Random House, Inc.
June 2010
On Sale: June 1, 2010
311 pages ISBN: 0307387097 EAN: 9780307387097 Kindle: B002MHOCTO Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List
From two of our most fiercely moral voices, a passionate
call to arms against our era's most pervasive human rights
violation: the oppression of women and girls in the
developing world. With Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D.
Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as our guides, we undertake an
odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet the extraordinary
women struggling there, among them a Cambodian teenager sold
into sex slavery and an Ethiopian woman who suffered
devastating injuries in childbirth. Drawing on the breadth
of their combined reporting experience, Kristof and WuDunn
depict our world with anger, sadness, clarity, and,
ultimately, hope. They show how a little help can transform
the lives of women and girls abroad. That Cambodian girl
eventually escaped from her brothel and, with assistance
from an aid group, built a thriving retail business that
supports her family. The Ethiopian woman had her injuries
repaired and in time became a surgeon. A Zimbabwean mother
of five, counseled to return to school, earned her doctorate
and became an expert on AIDS. Through these stories, Kristof
and WuDunn help us see that the key to economic progress
lies in unleashing women's potential. They make clear how so
many people have helped to do just that, and how we can each
do our part. Throughout much of the world, the greatest
unexploited economic resource is the female half of the
population. Countries such as China have prospered precisely
because they emancipated women and brought them into the
formal economy. Unleashing that process globally is not only
the right thing to do; it's also the best strategy for
fighting poverty. Deeply felt, pragmatic, and inspirational,
Half the Sky is essential reading for every global citizen.