This collection of 20 papers from a 2012 Deaf History International conference is dominated by contributions from community historians and members of the Deaf community and centered on stories told about deaf people by deaf people, thus serving more as a recording than a critical examination of the past.  Coverage extends from the late 17th to the late 20th century.  Deafhood, the process of becoming a culturally Deaf person, emerges as the major theme unifying the anthology as contributors explore biography as a means of understanding the historical processes behind the formation of a cultural Deaf identity and community networks, the exercise of agency by deaf people, and historic barriers to self-actualization.  The collection opens with essays from author Ulla Bell-Thorin and scholar Harry Lang exploring the process of writing biographies.  Nineteen essays organized in five sections delve into individual biographies, collective biographies of closely linked individuals, art as a means of relating biographies, and contemporary challenges in preserving and accessing deaf history.  The collection, dominated by North American and European authors, lacks contributions from the Global South.  Valuable for contributions from community historians as a springboard to thinking about critical questions.  Institutions with Deaf studies, interpreting, or disability studies programs or offering American Sign Language classes should have a copy.  Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries.

--O. Robinson, College of the Holy Cross

Octavian Robinson

College of the Holy Cross

http://dx.doi.org/10.5860/CHOICE.189314