This is NOT a book review, although it is related to my earlier book review of Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations. This website is a collection of primary source materials--pictures, letters, etc.--from and about Gertrude. She is definitely one of my heroines, right up there with Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt. They were so brave in ways I wish I was. Here's the review from Choice (authored by S. Kowtko from Spokane CC) which pretty much says it all: "The Gertrude Bell Project is a representative example of the future of Internet research and primary source access. The University of Newcastle upon Tyne Robinson Library worked for four years to complete the transcription of manuscripts and recatalog and digitize photographs to make this resource available to the general public through a basic, user-friendly Web site. The goal was not to analyze and interpret the masses of documents left by Gertrude Bell, but to make a full digital collection available to those who could use these sources for their own academic pursuits. As a female traveler at the turn of the century who did not stick to standard patterns of Western travel, Gertrude Bell's life and experience offer researchers a unique look through Western eyes at the world, especially the Middle East. With over 1,600 letters to her parents, 16 diaries, 7,000 photographs, and other miscellaneous items, this archive is a rich resource quickly becoming fully digitally available. The layout of the home page consists of a short introduction to Gertrude Bell and her life, as well as links to the collection itself. At the bottom of the page, there are links to a help page, the photos, the diaries, and the letter collection. The help page is an especially useful and rather detailed introduction to the storage, layout, and presentation of the archival material. The search option is also basic, but useful if users have an idea of the subjects they are looking for in the documents..."
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