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History vs Women: The Defiant Lives that They Don't Want You to Know
Rebels, rulers, scientists, artists, warriors and villains
Women are, and have always been, all these things and more.
Looking through the ages and across the globe, Anita Sarkeesian, founder of Feminist Frequency, along with Ebony Adams PHD, have reclaimed the stories of twenty-five remarkable women who dared to defy history and change the world around them. From Mongolian princesses to Chinese pirates, Native American ballerinas to Egyptian scientists, Japanese novelists to British Prime Ministers, History vs Women will reframe the history that you thought you knew.
Featuring beautiful full-color illustrations of each woman and a bold graphic design, this standout nonfiction title is the perfect read for teens (or adults!) who want the true stories of phenomenal women from around the world and insight into how their lives and accomplishments impacted both their societies and our own.
Women are, and have always been, all these things and more.
Looking through the ages and across the globe, Anita Sarkeesian, founder of Feminist Frequency, along with Ebony Adams PHD, have reclaimed the stories of twenty-five remarkable women who dared to defy history and change the world around them. From Mongolian princesses to Chinese pirates, Native American ballerinas to Egyptian scientists, Japanese novelists to British Prime Ministers, History vs Women will reframe the history that you thought you knew.
Featuring beautiful full-color illustrations of each woman and a bold graphic design, this standout nonfiction title is the perfect read for teens (or adults!) who want the true stories of phenomenal women from around the world and insight into how their lives and accomplishments impacted both their societies and our own.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published October 2, 2018
30 people are currently reading
2756 people want to read
About the author
Anita Sarkeesian
4 books110 followersAnita Sarkeesian is an award-winning media critic and the creator and executive director of Feminist Frequency, an educational nonprofit that explores the representations of women in pop culture narratives.Best known as the creator and host of Feminist Frequency’s highly influential series Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, Anita lectures at universities, conferences and game development studios around the world. Anita dreams of owning a life-size replica of Buffy’s scythe. She is the coauthor of History vs Women.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
September 1, 2023
2023 EDIT: Part of my 2023 clear-up, of books I no longer like, or am no longer interested in, or remember well as standing out, or find as special anymore, or I otherwise will not miss.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
Another exceptional book about forgotten and erased women in history to come out recently. Most needed and appreciated.
I especially loved learning about the Sikh hero Mai Bhago; the 19th-20th century transgender brothel madam Lucy Hicks Anderson; Mother of the Children and education and Al-Qarawiyin Fatima al-Fihri; the 18th century Qing Dynasty poet and astronomer Wang Zhenyi; the black human computer to help launch men into space Annie Easley; the ruthless and terrible Spanish queen Isabel I; the Cantonese pirate queen and the most successful pirate of all time Ching Shih; the "Godmother" and American mobster and drug queen Griselda Blanco; early 20th century filmmaker Lois Weber; African-American artist Elizabeth Catlett; the unmatched badass 13th century Mongolian princess Khutulun; the oh-hell-yes 17th century Potosi vigilante partners and lovers Ana de Urinza and Eustaquia de Sonza; early 20th century undefeated wrestler and bodybuilder Kati Sandwina (a real life Wonder Woman); and the baseball player Jackie Mitchell, who struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Of course she was discredited for it and called a fraud because she was a girl.
Yes, the 'Relentless Amazons' section is a damn exciting, inspirational and liberating read.
To hell with what is considered "feminine" and "masculine". Admire (or just pay attention to) a woman's actions and words, not her looks.
Films need to be made about these historical heroines, scholars, leaders, giantesses and villainesses. Seriously, get on with it now, Hollywood, or preferable anyone else. No excuses.
Featuring very nice sketched portraits to go with the abridged versions of their stories, and some brilliant quotes and feminist commentary, 'History vs Women: The Defiant Lives that They Don't Want You to Know' comes recommended by me. It can be read in one cosy afternoon. Huge props for the recommendation of Jason Porath's 'Rejected Princesses' in the acknowledgements as well!
The authors admit in the afterword that they wanted to include more amazing women in 'History vs Women', and be as diverse as possible, which wasn't easy due to deadlines and the scant research they could find on these complex women's lives, not just their achievements. So maybe there will be a volume 2, if this book is successful enough. I hope it will be.
Everybody, girls, boys, young, old, anyone and anyone outside of the binary, should be reading books like this, for the sake of the human race.
You can learn so much about women if you only listen to them and pay attention. We'd be nothing without them; without their "rebelling" and fight to be seen as equals to men. No one can keep any girl down. They're people, not to be placed in any box. Not to be limited and made small and submissive by men.
History and liberation for women across generations! Progress, freedom and respect for women!
Final Score: 5/5
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
Another exceptional book about forgotten and erased women in history to come out recently. Most needed and appreciated.
I especially loved learning about the Sikh hero Mai Bhago; the 19th-20th century transgender brothel madam Lucy Hicks Anderson; Mother of the Children and education and Al-Qarawiyin Fatima al-Fihri; the 18th century Qing Dynasty poet and astronomer Wang Zhenyi; the black human computer to help launch men into space Annie Easley; the ruthless and terrible Spanish queen Isabel I; the Cantonese pirate queen and the most successful pirate of all time Ching Shih; the "Godmother" and American mobster and drug queen Griselda Blanco; early 20th century filmmaker Lois Weber; African-American artist Elizabeth Catlett; the unmatched badass 13th century Mongolian princess Khutulun; the oh-hell-yes 17th century Potosi vigilante partners and lovers Ana de Urinza and Eustaquia de Sonza; early 20th century undefeated wrestler and bodybuilder Kati Sandwina (a real life Wonder Woman); and the baseball player Jackie Mitchell, who struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Of course she was discredited for it and called a fraud because she was a girl.
Yes, the 'Relentless Amazons' section is a damn exciting, inspirational and liberating read.
To hell with what is considered "feminine" and "masculine". Admire (or just pay attention to) a woman's actions and words, not her looks.
Films need to be made about these historical heroines, scholars, leaders, giantesses and villainesses. Seriously, get on with it now, Hollywood, or preferable anyone else. No excuses.
Featuring very nice sketched portraits to go with the abridged versions of their stories, and some brilliant quotes and feminist commentary, 'History vs Women: The Defiant Lives that They Don't Want You to Know' comes recommended by me. It can be read in one cosy afternoon. Huge props for the recommendation of Jason Porath's 'Rejected Princesses' in the acknowledgements as well!
The authors admit in the afterword that they wanted to include more amazing women in 'History vs Women', and be as diverse as possible, which wasn't easy due to deadlines and the scant research they could find on these complex women's lives, not just their achievements. So maybe there will be a volume 2, if this book is successful enough. I hope it will be.
Everybody, girls, boys, young, old, anyone and anyone outside of the binary, should be reading books like this, for the sake of the human race.
You can learn so much about women if you only listen to them and pay attention. We'd be nothing without them; without their "rebelling" and fight to be seen as equals to men. No one can keep any girl down. They're people, not to be placed in any box. Not to be limited and made small and submissive by men.
History and liberation for women across generations! Progress, freedom and respect for women!
Final Score: 5/5
December 28, 2018
Probably one of the best of these 'forgotten ladies of history' books that I've read, and I've read a lot of them! That being said, maybe only about 30-40% of the women featured here were completely new to me, but a lot of them still had new information and the portraits were absolutely gorgeous as well.
What I liked in particular about this book was that the author was not afraid to say that women can do things wrong. Most of these books try to twist the women's every action into being something feminist just because she chose to do it, even if it hurt other women in the process. For example, I'm always a bit wary when Margaret Thatcher is included in a book like this, but here there was actual in-depth discussion about how she might have paved the way for women to be heads of state, but she had horrible policies that hurt a lot of women, lgbt+ people, and non-white people.
I think this is one of my favorite quotes from the book that deals with this topic:
Sadly, some of the most unyielding opposition women face comes from outdated notions that claim to uplift us. This often takes the form of stereotypical ideas about femininity: Women are nurturers. Women are inherently compassionate. Women are somehow more pure and virtuous. On the face of it, these seem like positive traits. But when we take the time to really think them through, we realize that putting women on a pedestal is really just another way to keep them in a box. By only allowing women to express vague and restrictive qualities like "purity" or "morality," we deny them the full range of human feeling and behavior.
It is definitely a very well researched book that includes a lot of women from different time periods and backgrounds and I hope they do another one in the future.
What I liked in particular about this book was that the author was not afraid to say that women can do things wrong. Most of these books try to twist the women's every action into being something feminist just because she chose to do it, even if it hurt other women in the process. For example, I'm always a bit wary when Margaret Thatcher is included in a book like this, but here there was actual in-depth discussion about how she might have paved the way for women to be heads of state, but she had horrible policies that hurt a lot of women, lgbt+ people, and non-white people.
I think this is one of my favorite quotes from the book that deals with this topic:
Sadly, some of the most unyielding opposition women face comes from outdated notions that claim to uplift us. This often takes the form of stereotypical ideas about femininity: Women are nurturers. Women are inherently compassionate. Women are somehow more pure and virtuous. On the face of it, these seem like positive traits. But when we take the time to really think them through, we realize that putting women on a pedestal is really just another way to keep them in a box. By only allowing women to express vague and restrictive qualities like "purity" or "morality," we deny them the full range of human feeling and behavior.
It is definitely a very well researched book that includes a lot of women from different time periods and backgrounds and I hope they do another one in the future.
December 31, 2018
This book is an opinion piece. Just wanted everyone to know that. If you want an author to shove their own personal opinions down your throat, then read this book.
November 27, 2018
A thoroughly enjoyable and very interesting addition to the plethora of books about notable women of history that have been published recently. There were multiple women featured in this book that I did not know about before, and found fascinating--rebels. athletes. artists. politicians. I was in awe of so many of their accomplishments, and the courage it must have taken to achieve them. My only complaint about the book is small--while the pencil drawings for each woman were absolutely gorgeous, the rest of the graphic design, both colors and patterns, gave me a headache. Perhaps this is just to remind me that I'm not the target audience? at any rate, that's a small quibble. Otherwise I very much enjoyed these stories and raced through them. I also appreciated that Ms Sarkeesian and Ms Adams included more commentary than usual in each segment on one of the women. I didn't know much about Margaret Thatcher, other than who she was, prior to this, but the very thoughtful chapter on her not only taught me the facts of her life, but also why the authors included her in the villains section, next to lady pirates and drug lords, and one of my favorites, the riotous Moll Cutpurse. I now have so many more women to learn more about.
I definitely recommend this collection--it's accessible for a younger generation, but not dumbed down in a way to repel older readers (aside from the graphic design *shakes cane. get off my lawn!*), and you'll learn about women you may never have heard of before, who certainly deserve to have their achievements recognized. Some of my personal favorites, aside from Moll Cutpurse? Trieu Thi Trinh, Vietnamese freedom fighter from the third century. Fatima al-Fihri, medieval founder of a still active university. Khutulun, the unbeatable wrestling princess. Jackie Mitchell, the female pitcher who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. and so many more. Go read the book. Now!
I definitely recommend this collection--it's accessible for a younger generation, but not dumbed down in a way to repel older readers (aside from the graphic design *shakes cane. get off my lawn!*), and you'll learn about women you may never have heard of before, who certainly deserve to have their achievements recognized. Some of my personal favorites, aside from Moll Cutpurse? Trieu Thi Trinh, Vietnamese freedom fighter from the third century. Fatima al-Fihri, medieval founder of a still active university. Khutulun, the unbeatable wrestling princess. Jackie Mitchell, the female pitcher who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. and so many more. Go read the book. Now!
November 9, 2018
This was such an enjoyable and informative read! I recommend it to one and all!
September 15, 2018
Tired of damsels in distress? Ready for some rebels, artists, scholars, amazons, and even villains? Then this is the book for you. Some of the women profiled within these pages may be familiar - Margaret Thatcher, Annie Easley - but others you have probably never heard of. How about Wang Zhenyi, a poet from the Qing Dynasty? She was born in 1768 and studied everything from astronomy to martial arts. In 1994 a crater on the planet Venus was named for her. "When you look into the night sky, seek out Venus and be dazzled by the celestial body and the woman who saw the stars and felt the wonder of the universe."
If stargazing isn't your style, perhaps you prefer the arts? Maria Tallchief and her brilliant performance as Ballanchine's Firebird may be more to your tastes. The first Native American prima ballerina explained her achievements by saying, "You do what you have to do, and when you must, then you do a little more." Or there is Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote The Tale of Genji around the year 1000, and it is considered the first modern novel. She "filled her novel with multifaceted female characters who provided a rare glimpse into how it felt to be a woman in her world."
After something more aggressive? What about Khutulun of Mongolia (born around 1260), who was even mentioned in the journals of Marco Polo? He was impressed with the way she would ride into battle with her father's troops and could capture an enemy "as deftly as a hawk pounces on a bird." She was also a champion wrestler and refused to marry anyone who could not defeat her. There are also tales of a female pirate who commanded an entire fleet, women who were directors and producers in the early days of Hollywood, and those who stood against the practices of lynching during Jim Crow.
Recommended for anyone with an interest in women's history or feminism. I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
If stargazing isn't your style, perhaps you prefer the arts? Maria Tallchief and her brilliant performance as Ballanchine's Firebird may be more to your tastes. The first Native American prima ballerina explained her achievements by saying, "You do what you have to do, and when you must, then you do a little more." Or there is Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote The Tale of Genji around the year 1000, and it is considered the first modern novel. She "filled her novel with multifaceted female characters who provided a rare glimpse into how it felt to be a woman in her world."
After something more aggressive? What about Khutulun of Mongolia (born around 1260), who was even mentioned in the journals of Marco Polo? He was impressed with the way she would ride into battle with her father's troops and could capture an enemy "as deftly as a hawk pounces on a bird." She was also a champion wrestler and refused to marry anyone who could not defeat her. There are also tales of a female pirate who commanded an entire fleet, women who were directors and producers in the early days of Hollywood, and those who stood against the practices of lynching during Jim Crow.
Recommended for anyone with an interest in women's history or feminism. I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
October 5, 2018
Preachy, not as good as other historical women bio anthologies and doesn't stand out among the growing number of them. Hilarious that all the illustrations are of beautiful women when we don't know what many of them looked like -- why can't our heroines look like normal people?
November 29, 2018
4.5 stars. I think this is a good starting place for learning about these awesome women. It didn't go into much depth on any of them- understandable with the format, and it could feel a bit preachy sometimes, but overall, pretty good.
I'm glad they included a villain section bc when I first got it and was flipping through, I saw the section on Margaret Thatcher and was just like, oh no...
I'm glad they included a villain section bc when I first got it and was flipping through, I saw the section on Margaret Thatcher and was just like, oh no...
December 22, 2018
This was eh. I felt like I would either get too much information or not enough information about these epic ladies. Some categories were far more intriguing than others as well. I really liked the pictures included, but I just didn't find it as intriguing as I wanted since I wanted all the epic ladies killing it.
January 6, 2019
For most of these women, the authors have had to rely on very little available historical information, so the biographies are often vague, or contain supposition. The text is opinionated and preachy, telling the reader what to think and how to interpret the stories. For my full review, visit http://kissthebook.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!
May 1, 2019
Really wanted to like this one.
November 17, 2018
3.5 because I want to know so much more. This is a much-needed collection of stories about 25 different women who challenged the norm of their times. Although history has neglected them and the authors often had to rely on the little information that was available about them, the book brings them to life and makes readers wish to know more. Sadly, even in 2018, we still seem to celebrate a woman's looks and physical attributes or her connection to some other powerful figure than looking at her intelligence, her actions, and her accomplishments. The authors divide the book into five sections focusing on five women in each one: "Reckless Rebels," "Revelatory Scholars," "Ruthless Villains," "Restless Artists," and "Relentless Amazons." Teen readers will love those titles, and might claim one of them for their own. While I was familiar with several of these--Queen Isabel, Ida B. Wells, Maria Tallchief, Murasaki Shikibu, and Artemesia Gentileschi, for instance--there were many others whose names and exploits were new to me. The story of Lucy Hicks Anderson, a black woman born into the body of a male, and who wanted others to accept her as she was, might be of interest to readers as she figured out a way to pay the bills by running a brothel. Each woman merits a full-page illustration and a couple of pages describing accomplishments and life challenges as well as historical context. The title fits the book's contents perfectly, reminding readers that these women often had to fight against family, societal restrictions, and legal limits only to have their stories "lost" or dismissed by those who write the history books. I really appreciated the authors' self-critique of their own work and the omission of women from certain parts of the world and certain cultures due to their need to have research about those individuals translated. This struck me as wonderfully honest and apt, and made me eagerly anticipate the next volume, which will remedy those omissions. I also was delighted that this book wasn't all rainbows and butterflies, but that the authors took pains to point out that some powerful women were really not very nice at all. Grab this one for yourself and for a middle grader or high schooler in need of some inspiration in pushing against gender norms or how society seems to regard what is masculine and what is feminine.
February 8, 2019
To all the women whose stories were never told, whose songs were never sung, and whose works were never celebrated. May the knowledge of your lives stir up ambitious dreams in new generations of women who will never be forgotten.
This was a great selection of unknown women who I learned a little bit about while reading this book! I also really loved the illustration of them at the beginning of each of their stories, it really brought the person they were talking about to life.
I do appreciate that the authors did include many people of color in this book, but was disappointed that there were only two LGBTQ+ stories: Lucy Hicks Anderson a trans black women and the swashbuckling duo Ana de Urinza and Eustaquia de Sonza. Hopefully if they do a volume 2 they will include more!
Overall a really great collection of amazing women and I feel more empowered just reading about them!
This was a great selection of unknown women who I learned a little bit about while reading this book! I also really loved the illustration of them at the beginning of each of their stories, it really brought the person they were talking about to life.
I do appreciate that the authors did include many people of color in this book, but was disappointed that there were only two LGBTQ+ stories: Lucy Hicks Anderson a trans black women and the swashbuckling duo Ana de Urinza and Eustaquia de Sonza. Hopefully if they do a volume 2 they will include more!
Overall a really great collection of amazing women and I feel more empowered just reading about them!
March 4, 2019
This was awesome, as it chronicled the lives of women throughout history who broke gender barriers across all manner of disciplines (from science to the arts to war and crime!) The illustrations were lovely, the stand out quotes were nice for those wishing to browse to find their favorites to read, but I found the descriptions of many of the women lacking - I wanted to know so much more! I get that some of the older ladies are hard to research, and I get that they were limited by space but I almost with they had limited the number of women included so as to provide much more detail! Also, a few times there was still the hint of "O.M.G. can you believe she did this despite being female?!?" Like, the whole point of the book is women breaking through stereotypes and proving themselves, so can we just not have the surprise?
April 2, 2021
This book was really great. I loved the short biographies of all these wonderfully badass women, especially those that I didn’t know. It was also really great that there was a section for “villains”. I would highly recommend this book as a starting point if you’re interested in feminism, women’s history, or enjoy bite-size portions of historical non-fiction. I’ll definitely be researching and reading more about some of these women later.
February 18, 2020
While at times this book seemed slightly aggressive towards feminism it is still an excellent account of some pretty cool women, with lots of points I agree with being a feminist believing in equality for all myself.
December 30, 2018
Excellent collection of profiles for young readers. The authors focus on lesser known women, mainly those of non-white heritage. I think many teens would find it inspiring to read these stories that are absent from mainstream educational curriculum.
January 24, 2019
Probably closer to 3.5 stars for me, but I didn't want to round down...
December 31, 2023
History vs. Women: The Defiant Lives that They Don't Want You to Know provides short summaries of the lives of 25 women spanning ancient third-century Vietnam to twenty-first century U.S. and Mexico. The book is arranged into five categories--Reckless Rebels, Revelatory Scholars, Ruthless Villains, Restless Artists, and Relentless Amazons. Each chapter features five women whose experiences fall under that heading or theme.
History vs. Women is unapologetically pro-woman, which should come as no surprise given its lead author's role as founder and executive director of the educational non-profit Feminist Frequency. The authors readily acknowledges the inherent challenge in documenting the lives of women whose accomplishments were not well-documented during their lives as a result of their sex and--in several instances--their class, race, and/or gender identity. As a consequence, details and visuals of the women's lives must rely upon educated speculation and modest amounts of conjecture. I have no troubles with that as it is readily acknowledged at the outset and addressed again at book's end in the Afterword.
Having recently completed the final season of the Netflix series The Crown in which Gillian Anderson so deftly portrayed the complex and seemingly heartless Iron Maiden, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, I was most intrigued by the inclusion of Ms. Thatcher in the Ruthless Villains section. As noted by the authors, inclusion in this chapter relied on three attributes. Specifically, (1) the women outlined rose to power in a traditionally male dominated sphere and used intimidation, violence, or ruthless control to maintain their power; (2) the women's rule enjoyed longevity--that is, they would not surrender the power they wielded until forced to do so; and (3) the women were fearless in so far as being bold and unflinching in their pursuit of wealth, power, or greatness (pp. 52-53). My question to the authors is this: Given the criteria outlined so thoughtfully, did your deliberations ever entertain the possibility of including the late Queen Elizabeth II in this chapter instead of PM Thatcher? In my estimation, Ms. Thatcher seemed such an easy choice, almost a straw woman, and I was intrigued by how her counterpart of the longest-reigning British monarch might have fared. Or would that have been too unpopular a choice given the complexity of the pro- vs. anti-monarchy argument. To this reader, Ms. Thatcher felt like the low-hanging fruit--and I truly am curious whether the Queen was given any consideration given the broader length and scope of her influence. It would by no means have been an easy case to make, and would have necessitated a far more nuanced exploration than the characterization of the women contained in this chapter as "just as conniving, murderous, gruesome, horrifying, and uncomfortably fascinating as the men whose names we already know"(p. 52). Moreover, it might have allowed us to explore the fact that sometimes the women we revere are single-minded in their pursuit of their ambitions, make choices they later regret, and are complicated people neither all good nor all evil. In any event, this is just one question that piqued my interest regarding but one choice among many in a volume covering millennia and a good deal of the globe. Books such as this spend a finite amount of time on methods and the selection process for those included. Perhaps future books can explore the nuances a bit more and speak to talk the women not selected in certain categories.
This is the first of what it is hinted at may be multiple installments. A crowd-sourced approach enlisting assistance from multi-lingual assistants from around the globe, with access to libraries, archives, and oral traditions will facilitate casting a wider net and achieving their larger goal of learning "about the lives and historical contributions of people of color, queer and trans folks, and people with disabilities" (p. 134). I wish the authors and future contributors well and will be interested to read the next entries in what could readily become a series.
History vs. Women is unapologetically pro-woman, which should come as no surprise given its lead author's role as founder and executive director of the educational non-profit Feminist Frequency. The authors readily acknowledges the inherent challenge in documenting the lives of women whose accomplishments were not well-documented during their lives as a result of their sex and--in several instances--their class, race, and/or gender identity. As a consequence, details and visuals of the women's lives must rely upon educated speculation and modest amounts of conjecture. I have no troubles with that as it is readily acknowledged at the outset and addressed again at book's end in the Afterword.
Having recently completed the final season of the Netflix series The Crown in which Gillian Anderson so deftly portrayed the complex and seemingly heartless Iron Maiden, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, I was most intrigued by the inclusion of Ms. Thatcher in the Ruthless Villains section. As noted by the authors, inclusion in this chapter relied on three attributes. Specifically, (1) the women outlined rose to power in a traditionally male dominated sphere and used intimidation, violence, or ruthless control to maintain their power; (2) the women's rule enjoyed longevity--that is, they would not surrender the power they wielded until forced to do so; and (3) the women were fearless in so far as being bold and unflinching in their pursuit of wealth, power, or greatness (pp. 52-53). My question to the authors is this: Given the criteria outlined so thoughtfully, did your deliberations ever entertain the possibility of including the late Queen Elizabeth II in this chapter instead of PM Thatcher? In my estimation, Ms. Thatcher seemed such an easy choice, almost a straw woman, and I was intrigued by how her counterpart of the longest-reigning British monarch might have fared. Or would that have been too unpopular a choice given the complexity of the pro- vs. anti-monarchy argument. To this reader, Ms. Thatcher felt like the low-hanging fruit--and I truly am curious whether the Queen was given any consideration given the broader length and scope of her influence. It would by no means have been an easy case to make, and would have necessitated a far more nuanced exploration than the characterization of the women contained in this chapter as "just as conniving, murderous, gruesome, horrifying, and uncomfortably fascinating as the men whose names we already know"(p. 52). Moreover, it might have allowed us to explore the fact that sometimes the women we revere are single-minded in their pursuit of their ambitions, make choices they later regret, and are complicated people neither all good nor all evil. In any event, this is just one question that piqued my interest regarding but one choice among many in a volume covering millennia and a good deal of the globe. Books such as this spend a finite amount of time on methods and the selection process for those included. Perhaps future books can explore the nuances a bit more and speak to talk the women not selected in certain categories.
This is the first of what it is hinted at may be multiple installments. A crowd-sourced approach enlisting assistance from multi-lingual assistants from around the globe, with access to libraries, archives, and oral traditions will facilitate casting a wider net and achieving their larger goal of learning "about the lives and historical contributions of people of color, queer and trans folks, and people with disabilities" (p. 134). I wish the authors and future contributors well and will be interested to read the next entries in what could readily become a series.
March 25, 2019
Un autre panorama de femmes, 25 pour être exact, divisé en cinq sections soit: des femmes rebelles, érudites, vilaines, artistes et amazones.
Au nombre de panorama de femmes que je lis, je ne peut que noter ce qui m'apparaît comme distinct ou similaire aux autres du même genre. Généralement l'échantillon proposé (qu'il soit de 10 à 100 femmes) est toujours suffisamment original et c'est le cas de ce livre: c'est toujours un excellent signe quand je ne connais pas des femmes que les autrices proposent.
Ce livre s'adresse définitivement à un public un peu plus âgé que 8-10 ans de par le contenu politique introductif à chaque catégorie; aussi, le texte, malgré de nombreux lieux communs utilisés, ne s'adresse pas vraiment aux plus jeunes (certains détails historiques demandent un minimum pour être compris).
Parmi les originalités du livre, sont les deux à quatre pages d'introduction des sections qui justifient la catégorie; je dois avouer ne pas avoir vu plus d'une page d'introduction à une section dans ce genre de panorama. Les descriptions des femmes s'étendent de 2 à 4 pages aussi, ce qui est très raisonnable pour bien les présenter et en laisser pour la découverte (deux pages de bibliographies à la fin viennent compléter). Évidemment, depuis quelques années, tous ces panoramas, quand même présenté sous la forme d'un beau livre (pour un prix assez raisonnable de 25,99$ canadien), sont accompagné d'une illustration. La même artiste les a toutes fait, il s'agit généralement seulement d'un portrait du visage de la personne en noir et blanc.
Le contenu politique et féministe est définitivement très présent, on n'y échappe pas à aucun moment. Que ce soit pour parler de l'exclusion des femmes dans l'histoire, le sort réservé aux femmes, l'invisibilisation des femmes, les préjugés, le sexisme, le racisme, la transphobie, etc., on sent bien la présence féministe d'Anita Sarkeesian et de Ebony Adams de la chaîne Youtube Feminist Frequency et ce n'est pas mauvais du tout. Ça devient toutefois un petit peu répétitif rendu à la cinquième section.
Ma plus grosse critique du livre est simplement au niveau de sa mise en page qui joue parfois sur des contraste de couleurs un peu intense entre le fond et le texte. Généralement, c'est du noir sur blanc et inversement, mais dans les pages comme la postface où on a du texte sur un fond bleu, c'est malheureusement à la limite du visible. Certaines citations accentuées (notamment celles en jaune) connaissent aussi le même problème. Cette esthétique distingue l'ouvrage des centaines d'autres qui existent, mais au final, et seulement dans quelques rares cas, ça nuit légèrement à la lecture.
Un panorama qui réussit cependant à sortir du lot par un bon choix de figures (qui restent souvent très américaines, malgré une maigre justification qui parle de la difficulté d'en choisir dans des cultures non-occidentales [on parle quand même de juste 25 femmes, pas de 250...]), une esthétique propre, un bon développement biographique avec des mises en contexte ainsi que des introductions aux sections. Le contenu féministe explicite est aussi souvent peu présent, ou du moins dans cet envergure, dans les autres panoramas du genre.
Au nombre de panorama de femmes que je lis, je ne peut que noter ce qui m'apparaît comme distinct ou similaire aux autres du même genre. Généralement l'échantillon proposé (qu'il soit de 10 à 100 femmes) est toujours suffisamment original et c'est le cas de ce livre: c'est toujours un excellent signe quand je ne connais pas des femmes que les autrices proposent.
Ce livre s'adresse définitivement à un public un peu plus âgé que 8-10 ans de par le contenu politique introductif à chaque catégorie; aussi, le texte, malgré de nombreux lieux communs utilisés, ne s'adresse pas vraiment aux plus jeunes (certains détails historiques demandent un minimum pour être compris).
Parmi les originalités du livre, sont les deux à quatre pages d'introduction des sections qui justifient la catégorie; je dois avouer ne pas avoir vu plus d'une page d'introduction à une section dans ce genre de panorama. Les descriptions des femmes s'étendent de 2 à 4 pages aussi, ce qui est très raisonnable pour bien les présenter et en laisser pour la découverte (deux pages de bibliographies à la fin viennent compléter). Évidemment, depuis quelques années, tous ces panoramas, quand même présenté sous la forme d'un beau livre (pour un prix assez raisonnable de 25,99$ canadien), sont accompagné d'une illustration. La même artiste les a toutes fait, il s'agit généralement seulement d'un portrait du visage de la personne en noir et blanc.
Le contenu politique et féministe est définitivement très présent, on n'y échappe pas à aucun moment. Que ce soit pour parler de l'exclusion des femmes dans l'histoire, le sort réservé aux femmes, l'invisibilisation des femmes, les préjugés, le sexisme, le racisme, la transphobie, etc., on sent bien la présence féministe d'Anita Sarkeesian et de Ebony Adams de la chaîne Youtube Feminist Frequency et ce n'est pas mauvais du tout. Ça devient toutefois un petit peu répétitif rendu à la cinquième section.
Ma plus grosse critique du livre est simplement au niveau de sa mise en page qui joue parfois sur des contraste de couleurs un peu intense entre le fond et le texte. Généralement, c'est du noir sur blanc et inversement, mais dans les pages comme la postface où on a du texte sur un fond bleu, c'est malheureusement à la limite du visible. Certaines citations accentuées (notamment celles en jaune) connaissent aussi le même problème. Cette esthétique distingue l'ouvrage des centaines d'autres qui existent, mais au final, et seulement dans quelques rares cas, ça nuit légèrement à la lecture.
Un panorama qui réussit cependant à sortir du lot par un bon choix de figures (qui restent souvent très américaines, malgré une maigre justification qui parle de la difficulté d'en choisir dans des cultures non-occidentales [on parle quand même de juste 25 femmes, pas de 250...]), une esthétique propre, un bon développement biographique avec des mises en contexte ainsi que des introductions aux sections. Le contenu féministe explicite est aussi souvent peu présent, ou du moins dans cet envergure, dans les autres panoramas du genre.
March 22, 2025
What it's about: This book chronicles 25 amazing and obscure women from around the world and from across history. It's entertainingly written, providing information about each of these women and how she defied the roles and stereotypes she was supposed to fit herself into.
What I thought:
Why my chosen shelves: This book is definitely written to appeal to a young-teenagers-and-up crowd. The language is unlikely to trigger challenges - though the subject matter might, as there are plenty of documented cases of books by and about women, especially marginalized women, being censored. The authors are very open in their conception of women, and comment in a few places about the very restrictive nature of the usual dichotomy of male and female roles.
Audience:
CWs:
Characters: diverse, marginalized, minority: That is the central purpose of the book - to present the audience with more than just white women; LGBT: There are infrequent mentions of non-heterosexual relationships; low SES: Many of the women profiled in this book are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Genres:
Topics: feminist, sexism: This book highlights the marginalization of women throughout history and particularly in modern histories and culture.
Why I rated it like I did: One element I particularly liked is that the authors included women who were "villains" - they specifically point out that to accurately represent women as fully human, it is necessary to recognize that there are women who choose to conduct themselves in terrible ways as well as those who put their skills to better uses. This book gives readers very well-rounded examples of women from all over the globe who were outstanding in their fields. And it does not trade in the better-known-but-still-sort-of-obscure names that are often bandied about when discussing exceptional women - the authors have done their homework and dug up truly exceptional but largely unknown historical figures. This is a book that could launch a thousand research projects for middle and high school students. Bought a copy of this for the school library 'cause it's that good.
What I thought:
Why my chosen shelves: This book is definitely written to appeal to a young-teenagers-and-up crowd. The language is unlikely to trigger challenges - though the subject matter might, as there are plenty of documented cases of books by and about women, especially marginalized women, being censored. The authors are very open in their conception of women, and comment in a few places about the very restrictive nature of the usual dichotomy of male and female roles.
Audience:
CWs:
Characters: diverse, marginalized, minority: That is the central purpose of the book - to present the audience with more than just white women; LGBT: There are infrequent mentions of non-heterosexual relationships; low SES: Many of the women profiled in this book are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Genres:
Topics: feminist, sexism: This book highlights the marginalization of women throughout history and particularly in modern histories and culture.
Why I rated it like I did: One element I particularly liked is that the authors included women who were "villains" - they specifically point out that to accurately represent women as fully human, it is necessary to recognize that there are women who choose to conduct themselves in terrible ways as well as those who put their skills to better uses. This book gives readers very well-rounded examples of women from all over the globe who were outstanding in their fields. And it does not trade in the better-known-but-still-sort-of-obscure names that are often bandied about when discussing exceptional women - the authors have done their homework and dug up truly exceptional but largely unknown historical figures. This is a book that could launch a thousand research projects for middle and high school students. Bought a copy of this for the school library 'cause it's that good.
October 21, 2023
The women portrayed in Sarkeesian's and Adams' book are fascinating! I want to find a book-length biography about each of them.
This book shares brief biographies for 25 women who were not "well behaved" and did, indeed, make history--but not a big enough splash to satisfy me. I only knew about Ida B. Wells, Fatima Al-Fihri, Margaret Thatcher, Murasaki Shikibu, and.
Instead of marching through 25 women chronologically or alphabetically, the authors sort them into five categories: Reckless Rebel (where Wells, an American journalist, is included); Revelatory Scholars (where Al-Fihri, Moroccan library and university founder, is included); Ruthless Villians (where Thatcher, UK Prime Minister, is included; Restless Artists (where Shikibu, Japanese novelist, is included); and Relentless Amazons (none of whom I had learned about before, but Bessie Stringfield (b. 1911), Black Harley Davidson rider, particularly fascinated me).
Each biography starts with a sketching of the woman being featured before continuing with about three pages of biography. The sections include quotes in larger text (32 pt font) to heal draw in the reader.
The backmatter includes an Afterward, a robust list of acknowledgements, source notes, and a selected bibliography.
I am not sure that all of these figures are suitable role models, but they all do teach readers something about their time and place in history. Some of them were labeled troublemakers only because they challenged the status quo and would be seen as heroes if not just regular people by today's cultural norms.
I think this book would help resistant readers--girls and boys--because it conveys a sense of taboo while teaching some concepts about history, geography, politics, and sociology.
This book shares brief biographies for 25 women who were not "well behaved" and did, indeed, make history--but not a big enough splash to satisfy me. I only knew about Ida B. Wells, Fatima Al-Fihri, Margaret Thatcher, Murasaki Shikibu, and.
Instead of marching through 25 women chronologically or alphabetically, the authors sort them into five categories: Reckless Rebel (where Wells, an American journalist, is included); Revelatory Scholars (where Al-Fihri, Moroccan library and university founder, is included); Ruthless Villians (where Thatcher, UK Prime Minister, is included; Restless Artists (where Shikibu, Japanese novelist, is included); and Relentless Amazons (none of whom I had learned about before, but Bessie Stringfield (b. 1911), Black Harley Davidson rider, particularly fascinated me).
Each biography starts with a sketching of the woman being featured before continuing with about three pages of biography. The sections include quotes in larger text (32 pt font) to heal draw in the reader.
The backmatter includes an Afterward, a robust list of acknowledgements, source notes, and a selected bibliography.
I am not sure that all of these figures are suitable role models, but they all do teach readers something about their time and place in history. Some of them were labeled troublemakers only because they challenged the status quo and would be seen as heroes if not just regular people by today's cultural norms.
I think this book would help resistant readers--girls and boys--because it conveys a sense of taboo while teaching some concepts about history, geography, politics, and sociology.
November 3, 2018
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
This is a harder review to write because the formatting and display of the e-ARC was mixed up in places. So, it is a little hard to determine my thoughts on the writing, but I still have a favorable opinion of this book.
This isn't the first women's history nonfiction I've read -- heck this is actually the 3rd this year. It has been a popular year for forgotten women of history. Yet, all three books have different writing styles, categories, and even women to talk about. There is of course some crossover, but surprisingly, this book only contained about 4 I've read about before, and that might be because it is so difficult for English-speakers to learn about or be able to translate texts from other languages.
I like how a picture is included with the text and the highlighted passages were usually ones I would have wanted noticed. Also, I love how a section for bad women of history is included as well, and explained why we need to recognize women of all different areas of history, the good and the evil.
I think this book handled issues well and it felt like they did try to branch out from Western history.
This is another book I think people should read just so they can learn about forgotten people of history.
This is a harder review to write because the formatting and display of the e-ARC was mixed up in places. So, it is a little hard to determine my thoughts on the writing, but I still have a favorable opinion of this book.
This isn't the first women's history nonfiction I've read -- heck this is actually the 3rd this year. It has been a popular year for forgotten women of history. Yet, all three books have different writing styles, categories, and even women to talk about. There is of course some crossover, but surprisingly, this book only contained about 4 I've read about before, and that might be because it is so difficult for English-speakers to learn about or be able to translate texts from other languages.
I like how a picture is included with the text and the highlighted passages were usually ones I would have wanted noticed. Also, I love how a section for bad women of history is included as well, and explained why we need to recognize women of all different areas of history, the good and the evil.
I think this book handled issues well and it felt like they did try to branch out from Western history.
This is another book I think people should read just so they can learn about forgotten people of history.
August 20, 2020
This is a history book which aims to bring the historical contributions of women to a wider audience. I appreciate their goal, and I certainly learned about many amazing, fascinating, and inspiring women. They included illustrations of each woman and worked to make each story readable evocative. The beautiful imagery and thoughtful quotes did a good job helping me imagine what each woman’s world might have been like. I particularly appreciated the villain chapter - they stressed that all contributions of women need to be alnowledged, the good and the bad. I like that the author’s did not present a one-sided image of womanhood imagining that women are some kind of angels and celebrating power for its own sake. Instead, they presented a very honest view of each figure, acknowledging their positive and negative contributions.
However, I did find that the book was very heavy on Western, especially US, women as well as a disproportionate number of 20th century women. By their own admission, this was due to the available sources and the authors’ language barriers. Still, I think greater effort could have been made to include more stories from other parts of the world. There were also few footnotes - as a historian, I would have appreciated greater transparency as to the sources used.
However, I did find that the book was very heavy on Western, especially US, women as well as a disproportionate number of 20th century women. By their own admission, this was due to the available sources and the authors’ language barriers. Still, I think greater effort could have been made to include more stories from other parts of the world. There were also few footnotes - as a historian, I would have appreciated greater transparency as to the sources used.
April 3, 2019
History vs Women : The Defiant Lives that They Don't Want You to Know by Anita Sarkeesian & Ebony Adams, 137 pages. NON FICTION Feiwel and Friends (MacMillan Publishing Group) 2018. $20.
Language: G. (0 swears, 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
25 short biographies of women whose brave, amazing, socially defiant or remarkable lives are not part of the history books. Life stories have been recreated for rebels like Lucy Hicks Anderson who lived transgendered in the early 20th century; teachers like Hypatia (a 4th Century Philosopher); villains like Queen Isabella of Spain, or Margaret Thatcher; artists like 20th century dancer Maria Tallchief, and athletes like strong woman Bessie Stringfield.
For most of these women, the authors have had to rely on very little available historical information, so the biographies are often vague, or contain supposition. The text is opinionated and preachy, telling the reader what to think and how to interpret the stories. Contains a bibliography.
Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
Language: G. (0 swears, 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G.
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
25 short biographies of women whose brave, amazing, socially defiant or remarkable lives are not part of the history books. Life stories have been recreated for rebels like Lucy Hicks Anderson who lived transgendered in the early 20th century; teachers like Hypatia (a 4th Century Philosopher); villains like Queen Isabella of Spain, or Margaret Thatcher; artists like 20th century dancer Maria Tallchief, and athletes like strong woman Bessie Stringfield.
For most of these women, the authors have had to rely on very little available historical information, so the biographies are often vague, or contain supposition. The text is opinionated and preachy, telling the reader what to think and how to interpret the stories. Contains a bibliography.
Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
April 8, 2019
By far my favorite women’s anthology. There have been so many books coming out highlighting small bios of heroic women—and I am TOTALLY here for it—but they often repeat the same women over and over. In this anthology, out of the 25 women highlighted, I only recognized a couple. I learned so much about women all over the world rather than just here in the US. I can tell there was so much research done to write this book, and as the reader, I am so grateful.
Additionally, the other women’s anthologies often overlook the “villains” of herstory. Basically, they paint women as being all noble, brave, kind, caring, morally and ethically minded, and heroic...which we SO ARE...but what about the pirates, the ruthless female political leaders, the women who might have done horrible, but also brave things? This anthology has a section for this too to show that women are awesome but they can be ruthless just like men can be.
I would love for a part 2 to come out! And maybe in the next one some LGBTQ representation would be UH-MAZING.
Additionally, the other women’s anthologies often overlook the “villains” of herstory. Basically, they paint women as being all noble, brave, kind, caring, morally and ethically minded, and heroic...which we SO ARE...but what about the pirates, the ruthless female political leaders, the women who might have done horrible, but also brave things? This anthology has a section for this too to show that women are awesome but they can be ruthless just like men can be.
I would love for a part 2 to come out! And maybe in the next one some LGBTQ representation would be UH-MAZING.
December 20, 2018
lots of great women represented in here! definitely more of a starting place, but it isn't trying to be any more than that. this just introduces you to these women, and then you can branch out and learn more on your own. it's a pretty quick read. the chapters are short, so they keep you moving along. the language was a little flowery in parts, but that might appeal to the targeted age range. the illustrations are really beautiful!!
there was a good mix of women of a variety of races and backgrounds. lgbt representation was a little lacking. there was one trans woman highlighted, and one chapter on two women who were lovers, but it's mentioned in such a offhand way that it's easy to miss.....the whole chapter talked about their "friendship" and then refers to them as lovers once at the very end without further explanation. just seemed like the author was side-stepping that fact.
there was a good mix of women of a variety of races and backgrounds. lgbt representation was a little lacking. there was one trans woman highlighted, and one chapter on two women who were lovers, but it's mentioned in such a offhand way that it's easy to miss.....the whole chapter talked about their "friendship" and then refers to them as lovers once at the very end without further explanation. just seemed like the author was side-stepping that fact.
October 16, 2018
As someone who follows Feminist Frequency's work, I was excited to see Anita and Ebony had this book coming out. I preordered it immediately and knew I would enjoy it. I wasn't wrong.
History vs Women was my night book for about a week; it is not a book that will take up much of your time. The chapters are relatively short, each covering five women with each entry about two pages or more. The writing is informative while also maintain a critical feminist lens on the women covered and how we study women in history. The women selected were mostly new to me; each entry is well-researched and footnoted. I almost wish this book was longer because I wanted to know more, but maybe we will get a Volume Two. I would be here for that.
Overall, History vs Women is an interesting and informative read that highlights several women we should remember in history. If you're a feminist, a history nerd, or better yet both, History vs Women should be on your bookshelf.
History vs Women was my night book for about a week; it is not a book that will take up much of your time. The chapters are relatively short, each covering five women with each entry about two pages or more. The writing is informative while also maintain a critical feminist lens on the women covered and how we study women in history. The women selected were mostly new to me; each entry is well-researched and footnoted. I almost wish this book was longer because I wanted to know more, but maybe we will get a Volume Two. I would be here for that.
Overall, History vs Women is an interesting and informative read that highlights several women we should remember in history. If you're a feminist, a history nerd, or better yet both, History vs Women should be on your bookshelf.
October 29, 2018
Interesting read!
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Feiwel and Friends for the opportunity to read and review History vs Women: The Defiant Lives That They Don’t Want You To Know by Anita Sarkeesian and Ebony Adams!
The chapter titles are Reckless Rebels, Revelatory Scholars, Ruthless Villains, Restless Artists, and Relentless Amazons! The chapter titles made me even more interested in the book! The introduction got me hyped up by a few historical facts about women, such as a Japanese woman invented the novel and a Chinese woman ruled a fleet of 400 pirate ships. This impressive work of history and the women who created it is a gem to read! From a civil rights activist to a prime minister, each story captured my interest and I will purchase this book for the library for research and as a great read, 5 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Feiwel and Friends for the opportunity to read and review History vs Women: The Defiant Lives That They Don’t Want You To Know by Anita Sarkeesian and Ebony Adams!
The chapter titles are Reckless Rebels, Revelatory Scholars, Ruthless Villains, Restless Artists, and Relentless Amazons! The chapter titles made me even more interested in the book! The introduction got me hyped up by a few historical facts about women, such as a Japanese woman invented the novel and a Chinese woman ruled a fleet of 400 pirate ships. This impressive work of history and the women who created it is a gem to read! From a civil rights activist to a prime minister, each story captured my interest and I will purchase this book for the library for research and as a great read, 5 stars!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews