From reviews of the first edition: "This intriguing study of women's role in household, town, and regional economic activity is a very revealing and important contribution to the growing literature on women and social change in Latin America... Scholars and undergraduates interested in the Indians of Mesoamerica, and, more generally, in the changing relations of men and women everywhere, will welcome this book." -Choice "Ehlers clearly shows the differential impact of capital penetration on women's survival strategies by social class, showing how options for some are limited, for others expanded, but changed for all. Silent Looms would be ... an important book to include in courses on women in Latin America, women in development, and feminist methodologies." -Association for Women in Development Newsletter "Ehlers weaves a lively tale as colourful as the huipiles worn by the women she studies. She embroiders the small details that bring to life a whole town of women and children." -Latin American Research Review