100 Women Who Shaped World History

by Gail Meyer Rolka

Learn all about the fascinating lives and tremendous impact of 100 extraordinary women around the world with this fact-filled biography collection for kids―perfect for celebrating Women's History Month! Educational and engaging, 100 Women Who Shaped World History From Cleopatra to Joan of Arc, Ada Lovelace to Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart to Rosa Parks and many more, readers will dive into the lives of 100 female artists, activists, scientists, and icons who left their mark on history. Organized chronologically, this thoroughly researched biography collection offers a look at the contributions these women made and how their talents, discoveries, and ideas have helped guide humanity for thousands of years.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Feminism, Womens

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 1994

Reviews

[Kirsty Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different take on women’s history as some of the women included in this book aren’t as ‘well known’ or revered as others. I enjoyed reading it in chronological order and thought that the smaller snippets were more digestible. However, there were some entries I felt told me more about the ‘men’ in their life than the women titled which was kind of annoying. Nevertheless an interesting and informative collection.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book recently came to my attention on NetGalley even though it was published a number of years ago. That does not take away from it being an interesting and wide-ranging title and resource. This would make a great gift for a child who is interested in biography and history.

The range of the entries is impressive, beginning with Hatshepsut and ending with Rigoberta Menchu. Many of these women were known to me but a number were not. Each entry is short and interesting. Children who are intrigued may want to look for longer biographies of some of those featured. Of course, this title can be dipped into in any order although it is organized by chronology. There are trivia questions and project ideas at the end.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Kids for this title. All opinions are my own.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief overview of many influential women throughout the centuries. Though aimed at a younger audience, it might be confusing for them to read. It is not very detailed but leaves a thrist for further research, which seems to be the author's intention.

[Jim Blessing · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a decent read about various women who shaped world history

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
The book gives a single-page bio on each woman included. They are organized by date and have marks on a map for where they lived. The majority of the women are focused on more recent history. While there is a range of backgrounds for the women, there is a bias towards Europe and North America. I think if there was an updated version, there could be a wider range of women included. For the women that were included, they were interesting and I had never heard of many of them.
This is a good book for an introduction to history.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must admit that I got really into this book. The information about each woman isn't very detailed, it is only a page long for each woman, but you get the basic information about the lives of each woman and it really just makes you want to learn much more. I knew about some of the women in this book, but there were many I hadn't heard of and reading about the lives of these 100 women were very inspiring. I definitely want to learn more about each of the women in this book and hopefully learn about others who weren't mentioned in this book.

The only disappointing thing was there weren't many Native American women mentioned in this book. Just Pocahontas and Sacajawea, however, they are important to learn about too. But it would be nice if a few more Native women were added into the book, Lily of the Mohawks and Wilma Mankiller are just a examples. But besides that, this book was really good, very interesting and I definitely recommend it for anyone interested in learning about some of the women who have shaped history.

[Sviatlana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting book with some fascinating characters but very limited and definitely in need of major editing.
It is hard to believe that out of 100 women she chose only 14 who weren't Western Europeans or Americans, as if the rest of the world didn't produce women worthy of attention or achievements. 2 women from India, 2 from Russia, 2 from African continent, none from neither Asia nor Eastern Europe. I am not impressed.
Also, some content related mistakes were so obvious, it urged me to put the book aside just there and then.
For ex. page 12 Cleopatra - "As a result, Octavian killed Anthony and Cleopatra's son, Caesarion" - we all know that Caesarion was Caesar's son, not Anthony's.
Example 2, page 85 Gabriela Mistral - "In 1925, Mistral began a second career as a diplomat when she was named as the Chilean delegate to the United Nations (..)" - UN didn't exist till 1945??!!
and those are just a few to mention!

[Kiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book presents quick one-page biographical sketches of the women featured. The bios are a good basic backgrounder about these women. There were many suffragettes recognized; more than I realized whom played a critical role in 20th and 21st century history. In my edition, some of the bios are out of date because of recent deaths of some of the women who were featured. Worth reading if you are looking for an encapsulation.

[Yeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very inspiring. After reading this, I want to go out and change the world. Mothers should make this book required reading for their daughters.