A WellRead Woman, Kate Stewart
A WellRead Woman, Kate Stewart
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A Well-Read Woman
The Life, Loves, and Legacy of Ruth Rappaport

Author: Kate Stewart

Narrator: Christa Lewis

Unabridged: 10 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Published: 05/01/2019

Synopsis

The inspiring true story of an indomitable librarian’s journey from Nazi Germany to Seattle to Vietnam—all for the love of books.Growing up under Fascist censorship in Nazi Germany, Ruth Rappaport absorbed a forbidden community of ideas in banned books. After fleeing her home in Leipzig at fifteen and losing both parents to the Holocaust, Ruth drifted between vocations, relationships, and countries, searching for belonging and purpose. When she found her calling in librarianship, Ruth became not only a witness to history but an agent for change as well.Culled from decades of diaries, letters, and photographs, this epic true story reveals a driven woman who survived persecution, political unrest, and personal trauma through a love of books. It traces her activism from the Zionist movement to the Red Scare to bibliotherapy in Vietnam and finally to the Library of Congress, where Ruth made an indelible mark and found a home. Connecting it all, one constant thread: Ruth’s passion for the printed word, and the haven it provides—a haven that, as this singularly compelling biography proves, Ruth would spend her life making accessible to others. This wasn’t just a career for Ruth Rappaport. It was her purpose.

About Kate Stewart

Kate Stewart is a third-generation librarian, born and raised in the Midwest. She graduated from Vassar College with a bachelor of arts in history and from the University of Iowa with master’s degrees in history and library science. She has worked as a librarian and archivist for ProQuest, the Library of Congress, and the US Senate in Washington, DC. She is currently an archivist at the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson, Arizona. Learn more about Kate at www.kate-stewart.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Moonkiszt on June 24, 2019

A Well-Read Woman: The Life, Loves and Legacy of Ruth Rappaport This was a book by a person who poured every possible detail about the subject between the covers. I actually got rather weary, and mixed up at times, having to back track to make sure I was on the same train as the author was. From time......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on April 24, 2019

This book was a freebie through the Amazon First Reads program; I picked it from among the month's selections because although I had not previously heard of Ruth Rappaport, she sounded from the description like the type of woman I've come to admire, and I wasn't far off. Rappaport had a truly unusua......more

Goodreads review by Shelby on April 08, 2020

Not many people can say they have lived in several corners of the world. Enter librarian and activist Ruth Rappaport. Born in Leipzig, Germany, Ruth grew up in a Jewish community before moving to Switzerland and the U.S. as a teen, narrowly missing the Holocaust that murdered her parents. She then mo......more

Goodreads review by Kathy on May 11, 2019

oo many facts lined up, no heart.......more

Quotes

“Stewart is frank about Rappaport’s prickly personality…Those details, coupled with more admirable qualities like curiosity and drive, serve to make her an entertaining presence. A lively, chatty exploration of a life that veered in many intriguing directions.” —Kirkus Reviews“Stewart adeptly fleshes out the life and motivations of Rappaport…and succeeds in bringing to light a strong woman whose love of books helped inspire a life driven by purpose…Rappaport’s larger-than-life story will entrance readers.” —Library Journal“A wonderful, nuanced portrait of a singular woman whose life, though fraught with personal trauma, persecution, and political unrest, was grounded in an abiding love for books and reading and the solace they bring. An inspiring story told with genuine affection and respect.” —Booklist“If you’re a true bibliophile, you’ll enjoy the life story of Ruth Rappaport. It was her love of books that propelled her through life, from the restricted readings of Nazi Germany to the Library of Congress.” —Marie Claire“A Well-Read Woman: The Life, Loves and Legacy of Ruth Rappaport…is an enjoyable and sobering insight into the challenging and productive life of a twentieth-century librarian…[There] are evocative opportunities to better understand a compelling and complicated individual, and overall, A Well-Read Woman is an instructive read, illustrating the mesmerizing life of a truly unique individual.” —Jewish News“A highly readable and fully realized portrait of an outspoken and fiercely independent champion of intellectual freedom.” —Arizona Daily Star“A dazzling view into the life of a librarian who refused to walk the line.” —Tucson Weekly“With skill and sensitivity, Kate Stewart weaves this biography together with her own quest for information and insight…A Well-Read Woman is lively and chatty, entertaining, educational and well-researched, shedding light on the life of a little-known booklover who wanted to illuminate other people’s lives by making books accessible to them.” —Jewish Book Council

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