Published: Jan. 03, 2011
Words: 107,379 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781458063694

Short description

African American Ph.D. student Maddie Hawkins loves science, but the world of academia is a minefield of sexism, racism and egoism. Blue-eyed graduate student John Pitts is a cocky genius, an individualist and a lady’s man; everything Maddie disapproves of. Yet the heart leads you where reason would forbid, "and when the fire of love is ablaze" it burns "to ashes the harvest of reason."

Extended description

Red sweatshirts, tailgate parties, Badger mania, beautiful lake Mendota, State Street, and lots of beer. Some people experienced the University of Wisconsin-Madison this way. Not African American Ph.D. student Maddie Hawkins; her experience is colored by a marathon of deadlines, endless lab hours, competition, neglect, and walking through ill-lit parking lots in the dead of night. Maddie enters the male-dominated field of Plant Breeding to find new genes for disease resistance and to vindicate a daring research hypothesis. She thinks graduate school is a level playing field. She thinks she has what it takes. She is naïve. The political world of academia is a minefield of sexism, racism and egoism.

During her three year hurdle-race to get her Ph.D. the disturbing presence of blue-eyed graduate student John Pitts provides the adrenaline. Like an irksome burr, he is everything she disapproves of: a cocky genius, an individualist and a total party animal. On the other hand Craig Berry.. (Read more) Red sweatshirts, tailgate parties, Badger mania, beautiful lake Mendota, State Street, and lots of beer. Some people experienced the University of Wisconsin-Madison this way. Not African American Ph.D. student Maddie Hawkins; her experience is colored by a marathon of deadlines, endless lab hours, competition, neglect, and walking through ill-lit parking lots in the dead of night. Maddie enters the male-dominated field of Plant Breeding to find new genes for disease resistance and to vindicate a daring research hypothesis. She thinks graduate school is a level playing field. She thinks she has what it takes. She is naïve. The political world of academia is a minefield of sexism, racism and egoism.

During her three year hurdle-race to get her Ph.D. the disturbing presence of blue-eyed graduate student John Pitts provides the adrenaline. Like an irksome burr, he is everything she disapproves of: a cocky genius, an individualist and a total party animal. On the other hand Craig Berry, the president of the Black Student Caucus, is a fine, righteous brother. The characters in their world are the professors, both the feudal and the enlightened; the grad students, messed up and die-hard, and “the system,” entrenched yet evolving.

The heart leads where reason would forbid. This face-off of race, class and even religion threatens a bitter harvest. But “when the fire of love is ablaze” it burns “to ashes The Harvest of Reason.”
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Tags

love, coming of age, african american, interracial romance, rape, womens fiction, racism, self esteem, genetic engineering, african women, science fiction romance, race relations, interracial marriage, sexism, inspirational romance, womens studies, abstinence, madison, bahai, chastity, book clubs, college life, agriculture, minorities, multicultural romance, reason, racial discrimination, harvest, affirmative action, interracial dating, women in science, race unity, racial boundaries, institutional racism, gender and race, university women, plant breeding, plant genetics, novelized science, scientific discovery, ethnic studies, badgermania, graduate school, equality of men and women, women professors, university of wisconsin madison, science and spirituality, race on campus

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Reviews

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Review by: Gregory Howard on June 28, 2011 :
Every so often a voice comes along that can interpret complex, discordant, and difficult human issues with literary talent and elegance. Rhea Harmsen is one of these. "The Harvest of Reason" is not her only work. she has many yet unpublished novels and poetry, to my knowledge. I've heard her deliver glimpses of such, at public addresses. Getting to read this novel lets me know that honest discourse about meaningful human issues is being elevated to fine art. Maya Angelou, God bless her lovely soul, has nothing on Rhea Harmsen. Keep the outstanding work coming, I for one will stand in line to buy it.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Mary Wylie on April 01, 2011 :
A real page-turner! With a soul, too! I will mention the one drawback first - I had trouble following the highly technical scientific background material. That was in the beginning. But as the story unfolds, and we meet Maddie's amazing parents and get to know all the characters better, I didn't want it to end! I am hoping there is a sequel. By the way, her beautiful, almost idyllic religion is not fictional - it really exists! But I won't give away her secret unless she does first. This is SO much more than a romance. It shows a real woman coping with racism and sexism, but not at all in a bitter way. Her heart is too big for that. Both John and Maddie were two of my favorite characters in a long time! This was a real treat! Thank you Rhea!!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

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