Jacket cover images copied to clipboard.
General Recommendations
Discover New HERstories- Women's History Month
By:
Greene_TamarK
Greene_TamarK
Greene County Public Library
Staff-created list
Daredevil...Trailblazing...Mischievous...Revolutionary...Legends. Words used to describe the women in history discussed in the books on this list, from the titles of the books themselves. The history of women is as vast, compelling, and diverse as the history of men, but most of those stories are just now being told, with many more to come. Take the opportunity this month to learn more of those stories. Discover all the women we never knew were our heroes.
By:
Greene_TamarK
Greene_TamarK
Greene County Public Library
20 items
20 items
An Intimate History of Black Feminism
Book - 2024
Jenn M. Jackson, PhD, has been known to bring historical acuity to some of the most controversial topics in America today. Now, in their first book, Jacks...Show more
Jenn M. Jackson, PhD, has been known to bring historical acuity to some of the most controversial topics in America today. Now, in their first book, Jackson applies their critical analysis to the questions that have long energized their work: Why has Black women’s freedom fighting been so overlooked throughout history, and what has our society lost because of our refusal to engage with our forestrugglers’ lessons?
A love letter to those who have been minimized and forgotten, this collection repositions Black women’s intellectual and political work at the center of today’s liberation movements.
Across eleven original essays that explore the legacy of Black women writers and leaders—from Harriet Jacobs and Ida B. Wells to the Combahee River Collective and Audre Lorde—Jackson sets the record straight about Black women’s longtime movement organizing, theorizing, and coalition building in the name of racial, gender, and sexual justice in the United States and abroad. These essays show, in both critical and deeply personal terms, how Black women have been at the center of modern liberation movements despite the erasure and misrecognition of their efforts. Jackson illustrates how Black women have frequently done the work of liberation at great risk to their lives and livelihoods.
For a new generation of movement organizers and co-strugglers, Black Women Taught Us serves as a reminder that Black women were the first ones to teach us how to fight racism, how to name that fight, and how to imagine a more just world for everyone.
Show less
Jenn M. Jackson, PhD, has been known to bring historical acuity to some of the most controversial topics in America today. Now, in their first book, Jacks...Show more
Jenn M. Jackson, PhD, has been known to bring historical acuity to some of the most controversial topics in America today. Now, in their first book, Jackson applies their critical analysis to the questions that have long energized their work: Why has Black women’s freedom fighting been so overlooked throughout history, and what has our society lost because of our refusal to engage with our forestrugglers’ lessons?
A love letter to those who have been minimized and forgotten, this collection repositions Black women’s intellectual and political work at the center of today’s liberation movements.
Across eleven original essays that explore the legacy of Black women writers and leaders—from Harriet Jacobs and Ida B. Wells to the Combahee River Collective and Audre Lorde—Jackson sets the record straight about Black women’s longtime movement organizing, theorizing, and coalition building in the name of racial, gender, and sexual justice in the United States and abroad. These essays show, in both critical and deeply personal terms, how Black women have been at the center of modern liberation movements despite the erasure and misrecognition of their efforts. Jackson illustrates how Black women have frequently done the work of liberation at great risk to their lives and livelihoods.
For a new generation of movement organizers and co-strugglers, Black Women Taught Us serves as a reminder that Black women were the first ones to teach us how to fight racism, how to name that fight, and how to imagine a more just world for everyone.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
The True Story of the Middle Eastern Horsewomen Who Fought the War on Terror
Book - 2023
Book of Queens reaches back centuries to the Persian Empire and a woman disguised as a man, facing an invading army, protected only by light armor and the...Show more
Book of Queens reaches back centuries to the Persian Empire and a woman disguised as a man, facing an invading army, protected only by light armor and the stallion she sat astride. Mahdavi draws a thread from past to present: from her fearless Iranian grandmother, who guided survivors of domestic violence to independent mountain colonies in Afghanistan where the women, led by a general named Mina, became their country's first line of defense from marauding warlords. To the female warriors who helped train and breed the horses used by US Green Berets when they touched down in October 2001, with a mission but insufficient intelligence on the ground-women whose contributions were then forgotten. Pardis Mahdavi chases the legacy of Caspian horses and the women whose lives are saved by them, drawing on decades of research, newly-discovered diaries, and exclusive military sources. Among those intersecting stories is that of American Louise Firouz, who helped bring the breed back from the brink of extinction, connecting Virginia traders to British royals to the son of the Shah. Firouz's life is forever changed when she meets Mahdavi's own family, who run an unusual smuggling operation in addition to raising horses in a wild bid for freedom. Book of Queens is an epic tale of hidden women whose communal knowledge was instrumental in saving an animal as ancient as civilization, and who were the genesis of their own liberation.
Show less
Book of Queens reaches back centuries to the Persian Empire and a woman disguised as a man, facing an invading army, protected only by light armor and the...Show more
Book of Queens reaches back centuries to the Persian Empire and a woman disguised as a man, facing an invading army, protected only by light armor and the stallion she sat astride. Mahdavi draws a thread from past to present: from her fearless Iranian grandmother, who guided survivors of domestic violence to independent mountain colonies in Afghanistan where the women, led by a general named Mina, became their country's first line of defense from marauding warlords. To the female warriors who helped train and breed the horses used by US Green Berets when they touched down in October 2001, with a mission but insufficient intelligence on the ground-women whose contributions were then forgotten. Pardis Mahdavi chases the legacy of Caspian horses and the women whose lives are saved by them, drawing on decades of research, newly-discovered diaries, and exclusive military sources. Among those intersecting stories is that of American Louise Firouz, who helped bring the breed back from the brink of extinction, connecting Virginia traders to British royals to the son of the Shah. Firouz's life is forever changed when she meets Mahdavi's own family, who run an unusual smuggling operation in addition to raising horses in a wild bid for freedom. Book of Queens is an epic tale of hidden women whose communal knowledge was instrumental in saving an animal as ancient as civilization, and who were the genesis of their own liberation.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
An Oral History of the '60s Girl Groups
Book - 2023
The Girl Group Sound, made famous and unforgettable by acts like The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas, took over the airwaves by c...Show more
The Girl Group Sound, made famous and unforgettable by acts like The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas, took over the airwaves by capturing the mix of innocence and rebellion emblematic of America in in the 1960s. As songs like 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow,' 'Then He Kissed Me,' and 'Be My Baby' rose to number one, Girl Groups cornered the burgeoning post-war market of teenage rock and roll fans, indelibly shaping the trajectory of pop music in the process. But the story of the Girl Group Sound is also one of race and power. The women, most of whom were Black and many of whom were only teenagers when their first songs were recorded, were cultivated, packaged, and sold by a music industry that cut them out of the lion's share of their profits. And though the women's careers would take them on tour with Civil Rights leaders and to performances at some of the earliest desegregated concerts, many found themselves cast aside as trends shifted in favor of the largely white British Invasion of the mid to late '60s. While the voices of the Girl Group Sound have become essential to the American canon, many of the artists remain all but anonymous to most listeners. Weaving together over 300 hours of interviews across more than ninety subjects, But Will You Love Me Tomorrow: An Oral History of the '60s Girl Groups gives voice to the many women of the era who have long been consigned to silence. Through the chorus formed by their collective voice in these pages, But Will You Love Me Tomorrow is a distinctly American coming-of-age story— it's a story of girls finding their footing as young women, of artistic success and struggle, and of the inequity faced by women of color in this country.
Show less
The Girl Group Sound, made famous and unforgettable by acts like The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas, took over the airwaves by c...Show more
The Girl Group Sound, made famous and unforgettable by acts like The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas, took over the airwaves by capturing the mix of innocence and rebellion emblematic of America in in the 1960s. As songs like 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow,' 'Then He Kissed Me,' and 'Be My Baby' rose to number one, Girl Groups cornered the burgeoning post-war market of teenage rock and roll fans, indelibly shaping the trajectory of pop music in the process. But the story of the Girl Group Sound is also one of race and power. The women, most of whom were Black and many of whom were only teenagers when their first songs were recorded, were cultivated, packaged, and sold by a music industry that cut them out of the lion's share of their profits. And though the women's careers would take them on tour with Civil Rights leaders and to performances at some of the earliest desegregated concerts, many found themselves cast aside as trends shifted in favor of the largely white British Invasion of the mid to late '60s. While the voices of the Girl Group Sound have become essential to the American canon, many of the artists remain all but anonymous to most listeners. Weaving together over 300 hours of interviews across more than ninety subjects, But Will You Love Me Tomorrow: An Oral History of the '60s Girl Groups gives voice to the many women of the era who have long been consigned to silence. Through the chorus formed by their collective voice in these pages, But Will You Love Me Tomorrow is a distinctly American coming-of-age story— it's a story of girls finding their footing as young women, of artistic success and struggle, and of the inequity faced by women of color in this country.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
Enslaved Women's Lethal Resistance
Book - 2023
From the colonial through the antebellum era, enslaved women in the U.S. used lethal force as the ultimate form of resistance. By amplifying their voices ...Show more
From the colonial through the antebellum era, enslaved women in the U.S. used lethal force as the ultimate form of resistance. By amplifying their voices and experiences, Brooding over Bloody Revenge strongly challenges assumptions that enslaved women only participated in covert, non-violent forms of resistance, when in fact they consistently seized justice for themselves and organized toward revolt. Nikki M. Taylor expertly reveals how women killed for deeply personal instances of injustice committed by their owners. The stories presented, which span centuries and legal contexts, demonstrate that these acts of lethal force were carefully pre-meditated. Enslaved women planned how and when their enslavers would die, what weapons and accomplices were necessary, and how to evade capture in the aftermath. Original and compelling, Brooding Over Bloody Revenge presents a window into the lives and philosophies of enslaved women who had their own ideas about justice and how to achieve it.
Show less
From the colonial through the antebellum era, enslaved women in the U.S. used lethal force as the ultimate form of resistance. By amplifying their voices ...Show more
From the colonial through the antebellum era, enslaved women in the U.S. used lethal force as the ultimate form of resistance. By amplifying their voices and experiences, Brooding over Bloody Revenge strongly challenges assumptions that enslaved women only participated in covert, non-violent forms of resistance, when in fact they consistently seized justice for themselves and organized toward revolt. Nikki M. Taylor expertly reveals how women killed for deeply personal instances of injustice committed by their owners. The stories presented, which span centuries and legal contexts, demonstrate that these acts of lethal force were carefully pre-meditated. Enslaved women planned how and when their enslavers would die, what weapons and accomplices were necessary, and how to evade capture in the aftermath. Original and compelling, Brooding Over Bloody Revenge presents a window into the lives and philosophies of enslaved women who had their own ideas about justice and how to achieve it.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America
Book - 2023
Perfect for readers of A Woman of No Importance, Three Ordinary Girls, and Eleanor: A Life comes the first-ever biography of Anna Marie Rosenberg, the Hun...Show more
Perfect for readers of A Woman of No Importance, Three Ordinary Girls, and Eleanor: A Life comes the first-ever biography of Anna Marie Rosenberg, the Hungarian Jewish immigrant who became FDR's closest advisor during World War II and, according to Life, 'the most important official woman in the world'— a woman of many firsts, whose story, forgotten for too long, is extraordinary, inspiring, and uniquely American. Her life ran parallel to the front lines of history yet her influence on 20th century America, from the New Deal to the Cold War and beyond, has never before been told. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt's special envoy to Europe in World War II she went where the president couldn't go. She was among the first Allied women to enter a liberated concentration camp, and stood in the Eagle's Nest, Hitler's mountain retreat, days after its capture. She guided the direction of the G.I. Bill of Rights and the Manhattan Project. Though Anna Rosenberg emerged from modest immigrant beginnings, equipped with only a high school education, she was the real power behind national policies critical to America winning the war and prospering afterward. Astonishingly, her story remains largely forgotten. With a disarming mix of charm and Tammany-hewn toughness, Rosenberg began her career in public relations in 1920s Manhattan. She became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt, who recommended Anna to her husband, who was then running for Governor of New York. As FDR's unofficial adviser, Rosenberg soon wielded enormous influence— no less potent for being subtle. Roosevelt dubbed her 'my Mrs. Fix-It.' Her extraordinary career continued after his death. By 1950, she was tapped to become the assistant secretary of defense— the highest position ever held by a woman in the US military— prompting Senator Joe McCarthy to wage an unsuccessful smear campaign against her. In 1962, she organized John F. Kennedy's infamous birthday gala, sitting beside him while Marilyn Monroe sang. Until the end of her life, Rosenberg fought tirelessly for causes from racial integration to women's equality to national health care. More than the story of one remarkable woman, The Confidante explores who gets to be at the forefront of history, and why. Though she was not quite a hidden figure, Rosenberg's position as 'the power behind,' combined with her status as an immigrant and a Jewish woman, served to diminish her importance. In this inspiring, impeccably researched, and revelatory book, Christopher C. Gorham at last affords Anna Rosenberg the recognition she so richly deserves.
Show less
Perfect for readers of A Woman of No Importance, Three Ordinary Girls, and Eleanor: A Life comes the first-ever biography of Anna Marie Rosenberg, the Hun...Show more
Perfect for readers of A Woman of No Importance, Three Ordinary Girls, and Eleanor: A Life comes the first-ever biography of Anna Marie Rosenberg, the Hungarian Jewish immigrant who became FDR's closest advisor during World War II and, according to Life, 'the most important official woman in the world'— a woman of many firsts, whose story, forgotten for too long, is extraordinary, inspiring, and uniquely American. Her life ran parallel to the front lines of history yet her influence on 20th century America, from the New Deal to the Cold War and beyond, has never before been told. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt's special envoy to Europe in World War II she went where the president couldn't go. She was among the first Allied women to enter a liberated concentration camp, and stood in the Eagle's Nest, Hitler's mountain retreat, days after its capture. She guided the direction of the G.I. Bill of Rights and the Manhattan Project. Though Anna Rosenberg emerged from modest immigrant beginnings, equipped with only a high school education, she was the real power behind national policies critical to America winning the war and prospering afterward. Astonishingly, her story remains largely forgotten. With a disarming mix of charm and Tammany-hewn toughness, Rosenberg began her career in public relations in 1920s Manhattan. She became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt, who recommended Anna to her husband, who was then running for Governor of New York. As FDR's unofficial adviser, Rosenberg soon wielded enormous influence— no less potent for being subtle. Roosevelt dubbed her 'my Mrs. Fix-It.' Her extraordinary career continued after his death. By 1950, she was tapped to become the assistant secretary of defense— the highest position ever held by a woman in the US military— prompting Senator Joe McCarthy to wage an unsuccessful smear campaign against her. In 1962, she organized John F. Kennedy's infamous birthday gala, sitting beside him while Marilyn Monroe sang. Until the end of her life, Rosenberg fought tirelessly for causes from racial integration to women's equality to national health care. More than the story of one remarkable woman, The Confidante explores who gets to be at the forefront of history, and why. Though she was not quite a hidden figure, Rosenberg's position as 'the power behind,' combined with her status as an immigrant and a Jewish woman, served to diminish her importance. In this inspiring, impeccably researched, and revelatory book, Christopher C. Gorham at last affords Anna Rosenberg the recognition she so richly deserves.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles During the Holocaust
Book - 2024
The astonishing story of Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg— a Jewish mathematician who saved thousands of lives in Nazi-occupied Poland by masquerading as a P...Show more
The astonishing story of Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg— a Jewish mathematician who saved thousands of lives in Nazi-occupied Poland by masquerading as a Polish aristocrat— drawing on Mehlberg's own unpublished memoir. World War II and the Holocaust have given rise to many stories of resistance and rescue, but The Counterfeit Countess is unique. It tells the remarkable, unknown story of 'Countess Janina Suchodolska,' a Jewish woman who rescued more than 10,000 Poles imprisoned by Poland's Nazi occupiers. Mehlberg operated in Lublin, Poland, headquarters of Aktion Reinhard, the SS operation that murdered 1.7 million Jews in occupied Poland. Using the identity papers of a Polish aristocrat, she worked as a welfare official while also serving in the Polish resistance. With guile, cajolery, and steely persistence, the 'Countess' persuaded SS officials to release thousands of Poles from the Majdanek concentration camp. She won permission to deliver food and medicine— even decorated Christmas trees— for thousands more of the camp's prisoners. At the same time, she personally smuggled supplies and messages to resistance fighters imprisoned at Majdanek, where 63,000 Jews were murdered in gas chambers and shooting pits. Incredibly, she eluded detection, and ultimately survived the war and emigrated to the US. Drawing on the manuscript of Mehlberg's own unpublished memoir, supplemented with prodigious research, Elizabeth White and Joanna Sliwa, professional historians and Holocaust experts, have uncovered the full story of this remarkable woman. They interweave Mehlberg's sometimes harrowing personal testimony with broader historical narrative. Like The Light of Days, Schindler's List, and Irena's Children, The Counterfeit Countess is an unforgettable account of inspiring courage in the face of unspeakable cruelty.
Show less
The astonishing story of Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg— a Jewish mathematician who saved thousands of lives in Nazi-occupied Poland by masquerading as a P...Show more
The astonishing story of Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg— a Jewish mathematician who saved thousands of lives in Nazi-occupied Poland by masquerading as a Polish aristocrat— drawing on Mehlberg's own unpublished memoir. World War II and the Holocaust have given rise to many stories of resistance and rescue, but The Counterfeit Countess is unique. It tells the remarkable, unknown story of 'Countess Janina Suchodolska,' a Jewish woman who rescued more than 10,000 Poles imprisoned by Poland's Nazi occupiers. Mehlberg operated in Lublin, Poland, headquarters of Aktion Reinhard, the SS operation that murdered 1.7 million Jews in occupied Poland. Using the identity papers of a Polish aristocrat, she worked as a welfare official while also serving in the Polish resistance. With guile, cajolery, and steely persistence, the 'Countess' persuaded SS officials to release thousands of Poles from the Majdanek concentration camp. She won permission to deliver food and medicine— even decorated Christmas trees— for thousands more of the camp's prisoners. At the same time, she personally smuggled supplies and messages to resistance fighters imprisoned at Majdanek, where 63,000 Jews were murdered in gas chambers and shooting pits. Incredibly, she eluded detection, and ultimately survived the war and emigrated to the US. Drawing on the manuscript of Mehlberg's own unpublished memoir, supplemented with prodigious research, Elizabeth White and Joanna Sliwa, professional historians and Holocaust experts, have uncovered the full story of this remarkable woman. They interweave Mehlberg's sometimes harrowing personal testimony with broader historical narrative. Like The Light of Days, Schindler's List, and Irena's Children, The Counterfeit Countess is an unforgettable account of inspiring courage in the face of unspeakable cruelty.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples From Destruction
by Olson, Lynne
Book - 2023
In the 1960s, the world's attention was focused on a nail-biting race against time— an international campaign to save over a dozen ancient Egyptian temple...Show more
In the 1960s, the world's attention was focused on a nail-biting race against time— an international campaign to save over a dozen ancient Egyptian temples, built during the height of the pharaohs' rule, from drowning in the floodwaters of the gigantic new Aswan High Dam. But the massive press coverage of this unprecedented rescue effort completely overlooked the feisty French archaeologist who made it all happen. Without the intervention of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, the temples— including the Met Museum's Temple of Dendur— would now be at the bottom of a gigantic reservoir. It was a project of unimaginable size and complexity that required the fragile sandstone temples to be dismantled, stone by stone, and rebuilt on higher ground. A willful, real-life version of Indiana Jones, Desroches-Noblecourt refused to be cowed by anyone or anything. As a brave member of the French Resistance in WWII she had survived imprisonment by the Nazis; in her fight to save the temples she had to face down two of the most daunting leaders of the postwar world, Egyptian President Abdel Nasser and French President Charles de Gaulle. As she told one reporter, 'You don't get anywhere without a fight, you know.' Yet Desroches-Noblecourt was not the only woman who played a crucial role in the endeavor. The other one was Jacqueline Kennedy, America's new First Lady, who persuaded her husband to call on Congress to help fund the rescue effort. After a century and a half of Western plunder of Egypt's ancient monuments, Desroches-Noblecourt had done the opposite. She had helped preserve a crucial part of its cultural heritage and, just as important, made sure it remained in its homeland.
Show less
In the 1960s, the world's attention was focused on a nail-biting race against time— an international campaign to save over a dozen ancient Egyptian temple...Show more
In the 1960s, the world's attention was focused on a nail-biting race against time— an international campaign to save over a dozen ancient Egyptian temples, built during the height of the pharaohs' rule, from drowning in the floodwaters of the gigantic new Aswan High Dam. But the massive press coverage of this unprecedented rescue effort completely overlooked the feisty French archaeologist who made it all happen. Without the intervention of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, the temples— including the Met Museum's Temple of Dendur— would now be at the bottom of a gigantic reservoir. It was a project of unimaginable size and complexity that required the fragile sandstone temples to be dismantled, stone by stone, and rebuilt on higher ground. A willful, real-life version of Indiana Jones, Desroches-Noblecourt refused to be cowed by anyone or anything. As a brave member of the French Resistance in WWII she had survived imprisonment by the Nazis; in her fight to save the temples she had to face down two of the most daunting leaders of the postwar world, Egyptian President Abdel Nasser and French President Charles de Gaulle. As she told one reporter, 'You don't get anywhere without a fight, you know.' Yet Desroches-Noblecourt was not the only woman who played a crucial role in the endeavor. The other one was Jacqueline Kennedy, America's new First Lady, who persuaded her husband to call on Congress to help fund the rescue effort. After a century and a half of Western plunder of Egypt's ancient monuments, Desroches-Noblecourt had done the opposite. She had helped preserve a crucial part of its cultural heritage and, just as important, made sure it remained in its homeland.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science
Book - 2023
In 1999, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology admitted to discriminating against its most senior female scientists. It was a seismic cultural event— ...Show more
In 1999, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology admitted to discriminating against its most senior female scientists. It was a seismic cultural event— one that forced institutions across the nation to reckon with the bias faced by girls and women in STEM. The Exceptions is the story of the women on MIT's faculty who started it all, centered on the life and career of their unlikely leader: Nancy Hopkins, a noted molecular geneticist and cancer researcher and protégée of James Watson, the codiscoverer of the structure of DNA.
Show less
In 1999, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology admitted to discriminating against its most senior female scientists. It was a seismic cultural event— ...Show more
In 1999, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology admitted to discriminating against its most senior female scientists. It was a seismic cultural event— one that forced institutions across the nation to reckon with the bias faced by girls and women in STEM. The Exceptions is the story of the women on MIT's faculty who started it all, centered on the life and career of their unlikely leader: Nancy Hopkins, a noted molecular geneticist and cancer researcher and protégée of James Watson, the codiscoverer of the structure of DNA.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
Book - 2023
A historical thriller by the Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning author that tells the riveting story of the Klan's rise to power in the 1920s, the c...Show more
A historical thriller by the Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning author that tells the riveting story of the Klan's rise to power in the 1920s, the cunning con man who drove that rise, and the woman who stopped them. The Roaring Twenties— the Jazz Age— has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson. Stephenson was a magnetic presence whose life story changed with every telling. Within two years of his arrival in Indiana, he'd become the Grand Dragon of the state and and the architect of the strategy that brought the group out of the shadows— their message endorsed from the pulpits of local churches, spread at family picnics and town celebrations. Judges, prosecutors, ministers, governors and senators across the country all proudly proclaimed their membership. But at the peak of his influence, it was a seemingly powerless woman— Madge Oberholtzer— who would reveal his secret cruelties, and whose deathbed testimony finally brought the Klan to their knees.
Show less
A historical thriller by the Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning author that tells the riveting story of the Klan's rise to power in the 1920s, the c...Show more
A historical thriller by the Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning author that tells the riveting story of the Klan's rise to power in the 1920s, the cunning con man who drove that rise, and the woman who stopped them. The Roaring Twenties— the Jazz Age— has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson. Stephenson was a magnetic presence whose life story changed with every telling. Within two years of his arrival in Indiana, he'd become the Grand Dragon of the state and and the architect of the strategy that brought the group out of the shadows— their message endorsed from the pulpits of local churches, spread at family picnics and town celebrations. Judges, prosecutors, ministers, governors and senators across the country all proudly proclaimed their membership. But at the peak of his influence, it was a seemingly powerless woman— Madge Oberholtzer— who would reveal his secret cruelties, and whose deathbed testimony finally brought the Klan to their knees.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
The Untold True Story of the Country's First Female Investigator and Crime-fighting Squads
Book - 2023
From corsets to crime fighting , Mae Foley challenged the patriarchal status quo by not only juggling family life, but also by forming the first female au...Show more
From corsets to crime fighting , Mae Foley challenged the patriarchal status quo by not only juggling family life, but also by forming the first female auxiliary police force in the City That Never Sleeps. After the 19th Amendment passed in 1920, Foley galvanized 2,000 women to join her 'Masher Squad' and eventually became one of the first sworn officers with the NYPD. The 'Masher Squad' brought down robbers and rapists, investigated the notorious 3X serial murders, and provided witness protection during the trails of the deadliest mafia bosses in the city. Foley starred down the barrel of the gun— from facing the patriarchy head on, but also quite literally— and always came out on top.
Show less
From corsets to crime fighting , Mae Foley challenged the patriarchal status quo by not only juggling family life, but also by forming the first female au...Show more
From corsets to crime fighting , Mae Foley challenged the patriarchal status quo by not only juggling family life, but also by forming the first female auxiliary police force in the City That Never Sleeps. After the 19th Amendment passed in 1920, Foley galvanized 2,000 women to join her 'Masher Squad' and eventually became one of the first sworn officers with the NYPD. The 'Masher Squad' brought down robbers and rapists, investigated the notorious 3X serial murders, and provided witness protection during the trails of the deadliest mafia bosses in the city. Foley starred down the barrel of the gun— from facing the patriarchy head on, but also quite literally— and always came out on top.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
How Trailblazing Women Scientists Decoded the Hidden Universe
Book - 2023
This book tells the stories of women physicists from around the world who transformed science. Many of them discovered invisible objects in the universe, ...Show more
This book tells the stories of women physicists from around the world who transformed science. Many of them discovered invisible objects in the universe, and all wore a cloak of invisibility throughout their careers. Their remarkable stories of scientific innovation, inspirational leadership and overcoming invisibility deserve to go viral.
Show less
This book tells the stories of women physicists from around the world who transformed science. Many of them discovered invisible objects in the universe, ...Show more
This book tells the stories of women physicists from around the world who transformed science. Many of them discovered invisible objects in the universe, and all wore a cloak of invisibility throughout their careers. Their remarkable stories of scientific innovation, inspirational leadership and overcoming invisibility deserve to go viral.
Show less
All copies in use
Availability details
Place hold
The Untold History of Beauty & Female Creativity
by Burke, Jill
Book - 2024
Plunge into the intimate history of cosmetics, and discover how, for centuries, women have turned to make-up as a rich source of creativity, community and...Show more
Plunge into the intimate history of cosmetics, and discover how, for centuries, women have turned to make-up as a rich source of creativity, community and resistance. The Renaissance was an era obsessed with appearances. And beauty culture from the time has left traces that give us a window into an overlooked realm of history— revealing everything from 16th-century women's body anxieties to their sophisticated botanical and chemical knowledge. 'How to be a Renaissance Woman' allows us to glimpse the world of the female artists, artisans and businesswomen carving out space for themselves, as well as those who gained power and influence in the cut-throat world of the court. In a vivid exploration women's lives, Professor Jill Burke invites us to rediscover historical cosmetic recipes and unpack the origins of the beauty ideals that are still with us today.
Show less
Plunge into the intimate history of cosmetics, and discover how, for centuries, women have turned to make-up as a rich source of creativity, community and...Show more
Plunge into the intimate history of cosmetics, and discover how, for centuries, women have turned to make-up as a rich source of creativity, community and resistance. The Renaissance was an era obsessed with appearances. And beauty culture from the time has left traces that give us a window into an overlooked realm of history— revealing everything from 16th-century women's body anxieties to their sophisticated botanical and chemical knowledge. 'How to be a Renaissance Woman' allows us to glimpse the world of the female artists, artisans and businesswomen carving out space for themselves, as well as those who gained power and influence in the cut-throat world of the court. In a vivid exploration women's lives, Professor Jill Burke invites us to rediscover historical cosmetic recipes and unpack the origins of the beauty ideals that are still with us today.
Show less
All copies in use
Availability details
Place hold
Illustrated True Stories of Dangerous Women
by Perrin, Lisa
Book - 2023
This lavishly illustrated book by Lisa Perrin introduces more than 25 infamous women poisoners, exploring the circumstances and skill sets that led them t...Show more
This lavishly illustrated book by Lisa Perrin introduces more than 25 infamous women poisoners, exploring the circumstances and skill sets that led them to lives of crime. Learn about popular poisons throughout history and their deadly effects, and explore the common motives that drove these women to commit their dastardly deeds. You might find yourself rooting for some of them— like Sally Bassett, who helped poison her granddaughter's enslavers in Bermuda, or the Angel Makers of Nagyrév, who helped women get rid of their abusive husbands. Other stories, though— including that of Yiya Murano, one of Argentina's most notorious swindlers and serial killers, or the terrifying Nurse Jane Toppan— may prove less palatable.
Show less
This lavishly illustrated book by Lisa Perrin introduces more than 25 infamous women poisoners, exploring the circumstances and skill sets that led them t...Show more
This lavishly illustrated book by Lisa Perrin introduces more than 25 infamous women poisoners, exploring the circumstances and skill sets that led them to lives of crime. Learn about popular poisons throughout history and their deadly effects, and explore the common motives that drove these women to commit their dastardly deeds. You might find yourself rooting for some of them— like Sally Bassett, who helped poison her granddaughter's enslavers in Bermuda, or the Angel Makers of Nagyrév, who helped women get rid of their abusive husbands. Other stories, though— including that of Yiya Murano, one of Argentina's most notorious swindlers and serial killers, or the terrifying Nurse Jane Toppan— may prove less palatable.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
The Forgotten Sisters Who Transformed Early American Science
Book - 2023
The nineteenth century was a transformative period in the history of American science, as scientific study, once the domain of armchair enthusiasts and am...Show more
The nineteenth century was a transformative period in the history of American science, as scientific study, once the domain of armchair enthusiasts and amateurs, became the purview of professional experts and institutions. In Mischievous Creatures, historian Catherine McNeur shows that women were central to the development of the natural sciences during this critical time. She does so by uncovering the forgotten lives of entomologist Margaretta Hare Morris and botanist Elizabeth Morris— sister scientists whose essential contributions to their respective fields, and to the professionalization of science as a whole, have been largely erased. Margaretta was famous within antebellum scientific circles for her work with seventeen-year cicadas and for her discoveries of previously undocumented insect species and the threats they posed to agriculture. Unusually for her time, she published under her own name, and eventually became one of the first women elected to both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Margaretta's older sister Elizabeth preferred anonymity to accolades, but she nevertheless became a trusted expert on Philadelphia's flora, created illustrations for major reference books, and published numerous articles in popular science journals. The sisters corresponded and collaborated with many of the male scientific eminences of their day, including Asa Gray and Louis Agassiz, although they also faced condescension and outright misogyny: no less a figure than Charles Darwin dismissed Margaretta's (correct) assertion that water beetles help to move fish eggs from lake to lake, and the sisters long suspected that an arsonist who twice targeted their property was motivated by misogynist resentment. Alongside the lives of the Morris sisters, McNeur traces the larger story of American science's professionalization, a process that began, she shows, earlier in the nineteenth century than is traditionally thought. She reveals an early Republic hungry to define itself and eager to keep pace with the scientific culture of Europe, as the sciences transformed from hobbies into careers, with more government and university support, professional journals and organizations. Ironically, while women like the Morris sisters were central to the growth and development of their fields, this very transformation would ultimately wrest opportunities from women in the generations that followed, confining women in science to underpaid and underappreciated positions. Mischievous Creatures is not only an overdue portrait of two pioneering women scientists, but also a vital and revelatory new history of the birth of modern American science.
Show less
The nineteenth century was a transformative period in the history of American science, as scientific study, once the domain of armchair enthusiasts and am...Show more
The nineteenth century was a transformative period in the history of American science, as scientific study, once the domain of armchair enthusiasts and amateurs, became the purview of professional experts and institutions. In Mischievous Creatures, historian Catherine McNeur shows that women were central to the development of the natural sciences during this critical time. She does so by uncovering the forgotten lives of entomologist Margaretta Hare Morris and botanist Elizabeth Morris— sister scientists whose essential contributions to their respective fields, and to the professionalization of science as a whole, have been largely erased. Margaretta was famous within antebellum scientific circles for her work with seventeen-year cicadas and for her discoveries of previously undocumented insect species and the threats they posed to agriculture. Unusually for her time, she published under her own name, and eventually became one of the first women elected to both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Margaretta's older sister Elizabeth preferred anonymity to accolades, but she nevertheless became a trusted expert on Philadelphia's flora, created illustrations for major reference books, and published numerous articles in popular science journals. The sisters corresponded and collaborated with many of the male scientific eminences of their day, including Asa Gray and Louis Agassiz, although they also faced condescension and outright misogyny: no less a figure than Charles Darwin dismissed Margaretta's (correct) assertion that water beetles help to move fish eggs from lake to lake, and the sisters long suspected that an arsonist who twice targeted their property was motivated by misogynist resentment. Alongside the lives of the Morris sisters, McNeur traces the larger story of American science's professionalization, a process that began, she shows, earlier in the nineteenth century than is traditionally thought. She reveals an early Republic hungry to define itself and eager to keep pace with the scientific culture of Europe, as the sciences transformed from hobbies into careers, with more government and university support, professional journals and organizations. Ironically, while women like the Morris sisters were central to the growth and development of their fields, this very transformation would ultimately wrest opportunities from women in the generations that followed, confining women in science to underpaid and underappreciated positions. Mischievous Creatures is not only an overdue portrait of two pioneering women scientists, but also a vital and revelatory new history of the birth of modern American science.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
900 Years of Making History
Book - 2024
Did you know that there are more penises than women in the Bayeux Tapestry? That the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 was started and propelled by women who were ...Show more
Did you know that there are more penises than women in the Bayeux Tapestry? That the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 was started and propelled by women who were protesting a tax on women? Or that celebrated naturalist Charles Darwin believed not just that women were naturally inferior to men, but that they’d evolve to become ever more inferior?
These are just a few of the startling findings you will learn from reading Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women. In this ambitious and groundbreaking book, she tells the story of England over 900 years, for the very first time placing women—some fifty per cent of the population—center stage.
Using research skills honed in her work as one of our foremost historical novelists, Gregory trawled through court records, newspapers, and journals to find highwaywomen and beggars, murderers and brides, housewives and pirates, female husbands and hermits. The “normal women” you will meet in these pages went to war, ploughed the fields, campaigned, wrote, and loved. They rode in jousts, flew Spitfires, issued their own currency, and built ships, corn mills and houses. They committed crimes or treason, worshipped many gods, cooked and nursed, invented things, and rioted. A lot.
A landmark work of scholarship and storytelling, Normal Women chronicles centuries of social and cultural change—from 1066 to modern times—powered by the determination, persistence, and effectiveness of women.
Show less
Did you know that there are more penises than women in the Bayeux Tapestry? That the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 was started and propelled by women who were ...Show more
Did you know that there are more penises than women in the Bayeux Tapestry? That the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 was started and propelled by women who were protesting a tax on women? Or that celebrated naturalist Charles Darwin believed not just that women were naturally inferior to men, but that they’d evolve to become ever more inferior?
These are just a few of the startling findings you will learn from reading Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women. In this ambitious and groundbreaking book, she tells the story of England over 900 years, for the very first time placing women—some fifty per cent of the population—center stage.
Using research skills honed in her work as one of our foremost historical novelists, Gregory trawled through court records, newspapers, and journals to find highwaywomen and beggars, murderers and brides, housewives and pirates, female husbands and hermits. The “normal women” you will meet in these pages went to war, ploughed the fields, campaigned, wrote, and loved. They rode in jousts, flew Spitfires, issued their own currency, and built ships, corn mills and houses. They committed crimes or treason, worshipped many gods, cooked and nursed, invented things, and rioted. A lot.
A landmark work of scholarship and storytelling, Normal Women chronicles centuries of social and cultural change—from 1066 to modern times—powered by the determination, persistence, and effectiveness of women.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society
Book - 2023
A vibrant and illuminating exploration of medieval thinking on women's beauty, sexuality, and behavior. What makes for the ideal woman? How should she loo...Show more
A vibrant and illuminating exploration of medieval thinking on women's beauty, sexuality, and behavior. What makes for the ideal woman? How should she look, love, and be? In this vibrant, high-spirited history, medievalist Eleanor Janega turns to the Middle Ages, the era that bridged the ancient world and modern society, to unfurl its suppositions about women and reveal what's shifted over time— and what hasn't. Enshrined medieval thinkers, almost always male, subscribed to a blend of classical Greek and Roman philosophy and Christian theology for their concepts of the sexes. For the height of female attractiveness, they chose the mythical Helen of Troy, whose imagined pear shape, small breasts, and golden hair served as beauty's epitome. Casting Eve's shadow over medieval women, they derided them as oversexed sinners, inherently lustful, insatiable, and weak. And, unless a nun, a woman was to be the embodiment of perfect motherhood. In contrast, drawing on accounts of remarkable and subversive medieval women like Eleanor of Aquitaine and Hildegard of Bingen, along with others hidden in documents and court cases, Janega shows us how real women of the era lived. While often mothers, they were industrious farmers, brewers, textile workers, artists, and artisans and paved the way for new ideas about women's nature, intellect, and ability. In The Once and Future Sex, Janega unravels the restricting expectations on medieval women and the ones on women today. She boldly questions why, if our ideas of women have changed drastically over time, we cannot reimagine them now to create a more equitable future
Show less
A vibrant and illuminating exploration of medieval thinking on women's beauty, sexuality, and behavior. What makes for the ideal woman? How should she loo...Show more
A vibrant and illuminating exploration of medieval thinking on women's beauty, sexuality, and behavior. What makes for the ideal woman? How should she look, love, and be? In this vibrant, high-spirited history, medievalist Eleanor Janega turns to the Middle Ages, the era that bridged the ancient world and modern society, to unfurl its suppositions about women and reveal what's shifted over time— and what hasn't. Enshrined medieval thinkers, almost always male, subscribed to a blend of classical Greek and Roman philosophy and Christian theology for their concepts of the sexes. For the height of female attractiveness, they chose the mythical Helen of Troy, whose imagined pear shape, small breasts, and golden hair served as beauty's epitome. Casting Eve's shadow over medieval women, they derided them as oversexed sinners, inherently lustful, insatiable, and weak. And, unless a nun, a woman was to be the embodiment of perfect motherhood. In contrast, drawing on accounts of remarkable and subversive medieval women like Eleanor of Aquitaine and Hildegard of Bingen, along with others hidden in documents and court cases, Janega shows us how real women of the era lived. While often mothers, they were industrious farmers, brewers, textile workers, artists, and artisans and paved the way for new ideas about women's nature, intellect, and ability. In The Once and Future Sex, Janega unravels the restricting expectations on medieval women and the ones on women today. She boldly questions why, if our ideas of women have changed drastically over time, we cannot reimagine them now to create a more equitable future
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
The Revolutionary Life of Margaret Cavendish
Book - 2024
Margaret Cavendish, then Lucas, was born in 1623 to an aristocratic family. In 1644, as England descended into civil war, she joined the court of the form...Show more
Margaret Cavendish, then Lucas, was born in 1623 to an aristocratic family. In 1644, as England descended into civil war, she joined the court of the formidable Queen Henrietta Maria at Oxford. With the rest of the court she went into self-imposed exile in France. Her family's wealth and lands were forfeited by Parliament. It was in France that she met her partner, William Cavendish, Marquess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a marriage that made her the Duchess of Newcastle and would remain at the heart of both her life and career. Margaret was a passionate writer. She wrote extensively on gender, science, philosophy, and published under her own name at a time when women simply did not do so. Her greatest work was The Blazing World, published in 1666, a utopian proto-novel that is thought to be one of the earliest works of science fiction that brought together Margaret's talents in poetry, philosophy, and science. Yet hers is a legacy that has long divided opinion, and history has largely forgotten her, an undeserved fate for a brilliant, courageous proto-feminist. In Pure Wit, Francesca Peacock remedies this omission and shines a spotlight on the fascinating, pioneering, yet often complex and controversial life, of the multi-faceted Margaret Cavendish.
Show less
Margaret Cavendish, then Lucas, was born in 1623 to an aristocratic family. In 1644, as England descended into civil war, she joined the court of the form...Show more
Margaret Cavendish, then Lucas, was born in 1623 to an aristocratic family. In 1644, as England descended into civil war, she joined the court of the formidable Queen Henrietta Maria at Oxford. With the rest of the court she went into self-imposed exile in France. Her family's wealth and lands were forfeited by Parliament. It was in France that she met her partner, William Cavendish, Marquess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a marriage that made her the Duchess of Newcastle and would remain at the heart of both her life and career. Margaret was a passionate writer. She wrote extensively on gender, science, philosophy, and published under her own name at a time when women simply did not do so. Her greatest work was The Blazing World, published in 1666, a utopian proto-novel that is thought to be one of the earliest works of science fiction that brought together Margaret's talents in poetry, philosophy, and science. Yet hers is a legacy that has long divided opinion, and history has largely forgotten her, an undeserved fate for a brilliant, courageous proto-feminist. In Pure Wit, Francesca Peacock remedies this omission and shines a spotlight on the fascinating, pioneering, yet often complex and controversial life, of the multi-faceted Margaret Cavendish.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
How Women Wrote the Renaissance
Book - 2024
A remarkable work about women writers in the Renaissance explodes our notion of the Shakespearean period and brings us in close to four women who were com...Show more
A remarkable work about women writers in the Renaissance explodes our notion of the Shakespearean period and brings us in close to four women who were committed to their craft before there was any possibility of "a room of one's own." In a sparkling andengaging narrative of everyday life in Shakespearean England, Ramie Targoff carries us from the sumptuous coronation of Queen Elizabeth in the mid 16th century into the private lives of four women writers working without acknowledgment at a time when women were legally the property of men. Some readers may have heard of Mary Sidney, accomplished poet and sister of the famous Sir Philip Sidney, but few will have heard of Amelia Lanyer, the first woman to publish a book of poetry in the 17th century, whichoffered a feminist take on the crucifixion, or Elizabeth Cary, who published the first original play by a woman, about the plight of the Jewish princess Mariam. Then there was Anne Clifford, a lifelong diarist, who fought for decades against a patriarchythat tried to rob her of her land, in one of England's most infamous inheritance battles. These women had husbands and children to care for and little support for their art, yet against all odds they defined themselves as writers, finding rooms of their own whose doors had been shut for centuries. Targoff flings them open to uncover the treasures left by these extraordinary women by helping us see the period in a fresh light and by supplying an expanded reading of history and a much-needed female perspective on life in Shakespeare's day
Show less
A remarkable work about women writers in the Renaissance explodes our notion of the Shakespearean period and brings us in close to four women who were com...Show more
A remarkable work about women writers in the Renaissance explodes our notion of the Shakespearean period and brings us in close to four women who were committed to their craft before there was any possibility of "a room of one's own." In a sparkling andengaging narrative of everyday life in Shakespearean England, Ramie Targoff carries us from the sumptuous coronation of Queen Elizabeth in the mid 16th century into the private lives of four women writers working without acknowledgment at a time when women were legally the property of men. Some readers may have heard of Mary Sidney, accomplished poet and sister of the famous Sir Philip Sidney, but few will have heard of Amelia Lanyer, the first woman to publish a book of poetry in the 17th century, whichoffered a feminist take on the crucifixion, or Elizabeth Cary, who published the first original play by a woman, about the plight of the Jewish princess Mariam. Then there was Anne Clifford, a lifelong diarist, who fought for decades against a patriarchythat tried to rob her of her land, in one of England's most infamous inheritance battles. These women had husbands and children to care for and little support for their art, yet against all odds they defined themselves as writers, finding rooms of their own whose doors had been shut for centuries. Targoff flings them open to uncover the treasures left by these extraordinary women by helping us see the period in a fresh light and by supplying an expanded reading of history and a much-needed female perspective on life in Shakespeare's day
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
Olympic Legends From Tennessee State
Book - 2024
The Tigerbelles tells the epic story of the 1960 Tennessee State University all-Black women's track team, which found Olympic glory at the 1960 games in R...Show more
The Tigerbelles tells the epic story of the 1960 Tennessee State University all-Black women's track team, which found Olympic glory at the 1960 games in Rome. The author tells a story of desire, success and failure— of beating the odds— against the backdrop of a changing America, but tells it in an intimate way. Readers will come to know the individuals' unique struggles and triumphs, while also understanding how these dreams emerged and solidified just as the country was struggling to leave the Jim Crow era behind. Coach Edward Temple pushed each team member to the limit and saw the possibilities in them that they often did not see themselves. The elite group of talent included Wilma Rudolph, Barbara Jones, Lucinda Williams, Martha Hudson, Willye B. White and Shirley Crowder: women who once were and should still be known world-wide. Ultimately the team's drive was for more than medals: Coach Temple and the Tigerbelles wanted to change the world's perception of what a group of young Black women in the Jim Crow south were capable of. Tigerbelles is a multi-layered inspirational tale of triumph over adversity. Based on memoirs and interviews with surviving team members, including Coach Temple, this is the story of an impossible dream come true.
Show less
The Tigerbelles tells the epic story of the 1960 Tennessee State University all-Black women's track team, which found Olympic glory at the 1960 games in R...Show more
The Tigerbelles tells the epic story of the 1960 Tennessee State University all-Black women's track team, which found Olympic glory at the 1960 games in Rome. The author tells a story of desire, success and failure— of beating the odds— against the backdrop of a changing America, but tells it in an intimate way. Readers will come to know the individuals' unique struggles and triumphs, while also understanding how these dreams emerged and solidified just as the country was struggling to leave the Jim Crow era behind. Coach Edward Temple pushed each team member to the limit and saw the possibilities in them that they often did not see themselves. The elite group of talent included Wilma Rudolph, Barbara Jones, Lucinda Williams, Martha Hudson, Willye B. White and Shirley Crowder: women who once were and should still be known world-wide. Ultimately the team's drive was for more than medals: Coach Temple and the Tigerbelles wanted to change the world's perception of what a group of young Black women in the Jim Crow south were capable of. Tigerbelles is a multi-layered inspirational tale of triumph over adversity. Based on memoirs and interviews with surviving team members, including Coach Temple, this is the story of an impossible dream come true.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
An Unexpected and Personal History of the Car
Book - 2024
From the adolescent thrill of getting a driver's license to the dreaded commutes of adulthood, from vintage muscle cars to electric vehicles, this groundb...Show more
From the adolescent thrill of getting a driver's license to the dreaded commutes of adulthood, from vintage muscle cars to electric vehicles, this groundbreaking book reveals the outsized impact the car has had—and will continue to have—on the lives of women.
Since their inception cars have defined American culture, but until quite recently car histories were largely written by and about men—with little attention given to the fascinating story of women and cars.
In this engaging non-fiction narrative, Nancy A. Nichols, the daughter of a used car salesman, uses the cars her father sold and the ones her family drove to tell a larger story about how the car helped to define modern womanhood. From her sister’s classic Mustang to her mother’s Chevy Convertible to her own Honda minivan, Nichols tells a personal story in order to shed light on a universal one.
Cars helped women secure the right to vote, changed the nature of romance, and influenced both fashion and child rearing customs. In the just over 100 years since their inception, cars have created possibilities for commerce and romance even as they exposed women to new kinds of danger.
Women Behind the Wheel explores the uniquely gendered landscape of the automobile, detailing the many reasons why cars are both more expensive and more dangerous for women drivers.
The automobile is on the cusp of momentous change. As we advance into the era of electric, connected, and autonomous vehicles, Nichols shows us why we should hit the brakes and look back in the rear-view mirror at this long and fascinating history.
What is the role of the car in our lives? Should we be more skeptical of technology in our society? In Women Behind the Wheel, Nichols argues convincingly that only by understanding the many ways the car has changed us, can we hope to prepare ourselves for this brave new era.
Show less
From the adolescent thrill of getting a driver's license to the dreaded commutes of adulthood, from vintage muscle cars to electric vehicles, this groundb...Show more
From the adolescent thrill of getting a driver's license to the dreaded commutes of adulthood, from vintage muscle cars to electric vehicles, this groundbreaking book reveals the outsized impact the car has had—and will continue to have—on the lives of women.
Since their inception cars have defined American culture, but until quite recently car histories were largely written by and about men—with little attention given to the fascinating story of women and cars.
In this engaging non-fiction narrative, Nancy A. Nichols, the daughter of a used car salesman, uses the cars her father sold and the ones her family drove to tell a larger story about how the car helped to define modern womanhood. From her sister’s classic Mustang to her mother’s Chevy Convertible to her own Honda minivan, Nichols tells a personal story in order to shed light on a universal one.
Cars helped women secure the right to vote, changed the nature of romance, and influenced both fashion and child rearing customs. In the just over 100 years since their inception, cars have created possibilities for commerce and romance even as they exposed women to new kinds of danger.
Women Behind the Wheel explores the uniquely gendered landscape of the automobile, detailing the many reasons why cars are both more expensive and more dangerous for women drivers.
The automobile is on the cusp of momentous change. As we advance into the era of electric, connected, and autonomous vehicles, Nichols shows us why we should hit the brakes and look back in the rear-view mirror at this long and fascinating history.
What is the role of the car in our lives? Should we be more skeptical of technology in our society? In Women Behind the Wheel, Nichols argues convincingly that only by understanding the many ways the car has changed us, can we hope to prepare ourselves for this brave new era.
Show less
Available
in some locations
Place hold
