The book is a descriptive, analytical, and highly personal narrative of the author's graduate experience at The Centre for International Education. Organized into two parts, the book reflects the process she underwent to develop the conceptual framework. This process was one of "praxis"-a dynamic interplay between reflection and action whereby she moved back and forth between reading the literature and working in the field.

In part one, Maguire documents her journey through the literature and her growing awareness of the need for feminist participatory research. The literature review begins with a description and comparison of participatory research with the more traditional, dominant social science research approaches. The collusion between participatory research and dominant social science research in marginalizing women and gender issues from research theory and practice is illustrated, and part one concludes with the design and development of a feminist participatory research framework. In part two, Maguire both describes and evaluates the field experience she undertook a feminist participatory research project with a small multicultural group of previously battered women in Gallup, New Mexico. Part two also includes an assessment of the feminist framework.

The purposes of the project were two-fold: a) to provide an opportunity for group members who had left the shelter to share and solve their every-day problems, and b) "to provide information to BFS [Battered Family Services] about the problems women faced after leaving the shelter and to assess a support group as one mechanism for dealing with those problems" (p. 222). Maguire's intention in describing the project is to share "the mechanics of 'what happened' and more importantly, many of the struggles, choices, dilemmas, and joys encountered along the way" (p. 134). Hence, to offer some practical know-how.

The book should appeal to a number of audiences. For researchers, adult educators, and feminists, the book provides an excellent teaching and learning aid, particularly for those who wish to foster critical thinking or who wish to know more about problems one can encounter during feminist participatory research. Readers can also use the book as a unique opportunity to clarify their internalized beliefs about the purposes and practices of research, including the ends to which it should be directed. Those working with abused women are offered potential insights into the issues that staff and community volunteers, including researchers and adult educators, might need to consider when assisting formerly battered women investigate social and personal realities and ultimately transform them. Readers struggling with their own transformation or empowerment process may "see" themselves in the pages of Maguire's book and find solace, helpful suggestions and insights.

Developing a doctoral thesis into a book manuscript with wide reader appeal seems no easy task. Patricia Maguire has done well. As I turned the final page of her book I was filled with a sense of respect and admiration for her intellectual capacities, her knowledge of the subject material, and her ability to convey understanding, compassion, and respect. It seems no surprise that Maguire's study received the 1986 Pergammon Women's Studies Association Award for "its innovative methodology and its contribution to women's studies" (p. xii).

Reta Owens is a research and training consultant living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She received her Master of Adult Education in 1986 from St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, N.S.