caption reads “Iraqi Expatriates Vote.” Increasingly, American academic publications, even those that do not deal with either Muslims or women, place pictures of women with a veil or some form of headcovering on the covers of their publications. This trend, which existed before, accelerated after 9/11. In countries as diverse as Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey, just to name a few, the headcover has been a contentious issue. Women who fought against the veil were ostracized, imprisoned, beaten, maimed, attacked by acid, and killed for their beliefs. Male and female activists have insisted that headcovering should be neither decreed by government nor forced by clergy and society, and that it must be treated as a personal choice for individual women. This choice includes different styles and forms pertinent to the cultural and local contexts.

When a book on global feminism and human rights carries one photograph and that of a woman with a headcover, what does it intend to convey? That even those with headcovering are seeking their rights in the globalized world? This is nothing new to those who knew the histories of Islamic countries that the West is trying to discover under an umbrella of show, sensationalism, and marketability. The editors and publishers of Global Feminism would do justice to its contents by either removing this picture or adding many other faces and diverse features from the global world they describe, including those from the rich heritage of countries with predominantly Muslim populations.