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Uppity Women
4,000 Years of Uppity Women: Rebellious Belles, Daring Dames, and Headstrong Heroines Through the Ages
Since ancient times, irrepressible women have broken all kinds of barriers. They ruled. They invented. They cured people. They killed people. They ran cities and businesses. The won races, athletic and political. They explored. They bankrolled explorers. They even bankrolled religions. Almost every organized religion, from Christianity to Buddhism to Quaker, has gotten off the ground thanks to the hard work and cold cash of women!
Most traditional histories written by men ignore, obscure, or erase the role of women, especially those who challenge the status quo. But the evidence of their achievements exists everywhere: in writings, coins, artifacts, graffiti, music, portraits, legal transcripts, love notes, and hate mail. For more than twenty years, Vicki Leon has been examining this evidence, chasing clues however faint and unconventional, and reporting her findings in numerous books, including the delightful four volume Uppity Women series.
4,000 Years of Uppity Women features the best of that series, chosen by Leon herself. It focuses not on legendary goddesses or literary characters but on real women (though many of them did become the subjects of poems, plays, and stories).
Most traditional histories written by men ignore, obscure, or erase the role of women, especially those who challenge the status quo. But the evidence of their achievements exists everywhere: in writings, coins, artifacts, graffiti, music, portraits, legal transcripts, love notes, and hate mail. For more than twenty years, Vicki Leon has been examining this evidence, chasing clues however faint and unconventional, and reporting her findings in numerous books, including the delightful four volume Uppity Women series.
4,000 Years of Uppity Women features the best of that series, chosen by Leon herself. It focuses not on legendary goddesses or literary characters but on real women (though many of them did become the subjects of poems, plays, and stories).
223 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
50 people are currently reading
1206 people want to read
About the author
Vicki León
73 books64 followersA prolific author of non-fiction, author of numerous books for young and old, Vicki León delights in unearthing unusual facts, fresh anecdotes, and uncommon statistics to create her books on the natural world and the flip side of history. Her book have won rave reviews from a long list of media that includes People magazine. Publishers Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, Voice of America, and numerous NPR stations.
Her bestselling titles for 10 and up include A Raft of Sea Otters, The Secrets of Tidepools, and three titles in the Outrageous Women series.
Her popular titles for older readers include Uppity Women of Ancient Times, Uppity Women of the Renaissance, and the other Uppity titles and the travel title Scenic Highway One.
Her bestselling titles for 10 and up include A Raft of Sea Otters, The Secrets of Tidepools, and three titles in the Outrageous Women series.
Her popular titles for older readers include Uppity Women of Ancient Times, Uppity Women of the Renaissance, and the other Uppity titles and the travel title Scenic Highway One.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
July 29, 2013
While it may be clear to some that author Vicki Leon did research, it wasn't to me. In fact I wondered why she chose to take up space with gibberish instead of real writing material. Uppity Women is written in a way that is ridiculous and gets in the way of the material. She tries too hard to be funny that's she's not. With attempts at being humorous and often referring to women by nicknames that she herself has created, she chooses to use a dated, cool-cat style that just doesn't suit the material, and it left me wondering where is her voice? It's a bunch of jargon that robs the message- the women in history are what counts and why does she belittle their accounts with her own biased jargon and insult the intelligence of her reader. I started to flip through pages and went into the more contemporary subjects to find a degree of “real-ness.” That's when I realized it wasn't about the characters at all, her writing left me feeling that I hadn't learned a thing from the book.
I expected this book to have potential. It is frustrating when potential is wasted. It is wonderful that women are beginning to receive the historical attention they deserve - however, flippant and downright silly historical abstracts like Uppity Women do a disservice to women's history.
I can forgive the broad take on when the middle ages took place, but struggled that the book itself is entirely composed of one or two page summaries of the lives and "accomplishments" of women during the middle ages. That so little information is written about the women discussed is another disappointment. More depth and less breadth would have made a much better read.
The choice of women presented further detracts from the book. While many women who deserve recognition for real contributions are included, there are many, many more women included who had no historical contribution whatsoever. And she excluded powerful women. Take for example Hypatia, from Egypt, who during the Middle Ages, was the world's greatest living mathematician and a woman, a physically beautiful woman, and a woman who was simultaneously the world's leading astronomer. As an intellectual, she was horrifically tortured and murdered by a Christian mob in a zeal of religious punishment. No mention of her.
A final irritation were outright historical inaccuracies; for example, claiming that Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince for Catherine d' Medici is simply inexcusable in a history book. It also doesn't do anything for the strength of women, in fact, it undermines.
I expected this book to have potential. It is frustrating when potential is wasted. It is wonderful that women are beginning to receive the historical attention they deserve - however, flippant and downright silly historical abstracts like Uppity Women do a disservice to women's history.
I can forgive the broad take on when the middle ages took place, but struggled that the book itself is entirely composed of one or two page summaries of the lives and "accomplishments" of women during the middle ages. That so little information is written about the women discussed is another disappointment. More depth and less breadth would have made a much better read.
The choice of women presented further detracts from the book. While many women who deserve recognition for real contributions are included, there are many, many more women included who had no historical contribution whatsoever. And she excluded powerful women. Take for example Hypatia, from Egypt, who during the Middle Ages, was the world's greatest living mathematician and a woman, a physically beautiful woman, and a woman who was simultaneously the world's leading astronomer. As an intellectual, she was horrifically tortured and murdered by a Christian mob in a zeal of religious punishment. No mention of her.
A final irritation were outright historical inaccuracies; for example, claiming that Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince for Catherine d' Medici is simply inexcusable in a history book. It also doesn't do anything for the strength of women, in fact, it undermines.
June 18, 2017
1.5 stars
León's book is absolutely crammed with women throughout the ages. I enjoyed finding women I had never heard of, but I wish the author had chosen less women and then expanded on their life and why they are important to history. Honestly, some of the women shouldn't have been in here. Others who are notable and not well known were missing. Don't get me started on her treatment of Sally Hemings. The section for her is titled "What "Love Slave" Once Meant," yikes.
The language used also bothered me. I understand trying to write outside of the scholarly voice, but Leon tried too hard to make it relatable to today's readers. It is chalk full of cliches and slang phrases. It was beyond annoying.
The images used are another problem. They may have belonged to the time period being discussed, but the employment of captions that have no relation to what is shown or expanding on the woman being looked at is absolutely pointless.
León's book is absolutely crammed with women throughout the ages. I enjoyed finding women I had never heard of, but I wish the author had chosen less women and then expanded on their life and why they are important to history. Honestly, some of the women shouldn't have been in here. Others who are notable and not well known were missing. Don't get me started on her treatment of Sally Hemings. The section for her is titled "What "Love Slave" Once Meant," yikes.
The language used also bothered me. I understand trying to write outside of the scholarly voice, but Leon tried too hard to make it relatable to today's readers. It is chalk full of cliches and slang phrases. It was beyond annoying.
The images used are another problem. They may have belonged to the time period being discussed, but the employment of captions that have no relation to what is shown or expanding on the woman being looked at is absolutely pointless.
October 2, 2020
Enjoyable for "uppity women" of all ages and curious men, too. Nice broad range throughout time of examples. Even the rather more notorious ones are fun.
December 2, 2013
There is one aisle I should never, ever visit at Barnes and Noble; but oh the treasurers I would miss. I really can’t walk into one of those stores without browsing up and down the bargain aisle. Not only are there delightful treasures, but they are at such tempting prices. Even though I’m now in publishing and know what those discounts mean to the author; well, they’re irresistible. This past week I finally had an opportunity to check out one of those bargains and had a few much needed giggles.
Leon has created a little book of vignettes about the life and times of a number of women from the past. This is a rollicking quick read. It is obviously well researched. You are introduced to the antics of ruler and slave, mistress and bored wife, business woman, intellectual, highway robber, patriot, nun and scoundrel. Some of these women were way ahead of their time; some just made the best use possible of the available resources. Here are a few of these windows on the past.
Fabiola, an early Christian. Long before the Nightingale of the Crimean war, Fabiola established the first free public hospital in the Western world. She didn’t wait for her patients to come to her – she went out and found them.
Back in the time of Alchemists, and interesting lady named Mary Prophetissa not only contributed much to the science of chemistry, she is the inventor of the double boiler. It must have been very helpful boiling and brewing all those potions.
I loved the robbers and pirates, the brave patriots and Australian who arrived as a criminal and ended up on a $20 bill. I learned that Betsy Ross did not create the Old Glory that inspired Francis Scott Key was one Baltimore widow named Mary Young Pickersgill. She created a wool flag that was 42 feet long and 30 feet wide. It used 400 yards of material and weighed 85 pounds. Pickersgill’s handwritten invoice was $405.90.
A couple of other ladies never mentioned in such rousing poetry as Paul Revere is a lady who road on horseback for 10 miles alerting the country folk of an impending attack (Mr. Revere didn’t make it that far) and a Quaker woman who bluffed her way through enemy lines to warn Washington of an impending attack. Never lying through her bluffing or through her integration (evidently the right questions were not asked) she was still kicked out of the Friends for being too involved in the war.
Many bits and pieces of the high and the really low, the celibate and those who found their identity less focused on the opposite sex, or not focused at all. Each and every one had an impact on her times and some far into the future. It’s a great short read and I highly recommend it.
Leon has created a little book of vignettes about the life and times of a number of women from the past. This is a rollicking quick read. It is obviously well researched. You are introduced to the antics of ruler and slave, mistress and bored wife, business woman, intellectual, highway robber, patriot, nun and scoundrel. Some of these women were way ahead of their time; some just made the best use possible of the available resources. Here are a few of these windows on the past.
Fabiola, an early Christian. Long before the Nightingale of the Crimean war, Fabiola established the first free public hospital in the Western world. She didn’t wait for her patients to come to her – she went out and found them.
Back in the time of Alchemists, and interesting lady named Mary Prophetissa not only contributed much to the science of chemistry, she is the inventor of the double boiler. It must have been very helpful boiling and brewing all those potions.
I loved the robbers and pirates, the brave patriots and Australian who arrived as a criminal and ended up on a $20 bill. I learned that Betsy Ross did not create the Old Glory that inspired Francis Scott Key was one Baltimore widow named Mary Young Pickersgill. She created a wool flag that was 42 feet long and 30 feet wide. It used 400 yards of material and weighed 85 pounds. Pickersgill’s handwritten invoice was $405.90.
A couple of other ladies never mentioned in such rousing poetry as Paul Revere is a lady who road on horseback for 10 miles alerting the country folk of an impending attack (Mr. Revere didn’t make it that far) and a Quaker woman who bluffed her way through enemy lines to warn Washington of an impending attack. Never lying through her bluffing or through her integration (evidently the right questions were not asked) she was still kicked out of the Friends for being too involved in the war.
Many bits and pieces of the high and the really low, the celibate and those who found their identity less focused on the opposite sex, or not focused at all. Each and every one had an impact on her times and some far into the future. It’s a great short read and I highly recommend it.
April 26, 2018
Lots of tasty morsels of badass ladies being uppity. Some ladies I had heard of, and others I hadn't, so my education continues!
August 8, 2012
People who know me well know that I'm a big fan of women who step out of what's expected of them by "civilized" society, so naturally when I saw this title in B&N's uber-clearance sale, I had to get it. From ancient times to 1899, Leon gives us a peek at the women who dared to be different. There are some expected big names (like Cleopatra), but there are more women you've never heard of doing extraordinary things -- good and bad. Book printers, blacksmiths, pirates, revolutionary fighters -- they're in there. What was very exciting to me was that I learned in the introduction that this book is a Cliff's Notes of the author's original 4-volume set of uppity women. Now I'm beginning the search for the set.
May 17, 2013
It was a lot of fun to read about all these women who have been hidden in history.
While the stories were good, I found it best to read a couple in a setting. Too many in one sitting got repetitive. Also, due to the length of the entries (a couple of paragraphs), the ladies sometimes became interchangeable. Don't read this expecting an in depth analysis and also be prepared for a light-hearted biography that's tongue-in-cheek, not serious academia.
But really, this was just a lot of fun and really inspiring. I'll be passing this on to my mom.
While the stories were good, I found it best to read a couple in a setting. Too many in one sitting got repetitive. Also, due to the length of the entries (a couple of paragraphs), the ladies sometimes became interchangeable. Don't read this expecting an in depth analysis and also be prepared for a light-hearted biography that's tongue-in-cheek, not serious academia.
But really, this was just a lot of fun and really inspiring. I'll be passing this on to my mom.
January 5, 2014
I absolutely loved the premise of this book and was excited to read about plenty of "uppity women" throughout history as this is an area that I am interested in but haven't done much research on. I thought this was a good introduction to the subject and a good springboard for further research. However, I could not get past the writing style of this author! The informality made her seem almost flippant, and it bothered me to no end, but this is an entirely personal opinion. Some readers may enjoy a more relaxed writing style, especially when it comes to history, which can be dry at times. Another thing that disappointed me greatly was that only 1-2 pages were dedicated to each story, and it felt more like León was trying to pack in too many stories and sacrificed depth. Though I don't mean to disparage any of the women's stories, there were many whose historical significance is questionable. This book could be improved by cutting some of the women in order to focus more time on the stories of more notable women and to include women past 1899. I also believed that there were glaring omissions of women with great historical significance, such as Ada Lovelace (first "computer programmer") and Mary Anning (did extensive work discovering our first dinosaur fossils). A huge plus for this book was the diversity of women explored in terms of race, nationality, ethnicity, and age. This was an excellent quick history book that suffered only from annoying writing and too much brevity.
June 18, 2018
Looks like this book is getting poor reviews for its casual writing style. I'm concerned; you cannot judge the historical accuracy of the content by the writing style. It would be easy to write serious-sounding prose with fake evidences.
I'm not defending this book. While it's a fun read about the many women we seldom hear about in history classes, I do doubt at least a handful of cases. Chiyome is a good example. The story about Mochizuki Chiyome being a ninja--and even organized a school for ninja--first appeared in the 20th century book. No contemporary record means the story is most likely made up later. Further, I'd add that very few women--even noble women--were recorded by their personal names in those days in Japan. A widow of an unaccomplished samurai? Let me just tell you that we don't know the names of Lord Takeda (her husband's lord--if she existed)'s wives.
It is appealing, however, isn't it? Sexy female ninjas! and sly master matron.
This book probably contains this kind of unexamined fake stories as well as true stories.
I'm not defending this book. While it's a fun read about the many women we seldom hear about in history classes, I do doubt at least a handful of cases. Chiyome is a good example. The story about Mochizuki Chiyome being a ninja--and even organized a school for ninja--first appeared in the 20th century book. No contemporary record means the story is most likely made up later. Further, I'd add that very few women--even noble women--were recorded by their personal names in those days in Japan. A widow of an unaccomplished samurai? Let me just tell you that we don't know the names of Lord Takeda (her husband's lord--if she existed)'s wives.
It is appealing, however, isn't it? Sexy female ninjas! and sly master matron.
This book probably contains this kind of unexamined fake stories as well as true stories.
July 11, 2013
This covers all those subjects and more. The uppity women featured have an astounding diversity as a group. Many wouldn't want to be in the same group as the others. 4,000 Years of Uppity Women is as historically accurate as it can, and when the switch from known facts move to probable theories it is well noted.
As with each of the individual Uppity Women books, this only goes in chronological order. It can be picked up and put down or even opened to any page and you won't be lost. Each woman has her own story section. I like seeing how the uppity changes throughout the time periods.
I recommend this for everyone because it has something for everyone. There is humor, horror, love, and lust. Maybe not the best for children, but over 10 should be fine. Great book!!!
As with each of the individual Uppity Women books, this only goes in chronological order. It can be picked up and put down or even opened to any page and you won't be lost. Each woman has her own story section. I like seeing how the uppity changes throughout the time periods.
I recommend this for everyone because it has something for everyone. There is humor, horror, love, and lust. Maybe not the best for children, but over 10 should be fine. Great book!!!
June 10, 2017
I have nothing against colloquial, casual writing about history, that's how I talk about historical figures all the time. However, I felt like this book frequently came off as extremely flip about the suffering these women experienced, especially when it came to enslaved women like Sally Hemings. 2 1/2 stars for at least appearing to be well researched and for not glossing over evidence that many of these notable women were romantically involved with other women.
May 12, 2019
If I could, I would give 4,000 Years of Uppity Women: Rebellious Belles, Daring Dames, and Headstrong Heroines Through the Ages 2-1/2 stars. (I wish Goodreads would change the rating system so we could give half stars to books!) It was better than ok, but I can't really say I quite "liked" the book.
One good feature of this accumulation of notable and (for the most part) not-s0-well-known women who made a mark on history (as a whole) or in their own corners of the globe was that the entries were rather short. (The longer -- about three to three and one-half pages -- entries featured some of the more well-known women throughout history.) That gives the reader a small taste of who all these women were.
The downsides to the book were many: in some cases, the entries were too short (but perhaps that is because there is so little known/written about many women who bucked society and forged their own paths); the book omits many women who were instrumental through history; and the book barely makes its way into the 19th Century, thus missing a slew of women who left their marks on history.
The book's highlight -- Vicki Leon's turn of a phrase that lent a lilt to many of the entries that I found both a tad sarcastic (without being cruel) and refreshing, thus adding a touch of humor at times.
It took me almost two years to complete this book (which is not that thick, by the way). I would pick it up in between reading novels (my preferred reading material). Since each entry was so short, and the book dealt with many different people, it was an easy book to put down and pick up over the course of all this time, thus making it perfect "filler" reading material.
Happy Reading! :-)
One good feature of this accumulation of notable and (for the most part) not-s0-well-known women who made a mark on history (as a whole) or in their own corners of the globe was that the entries were rather short. (The longer -- about three to three and one-half pages -- entries featured some of the more well-known women throughout history.) That gives the reader a small taste of who all these women were.
The downsides to the book were many: in some cases, the entries were too short (but perhaps that is because there is so little known/written about many women who bucked society and forged their own paths); the book omits many women who were instrumental through history; and the book barely makes its way into the 19th Century, thus missing a slew of women who left their marks on history.
The book's highlight -- Vicki Leon's turn of a phrase that lent a lilt to many of the entries that I found both a tad sarcastic (without being cruel) and refreshing, thus adding a touch of humor at times.
It took me almost two years to complete this book (which is not that thick, by the way). I would pick it up in between reading novels (my preferred reading material). Since each entry was so short, and the book dealt with many different people, it was an easy book to put down and pick up over the course of all this time, thus making it perfect "filler" reading material.
Happy Reading! :-)
February 15, 2025
Not so much a history of women as it is an authors use of historical figures to demonstrate their increasingly infuriating wordplay. “Jalapeño hot Mesopotamia” being one such gem. The author tries way too hard to be funny, that nearly every sentence is devoid of meaning and is instead stuffed with pathetic and trying-too-hard jokes. If you lift your head after reading one of these paragraph-length sections with any knowledge on the woman mentioned, it’s purely by accident.
January 10, 2024
I gave this book three stars because it did have a lot of women in it that I was unfamiliar with and often these types of books just have the same women over an dover again (Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, etc.). If it were just based on the actual writing, I probably would have given this book 1.5 stars. I understand that books like these can't go into depth about their subjects because there are just too many of them and only so many pages. I just found the writing very infantile and a bit patronizing to us the reader. Maybe this books is supposed to be written for children/teenagers? I just felt like the author was talking down to me the entire time. I still got her other books out of the library because she did have a lot of women in this book that I didn't know and it is also very clear that she knows her stuff and does a lot of research. I just wish she didn't feel the need to so obviously dumb the info down for us non-academic readers. Just because I don't have a PHD in history doesn't mean that I need everything spelled out to me or compared to modern references etc. I wish she had more faith in the readers intelligence and attention span. I also thought there were too many jokes. They got repetitive and tiresome after awhile. I still finished the book and will read more by her so I obviously didn't find the book terrible. The book by her that I am reading now is titled Working IX to V and is about professions in the Ancient World. Again, I just wish it was less jokey and had more faith in the readers ability to understand and appreciate what she is teaching us.
July 31, 2017
I didn't like the format or the use of "quotes" that weren't quotes. I was expecting more history I guess. But... I did get some new names of interesting ladies I might seek out in the future for legit historical biographies
Read
July 9, 2015This non-fiction book is a very easy read, and does what it promises, giving us mini-biographies of women throughout history who, one way or another, did things their way, without asking permission. I enjoyed reading this book, as it was perfect for reading before bedtime.
The author goes through four major sections: Uppity Women of Ancient Times (ca. 2500 B.C. – A.D. 450), Uppity Women of Medieval Times (ca. A.D. 450 – 1450), Uppity Women of Renaissance Times (1450 -1750), and Uppity Women of the New World (late 1500s – 1899). (Apparently, we have had no Uppity Women in the Old World since 1750, and no Uppity Women at all since 1899.) The author describes herself as a “historical detective”, so she is not a professional historian. The book is written in a very breezy modern style, which might be mildly offensive to those hoping for traditional history, but the title of the book more or less indicates that this is not traditional history. I was glad to see that some of my favorite women were included (Julian of Norwich, Lady Murasaki, Margery Kemp; Madame Juliette Récamier was not included, which I can understand, but it is well nigh unforgivable that Madame Germaine de Staël was not included), but again, one wishes that women since 1899 could have been mentioned.
I very much enjoyed reading this book, and I recommend it to all wishing for an easy read before bedtime.
The author goes through four major sections: Uppity Women of Ancient Times (ca. 2500 B.C. – A.D. 450), Uppity Women of Medieval Times (ca. A.D. 450 – 1450), Uppity Women of Renaissance Times (1450 -1750), and Uppity Women of the New World (late 1500s – 1899). (Apparently, we have had no Uppity Women in the Old World since 1750, and no Uppity Women at all since 1899.) The author describes herself as a “historical detective”, so she is not a professional historian. The book is written in a very breezy modern style, which might be mildly offensive to those hoping for traditional history, but the title of the book more or less indicates that this is not traditional history. I was glad to see that some of my favorite women were included (Julian of Norwich, Lady Murasaki, Margery Kemp; Madame Juliette Récamier was not included, which I can understand, but it is well nigh unforgivable that Madame Germaine de Staël was not included), but again, one wishes that women since 1899 could have been mentioned.
I very much enjoyed reading this book, and I recommend it to all wishing for an easy read before bedtime.
March 26, 2022
While the goal of the book is solid and I was introduced to many legendary and historical women, the tone is often too light and casual for the subject matters being discussed. This is especially problematic when issues involving race and slavery are glossed over.
For example, the chapter on Sally Hemings really missed the mark: "Three years later, when Jefferson and Hemings returned to Virginia in 1789, they were an item. Soon Sally popped out a son, and then another, and so on, for a total of five or six children, some or all of them fathered by Thomas J., it's now believed." I was appalled that this chapter treated the exploitation of a teenage girl held in bondage and raped by a middle aged man with such a lighthearted hand. It's pretty gross honestly.
For example, the chapter on Sally Hemings really missed the mark: "Three years later, when Jefferson and Hemings returned to Virginia in 1789, they were an item. Soon Sally popped out a son, and then another, and so on, for a total of five or six children, some or all of them fathered by Thomas J., it's now believed." I was appalled that this chapter treated the exploitation of a teenage girl held in bondage and raped by a middle aged man with such a lighthearted hand. It's pretty gross honestly.
January 9, 2017
So this book was overall okay. It divided the stories up into different times, and they were all mostly short. Some longer stories featured multiple women if they were all in the same vein. It was actually an easy read since the stories were maybe 1/2 pg - 1 pg so putting it down, starting & stopping was not an issue (clearly... since I put it down for about 2 months straight).
It was definitely interesting, and I learned about a lot of people I had otherwise never heard of. She covered the entire world as well, so it didn't feel central to only American / European history. However, there was very... modern language throughout the book. Which, I mean its from 2011, I get that. But while describing actions or life stories from the entire world history... I guess it kind of took me out of the story. I wish she had kept it to the facts. I guess that might be dry for a lot of people, but I found the GRRL POWER AMIRITE and silly quips in stories about Mesopotamia to be too anachronistic.
But overall, it was really interesting since 99.5% of women I had never heard - and some of them I totally want to read more about.
It was definitely interesting, and I learned about a lot of people I had otherwise never heard of. She covered the entire world as well, so it didn't feel central to only American / European history. However, there was very... modern language throughout the book. Which, I mean its from 2011, I get that. But while describing actions or life stories from the entire world history... I guess it kind of took me out of the story. I wish she had kept it to the facts. I guess that might be dry for a lot of people, but I found the GRRL POWER AMIRITE and silly quips in stories about Mesopotamia to be too anachronistic.
But overall, it was really interesting since 99.5% of women I had never heard - and some of them I totally want to read more about.
April 26, 2022
DNF at 70 pages (and also after flipping through the remaining page length to see if it would improve. It didn't). It gets 2 stars for being a concept I like and giving me a glossary of ~200 women to look up and read more about at a later time.
Other reviewers have said it, and I'll repeat it: not enough respect is paid to each individual woman, and the tone of the writing is a big swing and a miss. Would have preferred fewer figures with slightly more material to grasp onto; as it is, it feels like we're trying to pick up information on these women like retrieving soap from the bottom of the bathtub. Also, the vernacular the author uses is very "How do you do, fellow kids?" and just comes off disingenuous and often irritating. It also, unfortunately, is not a tone that would appeal to kids, either. It doesn't know its audience and plays to no one as a result.
Keeping it on my bookshelf to use as a mining resource to learn more about many of these women, but it is not worth reading on its own merit.
Other reviewers have said it, and I'll repeat it: not enough respect is paid to each individual woman, and the tone of the writing is a big swing and a miss. Would have preferred fewer figures with slightly more material to grasp onto; as it is, it feels like we're trying to pick up information on these women like retrieving soap from the bottom of the bathtub. Also, the vernacular the author uses is very "How do you do, fellow kids?" and just comes off disingenuous and often irritating. It also, unfortunately, is not a tone that would appeal to kids, either. It doesn't know its audience and plays to no one as a result.
Keeping it on my bookshelf to use as a mining resource to learn more about many of these women, but it is not worth reading on its own merit.
May 13, 2023
I read this as a secondary book. one to read when I had a few minutes of downtime. It's not a novel and the bios cover a page, or page and a half, so it is a good read when you have just a few minutes. This is why it took me so long to read. If I had read this as a primary book, I could have gotten through it in a fortnight.
I didn't find all of these women uppity, but it is an excellent collection of females throughout history seldom mentioned in other historical lists. Vicki peppers the bios with modern-day jabs which tend to make some of the entries more comical. It is a wonderful starting place if you want to learn about some amazing women in history.
I didn't find all of these women uppity, but it is an excellent collection of females throughout history seldom mentioned in other historical lists. Vicki peppers the bios with modern-day jabs which tend to make some of the entries more comical. It is a wonderful starting place if you want to learn about some amazing women in history.
April 13, 2018
Great book with a variety of women who stepped out of their default social roles. Includes women from all continents, though certainly heavier on the European side. Each includes a snippet of their life and other uppity women they may have interacted with or been similar to, along with some historical context. A bit simple, and I wanted more details on all of them, but a great introduction to what women (both lawful and unlawful) have gotten up to in the past.
I'd recommend for a younger reader (though some mention of violence or prostitution may push the recommended age range into teens).
I'd recommend for a younger reader (though some mention of violence or prostitution may push the recommended age range into teens).
March 16, 2018
I absolutely loved this book. She goes through all of history and tells you the stories of these badass women, both well-known and unknown. The book is split up into 4 sections based on what era in time they lived. Excellent modernization of many words and descriptions so we can understand them today. Told with a bit of sass that had me laughing out loud at times. Would highly recommend this book to anyone!
June 26, 2017
It was an interesting list of women's names but barely any information is given as you are reading through and I don't know about anybody else, but I was reading for information, not a list of names that I should independently research.
September 12, 2017
Nifty little book of short anecdotes about notable women of the past. It includes the women you've heard of along with some you havent. It's somewhat funny, but sometimes the jokes, nicknames, and jargon go overboard and detract from the stories.
April 21, 2021
For me, I had to get past some of the tone and attempted humor of the author. I did enjoy the snapshots of each woman that she compiled. I could also tell she did extensive research and reading. Bibliography is a good jumping off point.
July 15, 2023
I didn’t hate it *shrug*. It actually makes a decent coffee table or bathroom book, if that makes sense. I feel like it was fun enough for a conversation starter but it’s not an intellectual book by any means.
July 6, 2017
Loved flipping through and picking random pages to read. Lots of really interesting and sometimes hilarious history. Really enjoyed.
January 3, 2019
It was alright. I'm a big history fan (and have a degree!) but this book, while marginally interesting, just left me feeling blah about the whole thing. Very quick read though.
August 28, 2019
Great stories on some little known women who did big things through the ages.
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