Book excerpt: Women, Sainthood, and Power explores the life stories of an international gallery of female saints from the wide-angle lens of several intellectual disciplines and the close-up view afforded by keenly observed fine points of character. Oliva M. Espín combines multidisciplinary scholarly research with a novelist’s eye for detail to create vivid portraits of saints in their times and places. Using her own memories, Espín argues that there are lessons to learn today from the lives of these exceptional women. This book is recommended for scholars and students of psychology, religious studies, gender and women’s studies, history, cultural studies, and ethnic studies.