HARRIET CHALMERS ADAMS

That Harriet Chalmers Adams's extraordinary life is worthy of a biography is certain, but little of her life comes through in this confusing entry in the Notable Americans series. Anema dates Harriet's fascination with travel to a trip on horseback with her father exploring California's mountains when she was only two. Harriet was hooked, and would spend the rest of her life traveling all over the globe, then writing and lecturing about her experiences. In 1899 she met and married Frank Adams, and they began a lifelong journey that would take them to places few US citizens had seen. Harriet was only the third woman to become a member of the Royal Geographic Society of London, but that never compensated for the American National Geographic Society's refusal to grant her full membership. Frustrated, Harriet founded the Society of Woman Geographers. Place names come up constantly, but no sense of place emerges; the dangers Adams faced don't seem real, and the maps aren't helpful. Expressions are used throughout that many readers won't understand (e.g., ``The group left their horses at a rubber camp''), while quotes from Adams's writings, which appear frequently, are usually out of context, e.g., ``Life is triste,'' but readers never find out why. (b&w photos, maps, bibliography, index) (Biography. 10-14)