Keeping it to just 100 was a struggle. But we figured that any more miscast, missing and misunderstood women in one sitting would push you over the edge in your righteous, indignant fury. So actually, we're thinking of you. (You're welcome).
It's a broad mix as we have delved into the growing pile of women's histories and selected those gals we felt were interesting, compelling or just fun. Many will be familiar in their native countries and celebrated in folklore legend but we believe they deserve a wider audience.
There are thousands more that could have been included but it's a short book and we could only pick 100\. What unites our cast of characters is that they have all suffered being miscast, type cast or simply cast aside.
So, sit back. Read. Enjoy. And kick some butt in solidarity.
You have probably heard of Cleopatra, Coco Chanel, Hedy Lamarr, Susan B. Anthony, and Marie Antoinette, however, have heard about the Lady Robinhood of India, Phoolan Devi, or the Trung Sisters who battled the Chinese when they invaded Vietnam in 43 A.D. This short 200-page book called, Historical Heroines: 100 Women You Should Know About is a great primer to read and see how women influenced, inspired, and challenged history and their cultures. Queen Nzinga lived and ruled in Angola from 1581 to 1663 She fought against colonial rule by the Portuguese and other Western European governments. She is remembered in her country as a symbol of resistance and independence. Also, there is a great Netflix documentary about her too! Over 92 other women are portrayed in this book which is easy to read, informative, and important for everyone to understand how women throughout the world had to fight for independence and against patriarchy.
A must for every woman who can use some inspiration in role models. The book contains short biographies of women, the book is really a interesting book for women (and also men of course). The book reads very easily. It goes too far to mention names, if you mention one, you must also name another. I do not dare to do that. The book reads for some as an exciting book, the other will probably use it more as a reference book.
A good history book that you just have to read, especially to learn more about the most fascinating women around the globe in the world history. The writers have done a thorough research and that is clearly visible from the short but powerful personal descriptions of these striking women.
Women Can Be as Heroic or Evil as Their Male Counterparts
A very interesting book that profiles the lives and careers of women throughout history, many of whom were either forgotten or had their lives and accomplishments downgraded by male historians. It is written in a light style with some funny and/ or sarcastic comments within each biographical sketch. The title is misleading as many of the women achieved their goals by murderous pursuits. This would be akin to including Stalin and Hitler in a book entitled Historical Heroes.
I would recommend this book on its historical content.
This was a very interesting and informative collection of mini-biographical profiles of 100 selected women from throughout history. I learned of many who I had never heard of before, so am gratified to have read this book for that reason and for this reason, give a rating of 3 stars. I did notice that there were multiple grammatical errors that a thorough pre-publication proofreading should have caught. My favorite passage of this book came at the end with the tribute written to "The Unknown Woman". Also, I must say that, as a Christian, I was offended by the clear anti-Christian bias expressed by the authors as a part of several of these profiles.
While the info in interesting and must have taken awhile to gather, outside of the fact all are women the book has no order to it. The author goes from some comical comments to all very dry facts. I found the book unimaginative and dis connected. I commend the info but give a thumbs down on continuity.
I found the book to be interesting. Some stories captivated my interest more than others. I only gave it 3 stars because I skimmed a few of the stories. For some reason I it couldn't keep my interest. Had high hopes for this book and some was met.
I wish Hollywood would make .movies about these women. They are an inspiration! These women were brave, intelligent, some through their activism made significant change, and some were criminal leaders.
The ladies I would like to do further research on…
Agostina Domenech, Anne Of Cleves, Ching Shih, Christina Of Sweden, Cleopatra VII Philopator, Edith Cavell, Eliza Josolyne, Empress Wu Zetian, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lili Elbe and Gerda Gottlieb, Lucrezia Borgia, Marie Antoinette, Mirabal Sisters, Neerja Bhanot, Penthesilea - Queen Of The Amazons, Phoolan Devi, Ruby Bridges, Soujourner Truth.
The perfect read if you like history and women in history.