The Greatest Gift

Starred review from December 3, 2007
Very few religious believers are called upon to give their lives for their faith, but those individuals are often remarkably inspiring. Contemporary martyr Sister Dorothy Stang (1940–2005) was no exception. She lived a rich and full life and laid down that life for her friends. Her story is captured beautifully by British journalist Le Breton, author of Voices of the Amazon
. Eighteen years after entering a convent for the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Dorothy was granted her desire to serve the poor as a missionary in Brazil. Her somewhat naïve imagination about missionary life was quickly transformed by the harsh realities of the dire poverty she witnessed. During the almost 40 years she served in Brazil, Sr. Dorothy fell in love with the people and the country, and courageously aided in the struggle of poor farmers for land rights against logging and development companies. The story is heartbreaking and Le Breton's prose is gripping throughout, as she weaves in several personal narratives from Dorothy's family and close friends. These lend a gentle warmth to an account that is at times harrowing and cruel. This story deserves to be read.

February 15, 2008
American-born Catholic missionary nun Dorothy Stang spent 30 years serving the poor in lawless areas of the Amazon rain forest, fighting for their basic human rights amid the fraud and corruption of Brazil's land wars. She established schools, taught sustainable farming, and lived as poorly as the people"her people," she called themshe so loved. When she testified at a government panel investigating illegal incursions into protected areas, Sister Dorothy began receiving death threats from angry loggers, wealthy landowners, and others. Her 2005 assassination on an Amazon road by hired gunmen sparked a worldwide outcry. British author and lecturer Le Breton ("Trapped: Modern-Day Slavery in the Brazilian Amazon") is an environmental activist who has spent many years in Brazil and who, with her husband, runs a rainforest research center there. Through compelling writing and interviews with those who knew Sister Dorothy, she here outlines the saga of this courageous modern martyr. While Roseanne Murphy's "Martyr of the Amazon: The Life of Sister Dorothy Stang" appeared late last year, Le Breton's work focuses on the social and environmental aspects of her subject's ultimate sacrifice. Recommended for all collections and deserving of a wide readership.Anna M. Donnelly, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2008
Environmental activist and social justice advocate Sister Dorothy Stang made numerous enemies during her 40 years in Brazil. Refusing to be confined to a traditional missionary role, she moved to Anupe, a small village at the edge of the Amazon rain forest, and began a relentless crusade against large-scale ranchers, ruthless land developers, and logging interests. Her twofold goal of protecting the rain forest while fostering the independence of the subsistence farmers was both a political and an economic threat to government and big business. Although she received frequent death threats, she vocally continued her dual campaign until she was ruthlessly assassinated. An inspirational chronicle of a woman who refused to buckle under pressure and continued to fight the good fight against tremendous odds.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)