Recommendations based on "Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls"

The first book devoted entirely to women in bluegrass, Pretty Good for a Girl documents the lives of more than seventy women whose vibrant contributions to the development of bluegrass have been, for the most part, overlooked. Accessibly written and organized by decade, the book begins with Sally Ann Forrester, who played accordion and sang with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys from 1943 to 1946, and continues into the present with artists such as Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, and the Dixie Chicks. Drawing from extensive interviews, well-known banjoist Murphy Hicks Henry gives voice to women performers and innovators throughout bluegrass's history, including such pioneers as Bessie Lee Mauldin, Wilma Lee Cooper, and Roni and Donna Stoneman; family bands including the Lewises, Whites, and McLains; and later pathbreaking performers such as the Buffalo Gals and other all-girl bands, Laurie Lewis, Lynn Morris, Missy Raines, and many others.

What if some of the most phenomenal lives in human history were, for centuries, forgotten? For centuries, the achievements of countless influential women have remained overshadowed. Sisters Katie Nelson and Olivia Meikle traverse hundreds of years and six continents, from antiquity to modern times, to turn the spotlight on these unsung heroines, revealing their stories and celebrating their indelible impact on the world.This mesmerizing compendium highlights the captivating stories of eighty women, including Fatima al-Fihri, the visionary behind the world’s first university; Ching Shih, the most successful pirate; and Huda Sha’arawi, a leading Egyptian suffragist. What’s Her Name is a compelling tribute to the indomitable spirit and contributions of these women who have shaped history—and deserve to be remembered and commemorated.

A collection of Sojourner Truth's iconic words, including her famous speech at the 1851 Women's Rights Convention in Akron, OhioA former slave and one of the most powerful orators of her time, Sojourner Truth fought for the equal rights of black women throughout her life. This selection of her impassioned speeches is accompanied by the words of other inspiring African-American female campaigners from the nineteenth century.Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives--and upended them. Now Penguin brings you a new set of the acclaimed Great Ideas, a curated library of selections from the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

‘An important contribution to our recent history’ ANDREW MARR‘Absorbing and important’ JOAN BAKEWELL‘One of my favourite reads of 2021’ GARETH RUSSELLPoignant and inspiring, Women in the War tells the first-hand stories of ten of the last surviving female members of Britain's 'Greatest Generation'.Whether flying Spitfires to the frontline, aiding code breaking at Bletchley Park, plotting the Battle of the Atlantic or working with Churchill in the Cabinet War Rooms, each of these women made a crucial contribution to the conflict overseas and helped to buttress the home front.Here they recount their remarkable experiences during the Second World War, recalling how their formative years were shaped by danger and trauma, and how friendship and romance fortified their spirits.Drawing on the insight that comes with age, they contemplate how the conflict helped women prove their worth, transforming society and sparking the later battles for equal rights.With a reporter’s eye for detail, Lucy Fisher artfully weaves together moving contemporary interviews with gripping wartime diaries and letters. This is a vivid oral history that will stay with you long after you've put it down.

An invaluable reassessment of what we think we know about the daily lives of women in medieval Europe.Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife charts the lives and times of four medieval women writers—Marie de France, a poet; Julian of Norwich, a mystic and anchoress; Christine de Pizan, a widow and court writer; and Margery Kempe, a no-good wife—who all bucked convention and forged their own paths. Largely forgotten by modern readers, these women have an astonishing amount to teach us about love, marriage, motherhood, friendship, and earning a living.Reading the words of these four writers, Hetta Howes engagingly reveals how everyday women lived, survived, and thrived in medieval times. Who did they marry and why? Did they ever have extramarital affairs? Could they earn money and become self-sufficient? Could they be leaders? What did they think about death—and what about life and their place in it? Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife paints a vibrant portrait of these women, their world, and the ways they speak to us today.

Feel empowered with your finances and discover the route to economic equality in this astonishing dissection of the gender wealth gap'Uncovers the realities of money in the modern world' Stylist'This book will open your eyes' 5***** Reader Review'Goes beyond talks of glass ceilings and gender pay gaps' Dazed'Shocking and brilliant' 5***** Reader Review________Did you know?Nearly 70% of Britain's homeless are women.There are more men called Dave running the UK's top 100 companies than there are women altogether.Women outperform men educationally at every level from high school to PhD - but still get paid less.In this astonishing dissection of the gender wealth gap, financial journalist Annabelle Williams explains why so few women rank among the super-rich and why women are the majority of those in poverty.From the personal - feeling financially confident and liberated - to the political - demanding systemic support and representation - this ground-breaking exposé will empower your financial decisions and arm you with the knowledge needed to demand equality.________'It is refreshing to see Williams challenge well-worn sexist myths' i'Annabelle Williams uncovers the realities of money in the modern world, and what exactly we can do about the fact that women are poorer than men' Stylist'Goes beyond talks of glass ceilings and gender pay gaps to a more nuanced look at the institutional oppression faced by women on a daily basis' Dazed

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! The women of the Bible lived timelessstories—by examining them, we can understand what it means to be a woman offaith.People unfamiliar with Scripture often assume thatwomen play a small, secondary role in the Bible. But in fact, they were centralfigures in numerous Biblical tales. It was Queen Esther’s bravery at a vital pointin history which saved her entire people. The Bible contains warriors likeJael, judges like Deborah, and prophets like Miriam. The first person towitness Jesus’ resurrection was Mary Magdalene, who promptly became the firstChristian evangelist, eager to share the news which would change the worldforever.In The Women of the Bible Speak, Fox News Channel's Shannon Bream opensup the lives of sixteen of these Biblical women, arranging them into pairs andcontrasting their journeys. In pairing their stories, Shannon helps us reflectnot only on the meaning of each individual’s life, but on how they relateto each other and to us. From the shepherdesses of ancient Israel who helpedraise the future leaders of the people of God, to the courageous early Christians,the narrative of the Bible offers us many vivid and fascinating femalecharacters. In their lives we can see common struggles to resist bitterness, despair,and pride, and to instead find their true selves in faith, hope, and love. Instudying these heroes of the faith, we can find wisdom and warnings for how tobetter navigate our own faith journeys. The Women of the Bible Speak outlinesthe lessons we can take from the valor of Esther, the hope of Hannah, theaudacity of Rahab, and the faith of Mary. In broadening each woman’s individualstory, Shannon offers us a deeper understanding of each, and wisdom andinsights that can transform our own lives today. 

From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini, a bold, revelatory novel about one of the great untold stories of World War I—the women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, who broke down gender barriers in the military and battled a pandemic as they helped lead the Allies to victory.  “An eye-opening and detailed novel about remarkable female soldiers. . . Chiaverini weaves the intersecting threads of these brave women’s lives together, highlighting their deep sense of pride and duty.”—Kirkus Reviews  In June 1917, General John Pershing arrived in France to establish American forces in Europe. He immediately found himself unable to communicate with troops in the field. This gripping WWI historical fiction novel reveals that Pershing needed telephone operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls, speak fluent French and English, remain steady under fire, and be utterly discreet, since the calls often conveyed classified information. At the time, nearly all well-trained American telephone operators were women—but women were not permitted to enlist, or even to vote in most states. Nevertheless, based on these true events, the U.S. Army Signal Corps promptly began recruiting them. More than 7,600 women responded, including Grace Banker of New Jersey, a switchboard instructor with AT&T and an alumna of Barnard College; Marie Miossec, a Frenchwoman and aspiring opera singer; and Valerie DeSmedt, a twenty-year-old Pacific Telephone operator from Los Angeles, determined to strike a blow for her native Belgium. They were among the first women sworn into the U.S. Army under the Articles of War. The male soldiers they had replaced had needed one minute to connect each call. The switchboard soldiers, with their incredible skill, could do it in ten seconds. Deployed throughout France, including near the front lines, the operators endured hardships and risked death or injury from gunfire, bombardments, and the Spanish Flu. Not all of them would survive. The women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps served with honor and played an essential role in achieving the Allied victory. Their story has never been the focus of a novel…until now. 

A swashbuckling novel by the author of The Three Musketeers Set in the same period as his best-known novel, Alexandre Dumas’s “forgotten masterpiece” (Le Monde) features two steely and preternaturally modern heroines fighting on opposite sides of the wars that ravaged seventeenth-century France. An unabashed page-turner, humorous, dramatic, and crackling with panache, this new English translation—the first in more than 100 years—shows Dumas at the peak of his powers.

"'If we have the habit of freedom and the courage to write exactly as we think, ' as Woolf puts it in A Room of One's Own, writing like a woman simply means writing like what one actually is, in sickness and health, richer and poorer, belly and bowels, the consonants and the vowels too. We may have a general sense that women poets are more likely than men, at the present time, to write in detail about their bodies; to take power relationships as a theme; to want to speak with a strong rather than a subdued voice; are less likely to seek distance, more likely to seek intimacy, in poetic tone. But generalization would be foolish here. 'Woman poet, ' like 'American poet' or 'French poet' or 'Russian poet, ' allows--even insists on--diversity, while implying something valuable in common, some shared language and life, of tremendous importance to the poet and the poet's readers." --Alicia Ostriker