Brown, Nadia E. Sisters in the Statehouse: Black Women and Legislative Decision Making (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), $32.99, 250 pp. ISBN: 978-0-199-35243-2 (cloth).

In Sisters in the Statehouse, Nadia E. Brown examines how identity and lived experience influence the decision-making processes of African American women state legislators. This book is path-breaking in so far as it blazes a trail for intersectionality-type research that focuses squarely upon the lives of African American women state legislators. Edith Barrett's landmark study on state legislative behavior demonstrated that African American female legislators were unique in their cohesiveness on prioritizing particular issues. In Sisters in the Statehouse, Brown is squarely focused on understanding how African American women state legislators make key legislative decisions and the contexts under which they behave similarly versus singularly. Sisters in the Statehouse could easily be adopted in courses on African American politics, state and local politics, Maryland state politics, Women and politics, and Black feminist politics. Other courses would include those that are cross-listed with African American studies, Women Studies, and/or Political Science.