Ms. Mentor's Impeccable Advice for Women in Academia [Paperback]

All in all, this book is a curiously defensive, gutless approach to surviving academic life--not creative or provocative or even useful in terms of practical advice.

For example... out of 16 questions in the chapters on job searching, grad school, and conferences, I found three that had anything to do with being a woman. The three questions were (paraphrased): 1) "What should I wear to work/class/conferences?" 2) "The director of grad studies puts the course catalogue on his lap during course scheduling meetings, which makes it so students have to stare at his crotch. I don't WANT to stare at his crotch. What can I do about it?" and 3) "I am genetically obese, I have tried every get-thin-strategy including surgery, diets, insane exercise, etc. but nothing works. I am used to unpleasant comments from people who don't understand about weight setpoints and genetic predispositions to obesity, but I am worried about my academic career. My graduate advisor recently told me that if I can't suck it up and lose weight that I might as well drop out of grad school because it will be wasted on me. Is she right?"

These three questions were the kind of topics I expected the book to be comprised of, as they are at least applicable to issues of being a woman in academia. Unfortunately, questions of this type (that is, directly relevant to the title of the book) were a rarity, I found. I was disappointed, however, to find that her responses, while for the most part useful and comforting, was speckled with off-color jokes. One choice excerpt in response to the third question I described: "Claim you're on a slow, medically approved diet. They don't have to know that your four food groups are whatever you like best -- such as chili corn dogs, sour cream and onion potato chips, Godiva Chocolates, and Budweiser." Ok look, sister. Not everyone is fat because they eat like a hog. That really made me mad. It turns out the book is sort of speckled with jokes like that throughout, though they are usually at the expense of out-groups (men, men, and more men) so I didn't notice it at first.

So in summary, I think this book had a few tidbits of important information but I would not suggest buying it. I checked it out from the library yesterday and will probably return it tomorrow. It was funny, but a lot of the time I was laughing because I couldn't figure out why this question was in a book about academia and women. Example: "When I get nervous, I get gassy. I don't have tenure yet. What if I fart at a bad moment?"

I don't know... you might like it, it was entertaining, but I don't feel like I learned anything new or useful.