Helen Kerwin’s engaging and informative article elucidates the recent social and political history of Nicaragua. But she accomplishes more than this single task. She also contributes to the history and theory of women and revolution. Ms. Kerwin demonstrates the ironies of “revolutionary war” in addition to further exposing the uncertainty in the very notion of female liberation: should a project of liberation free women from the strictures of their traditional roles, or free them to fill those roles more successfully? Her work showcases the ability of historical writing not only to educate about the past but to provoke thought about the present and the future. –Austin Scheller