How do bad girls get away with it? How did Madonna, subject of public outcry for her controversial performances and her book Sex, become a superstar of pop culture and a role model for teenage girls? Why now, as star of Evita and a new mother, is she becoming a mainstream hero?

Karlene Faith says that Madonna signifies the times we live in. We are, in a sense, all responsible for who Madonna is. As fans, moral critics, media journalists, or university scholars, we mediate what she means to our society. And Madonna, as a shrewd career woman, has known how to exploit our...

A remarkable and compelling collection of true stories from women in prison, told in their own words. 13 Women conveys the personal accounts of women in prison, spanning three decades and taking place in Canada, the United States and Brazil. Most of the women in these pages, as is true for the majority of imprisoned women, were incarcerated for offences related to drugs and theft. Several were involved in violent incidents. Three of the contributors-Betty Krawczyk, Ann Hansen and Christine Lamont-did time for political activities that received international media attention. Karlene Faith's...