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Inspiring Women

In honor of Women's History Month, read or watch stories about these trailblazing women who contributed to science, culture, community, and country.

Proud : my fight for an unlikely American dream by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People. The first female Muslim American to medal at the Olympic Games. The first woman in hijab to compete for the United States in the Olympics. Growing up in New Jersey as the only African American Muslim in hijab in town, at school, and on the playing fields, Ibtihaj Muhammad always had to find her own way. When she discovered fencing, a sport traditionally reserved for the wealthy and white, once again she had to defy expectations and make a place for herself in a sport she grew to love. Even though Ibtihaj would start fencing later than most, at 13 years old her talent was undeniable. From winning state championships with her high school team to three-time All-America selections at Duke University, Ibtihaj was poised for success, but the fencing community wasn't ready to welcome her with open arms. Ibtihaj Muhammad's path to Olympic greatness has been marked with opposition and near-debilitating challenges because of her race, religion, and gender. As the only woman of color and the only religious minority on the U.S. women's saber team, again Ibtihaj had to push past stereotypes, misconceptions, and negativity to find her own path to success and Olympic glory. Proud is the inspiring story of how Ibtihaj rose above it all with grace and compassion. She provides an unflinching and honest portrayal of how she managed to stay true to herself and still play by the rules. A coming-of-age story, a hero's journey, and a moving memoir from one of the nation's most influential athletes

Headstrong : 52 women who changed science-- and the world by Rachel Swaby

In 2013, the New York Times published an obituary for Yvonne Brill. It began: “She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job, and took eight years off from work to raise three children.” It wasn’t until the second paragraph that readers discovered why the Times had devoted several hundred words to her life: Brill was a brilliant rocket scientist who invented a propulsion system to keep communications satellites in orbit, and had recently been awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Among the questions the obituary—and consequent outcry—prompted were, Who are the role models for today’s female scientists, and where can we find the stories that cast them in their true light? Headstrong delivers a powerful, global, and engaging response. Covering Nobel Prize winners and major innovators, as well as lesser-known but hugely significant scientists who influence our every day, Rachel Swaby’s vibrant profiles span centuries of courageous thinkers and illustrate how each one’s ideas developed, from their first moment of scientific engagement through the research and discovery for which they’re best known. This fascinating tour reveals 52 women at their best—while encouraging and inspiring a new generation of girls to put on their lab coats.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

In her memoir Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. She describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms

First women : the grace and power of America's modern First Ladies by Kate Andersen Brower

From the number-one New York Times best-selling author of the groundbreaking backstairs look at the White House The Residence comes an intimate, news-making look at the true modern power brokers at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: the first ladies, from Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama. In one of the most underestimated - and challenging - positions in the world, the first lady of the United States must be many things: an inspiring leader with a forward-thinking agenda of her own; a savvy politician, skilled at navigating the treacherous rapids of Washington; a wife and mother operating under constant scrutiny; and an able CEO responsible for the smooth operation of countless services and special events at the White House.

Hidden figures : the American dream and the untold story of the black women mathematicians who helped win the space race by Margot Lee Shetterly

The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America2s greatest achievements in space

I am Malala : the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

Describes the life of the young Pakistani student who advocated for women's rights and education in the Taliban-controlled Swat Balley, survived an assassination attempt, and became the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In good hands : remarkable female politicians from around the world who showed up, spoke out and made change by Stephanie MacKendrick

Presents eighteen stories about women politicians, as well as a step-by-step guide to running a political campaign and becoming more involved in politics.

The glass universe : how the ladies of the Harvard Observatory took the measure of the stars by Dava Sobel

The little-known true story of the unexpected and remarkable contributions to astronomy made by a group of women working in the Harvard College Observatory from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s. --

The book of gutsy women : favorite stories of courage and resilience by HIllary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter Chelsea share the stories of the gutsy women who have inspired them, women with the courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done

The doctors Blackwell : how two pioneering sisters brought medicine to women--and women to medicine by Janice P Nimura

"The vivid biography of two pioneering sisters who, together, became America's first female doctors and transformed New York's medical establishment by creating a hospital by and for women. Elizabeth Blackwell believed from an early age that she was destined for greatness beyond the scope of "ordinary" womanhood. Though the world recoiled at the notion of a woman studying medicine, her intelligence and intensity won her the acceptance of the all-male medical establishment and in 1849 she became the firstwoman in America to receive a medical degree. But Elizabeth's story is incomplete without her often forgotten sister, Emily, the third woman in America to receive a medical degree. Exploring the sisters' allies, enemies and enduring partnership, Nimura presents a story of both trial and triumph: Together the sisters' founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, the first hospital staffed entirely by women. Both sisters were tenacious and visionary; they were also judgmental, uncompromising, and occasionally misogynistic--their convictions as 19th-century women often contradicted their ambitions. From Bristol, England, to the new cities of antebellum America, this work of rich history follows the sister doctors as they transform the nineteenth century medical establishment and, in turn, our contemporary one"--

Nasrin

Secretly filmed in Iran by women and men who risked arrest. It is an immersive portrait of the world's most honored human rights activist and political prisoner, attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh, and of Iran's remarkably resilient women's rights movement. In the courts and on the streets, Sotoudeh has long fought for the rights of women, children, religious minorities, journalists, and artists. In the midst of filming, Sotoudeh was arrested and sentenced to 38 years in prison, plus 148 lashes

A surprised queenhood in the new black sun : the life & legacy of Gwendolyn Brooks by Angela Jackson

Carrie Fisher : a life on the edge by Sheila Weller

Sourced by friends, colleagues, and witnesses to all stages of Fisher’s life, Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge is an empathic and even-handed portrayal of a woman who―as Princess Leia, but mostly as herself―was a feminist heroine, one who died at a time when we need her blazing, healing honesty more than ever.

Galaxy girls : 50 amazing stories of women in space by Libby Jackson

Filled with beautiful full-color illustrations, a groundbreaking compendium honoring the amazing true stories of fifty inspirational women who helped fuel some of the greatest achievements in space exploration from the nineteenth century to today—including Hidden Figure’s Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson as well as former NASA Chief Astronaut Peggy Whitson, the record-holding American biochemistry researcher who has spent the most cumulative time in space.

In such good company : eleven years of laughter, mayhem, and fun in the sandbox by Carol Burnett

Comedy legend Carol Burnett tells the hilarious behind-the-scenes story of her iconic weekly variety series, The Carol Burnett Show. Who but Carol Burnett herself has the timing, talent, and wit to pull back the curtain on the Emmy-Award winning show that made television history for eleven glorious seasons? In Such Good Company delves into little-known stories of the guests, sketches and antics that made the show legendary, as well as some favorite tales too good not to relive again

Road to power : how GM's Mary Barra shattered the glass ceiling by Laura Colby

Beginning as a rare female electrical engineer and daughter of a General Motors die maker, Barra spent more than thirty years building her career before becoming the first woman to ever lead a global automaker.

Barbara Rubin and the exploding NY underground

Made when she was just 18 years old, Barbara Rubin's art-porn masterpiece Christmas On Earth (1963-65) shocked NYC's experimental film scene and inspired NYC's thriving underground. For the next four years her filmmaking and irrepressible energy helped shatter artistic and sexist boundaries. A mythical 'Zelig' of the sixties, she introduced Andy Warhol to the Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan to the Kabbalah. But beyond shaping the spirit of the sixties, Barbara was seeking the deeper meaning of life. After retiring to a farm with Allen Ginsberg, she shocked everyone by converting to Hasidic Judaism, marrying and moving to France to live an anonymous life. Tragically, she died in 1980 after giving birth to her fifth child. For years, Jonas Mekas treasured all of Barbara's letters and films and cherished her memory. Working with Mekas' footage, the film takes us inside the world and mind of Barbara Rubin; a woman who truly believed that film could change the world

Mr. President, how long must we wait? : Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the fight for the right to vote by Tina Cassidy

Examines the complex relationship between suffragist leader Alice Paul and President Woodrow Wilson, revealing the life-risking measures that Paul and her supporters endured to gain voting rights for American women

The sum of our days by Isabel Allende

A narrative memoir of the author's life in the wake of her daughter's tragic death describes the idiosyncratic network of friends she has gathered around herself and the realizations she has formed about such topics as love, parenthood, and addiction

In the country we love : my family divided by Diane Guerrero

"Diane Guerrero, the television actress from the megahit Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, was just fourteen years old on the day her parents and brother were arrested and deported to Colombia while she was at school. Born in the U.S., Guerrero was able to remain in the country and continue her education, depending on the kindness of family friends who took her in and helped her build a life and a successful acting career for herself, without the support system of her family. In the Country We Love is a moving, heartbreaking story of one woman's extraordinary resilience in the face of the nightmarish struggles of undocumented residents in this country. There are over 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US, many of whom have citizenchildren, whose lives here are just as precarious, and whose stories haven't been told. Written with Michelle Burford, this memoir is a tale of personal triumph that also casts a much-needed light on the fears that haunt the daily existence of families likes the author's and on a system that fails them over and over"--

No one is too small to make a difference by Greta Thunberg

"The groundbreaking speeches of Greta Thunberg, the young climate activist who has become the voice of a generation, including her historic address to the United Nations"--

A well-read woman : the life, loves, and legacy of Ruth Rappaport by Kate Stewart

"For forty years, book by book, one librarian saved our nation. This is her story. Books were the one constant in a life full of trauma and turmoil, and Ruth Rappaport always turned to them for reassurance, renewal, and solace when she had no one and nothing else ... Above all, this book is a tribute to a teenage girl who understood the power of forbidden books: that by reading them she would find a way to liberate herself. She devoted the rest of her long life to liberating them for the readers of the world. That includes you."--Dust jacket.

You don't belong here : how three women rewrote the story of war by Elizabeth (Journalist) Becker

"One spent 23 days in captivity. Another jumped off planes to get the perfect aerial shot. The other reported from war-torn slums and villages. Catherine Leroy, Frankie Fitzgerald and Kate Webb were the first female frontline journalists in the history ofUS war reporting. Over the course of the Vietnam War they challenged the rules and expectations imposed on them, all in an effort to get the story right. Using the stories of Catherine, Frankie and Kate, Elizabeth Becker traces the war in Vietnam from the Tet Offensive to the revolution in Cambodia to the American defeat and aftermath. Kate Webb, an Australian reporter, was captured by the Vietcong only to continue her fearless reporting after her release. Frankie Fitzgerald arrived in Vietnam as a freelancer but her powerful coverage earned her bylines in The New Yorker, and she became the first woman war reporter for the magazine. And at only 22, the French Catherine Leroy was one of the only female photographers in Vietnam. Her work went on to win thehighest accolades in photography, including the Robert Capa Gold Medal Award. But aside from their numerous recognitions, all three women achieved something else; they overcame various setbacks and limitations all in pursuit of the truth. In You Don't Belong Here, Becker presents powerful female characters in a trailblazing narrative telling the story of how three women forged a place for themselves and for generations of female reporters to come"--

Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin .

"Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin is a feature documentary exploring the remarkable life and legacy of the late feminist author Ursula K. Le Guin ... Produced with Le Guin's participation over the course of a decade, Worlds of Ursual K. Le Guin is a journey through the writer's career and her worlds, both real and fantastic. Viewers will join the writer on an intimate journey of self-discovery as she comes into her own as a major feminist author, opening new doors for the imagination and inspiring generations of women and other marginalized writers along the way"--Back of container

Women : our story

A celebration of the pivotal but less-recognized roles women have played in culture and society reexamines history from a female perspective, from early matriarchal societies through the Suffragette movement and twentieth-century feminism

Women who dared : 52 stories of fearless daredevils, adventurers & rebels by Linda Skeers

Profiles fifty-two women in history who who have risked their lives for the sake of adventure, including Sophie Blanchard, Mary Anning, Minnie Spotted Wolf, and Alia Muhammad Baker.

Women of the Bible

The women of the Bible represent a diverse and intriguing group; powerful, independent, romantic, and brave. Mary of Nazareth endured nearly lifelong ridicule and scorn while standing by her son. Queen Esther courageously saved the Jews from certain death, while the beautiful Sheba dazzled Solomon, legendary King of Israel, and inspired some of the Bible's most erotic love poetry. The story of Delilah reveals how her name became synonymous with treachery and deceit

Women of impact : changing the world

It all starts with one question: How will they make the world a better place? From household names to rising stars, meet the women who are changing the world. They live among primates in the jungle, dive the oceans for clues to the health of the planet, discover human origins in African caves, and test new technologies in outer space

With her fist raised : Dorothy Pitman Hughes and the transformative power of black community activism by Laura L Lovett

"The first biography of Dorothy Pitman Hughes, co-founder of Ms. Magazine and trailblazing Black feminist activist whose work made children, race, and welfare rights central to the women's movement"--

Witches : the transformative power of women working together by Sam George-Allen

"A celebration of the revolutionary potential of women working with other women, and a powerful statement about myths like the "cool girl" or the "catty workplace". Covens. Girl Bands. Ballet troupes. Convents. In all times and places, girls and women have come together in communities of vocation, of necessity, of support. In Witches, Sam George-Allen explores how wherever women gather, magic happens. Female farmers change the way we grow our food. Online beauty communities democratize skin-care rituals. And more than any other demographic, it's teen girls that shape our culture. Patriarchal societies have long been content to champion boys' clubs, while viewing groups that exclude men as sites of rivalry and suspicion. This deeply personal investigation takes us from our workplaces to our social circles, surveying our heroes, our outcasts, and ourselves, in order to dismantle the persistent and pernicious cultural myth of female isolation and competition . . . once and for all."--Publisher's website

What happened, Miss Simone?

Profiles the life and career of American singer Nina Simone

We are not here to be bystanders : a memoir of love and resistance by Linda Sarsour

"Women's March co-organizer Linda Sarsour shares how growing up Palestinian Muslim American, feminist, and empowered moved her to become a globally recognized and celebrated activist on behalf of marginalized communities across the country"--

Visionary women : how Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Jane Goodall, and Alice Waters changed our world by Andrea Barnet

This is the story of four visionaries who profoundly shaped the world we live in today. Together, these women showed what one person speaking truth to power can do. With a keen eye for historical detail, Andrea Barnet traces the arc of each woman's career and explores how their work collectively changed the course of history. Consummate outsiders, each prevailed against powerful and mostly male adversaries while also anticipating the disaffections of the emerging counterculture

Virginia Woolf : and the women who shaped her world by Gillian Gill

"An insightful, witty look at Virginia Woolf through the lens of the extraordinary women closest to her"--

Venus and Serena

An unfiltered look into the remarkable lives of the greatest sister-act professional tennis has ever seen. With unprecedented access, the film tells the inspiring story of how these two women, against all odds, but with the help of visionary parents, made it to the top

Vanguard : how black women broke barriers, won the vote, and insisted on equality for all by Martha S Jones

"According to conventional wisdom, American women's campaign for the vote began with the Seneca Falls convention of 1848 and ended with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. The movement was led by storied figures such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. But this women's movement was an overwhelmingly white one, and it secured the constitutional right to vote for white women, not for all women. In Vanguard, acclaimed historian Martha Jones offers a sweeping history of African American women's political lives in America, recounting how they fought for, won, and used the right to the ballot and how they fought against both racism and sexism. From 1830s Boston to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and beyond to Shirley Chisholm, Stacey Abrams, and Kamala Harris, Jones excavates the lives and work of black women who, although in many cases suffragists, were never single-issue activists. She recounts the lives of Maria Stewart, the first American woman to speak about politics before a mixed audience of men and women African Methodist Episcopal preacher Jarena Lee Reconstruction-era advocate for female suffrage Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Boston abolitionist, religious leader, and women's club organizer Eliza Ann Gardner,and other hidden figures who were pioneers for both gender and racial equality. Revealing the ways black women remained independent in their ideas and their organization, Jones shows how black women were again and again the American vanguard of women's rights, setting the pace in the quest for justice and collective liberation. In the twenty-first century, black women's power at the polls and in politics is evident. Vanguard reveals that this power is not at all new, but is instead the culmination of twocenturies of dramatic struggle"--

Use the power you have : a brown woman's guide to politics and political change by Pramila Jayapal

"In November 2016, Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the first Indian American woman to serve in that role. Two years later, the "fast-rising Democratic star and determined critic of President Donald Trump," according to Politico's Playbook 2017 "Power List," won reelection with more votes than any other member of the House. Jayapal, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, proved her progressive bonafides when she introduced the most comprehensive Medicare-for-all bill to Congress in February. Behind the story of Jayapal's rise to political prominence lie over two decades of devoted advocacy on behalf of immigrants and progressive causes-and years of learning how to turn activism into public policy that serves all Americans. Use the Power You Have is Jayapal's account of the path from sixteen-year-old Indian immigrant to grassroots activist, state senator, and now progressive powerhouse in Washington, DC. Written with passion and insight, Use the Power YouHave offers a wealth of ideas and inspiration for a new generation of engaged citizens interested in fighting back and making change, whether in Washington or in their own communities"--

Unsinkable : from russian orphan to paralympic swimming world champion by Jessica Tatiana Long

The champion Paralympic swimmer, born in Russia with a condition that would result in the amputation of both legs below her knee, presents a photographic memoir of the life-changing moments that helped shape who she is today

Unbowed : a memoir by Wangari Maathai

Maathai, the winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and a single mother of three, recounts her life as a political activist, feminist, and environmentalist in Kenya. Born in a rural village in 1940, she was already an iconoclast as a child, determined to get an education even though most girls were uneducated. We see her become the first woman both in East and Central Africa to earn a PhD and to head a university department in Kenya. We witness her numerous run-ins with the brutal Moi government; the establishment, in 1977, of the Green Belt Movement, which spread from Kenya across Africa and which helps restore indigenous forests while assisting rural women by paying them to plant trees in their villages; and how her courage and determination helped transform Kenya's government into the democracy in which she now serves.--From publisher description

Trailblazer : a pioneering journalist's fight to make the media look more like America by Dorothy Butler Gilliam

Most civil rights victories are achieved behind the scenes, and this riveting, beautifully written memoir by a "Black first" looks back with searing insight on the decades of struggle, friendship, courage, humor, and savvy that secured what seems commonplace today - people of color working in mainstream media.

Toni Morrison : the pieces I am

An artful and intimate meditation on the life and works of the acclaimed novelist. From her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to '70s-era book tours with Muhammad Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room, Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics, and colleagues on an exploration of race, America, history and the human condition as seen through the prism of her own literature

This is what America looks like : my journey from refugee to Congresswoman by Ilhan Omar

"An intimate and rousing memoir by progressive trailblazer Ilhan Omar-the first African refugee, the first Somali-American, and one of the first Muslim women, elected to Congress. Ilhan Omar was only eight years old when war broke out in Somalia. The youngest of seven children, her mother had died while Ilhan was still a little girl. She was being raised by her father and grandfather when armed gunmen attacked their compound and the family decided to flee Mogadishu. They ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya, where Ilhan says she came to understand the deep meaning of hunger and death. Four years later, after a painstaking vetting process, her family achieved refugee status and arrived in Arlington, Virginia. Aged twelve, penniless, speaking only Somali and having missed out on years of schooling, Ilhan rolled up her sleeves, determined to find her American dream. Faced with the many challenges of being an immigrant and a refugee, she questioned stereotypes and built bridges with her classmates and in her community. In under two decades she became a grassroots organizer, graduated from college and was elected to congress with a record-breaking turnout by the people of Minnesota-ready to keep pushing boundaries and restore moral clarity in Washington D.C. A beacon of positivity in dark times, Congresswoman Omar has weathered many political storms and yet maintained her signature grace, wit and love of country-all the while speaking up for her beliefs. Similarly, in chronicling her remarkable personal journey, Ilhan is both lyrical and unsentimental, and her irrepressible spirit, patriotism, friendship and faith are visible on every page. As a result, This is What America Looks Like is both the inspiring coming of age story of a refugee and a multidimensional tale of the hopes and aspirations, disappointments and failures, successes, sacrifices and surprises, of a devoted public servant with unshakable faith in the promise of America"--

The women I think about at night : traveling the paths of my heroes by Mia Kankimäki

"What can a fortysomething childless woman do? Bored with her life and feeling stuck, MIa Kankimäki leaves her job, sells her apartment, and decides to travel the world, following the paths of her 'guardian angels'--explorers and artists from history who have long inspired her. She flies to Tanzania and then to Kenya to see where Karen Blixen—of Out of Africa—fame lived in the 1920s. In Japan, Mia attempts to cure her depression while researching Yayoi Kusama, the contemporary artist who has voluntarily lived in a psychiatric hospital for decades. In Italy, Mia spends her days looking for the works of forgotten Renaissance women painters of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, and finally finds her heroines in the portraits of Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, and Artemisia Gentileschi. If these women could make it in the world hundreds of years ago, why can’t Mia?"--inside jacket

The truths we hold : an American journey by Kamala D Harris

Senator Kamala Harris's commitment to speaking truth is informed by her upbringing. The daughter of immigrants, she was raised in an Oakland, California community that cared deeply about social justice; her parents -- an esteemed economist from Jamaica and an admired cancer researcher from India -- met as activists in the civil rights movement when they were graduate students at Berkeley. Growing up, Harris herself never hid her passion for justice, and when she became a prosecutor out of law school, a deputy district attorney, she quickly established herself as one of the most innovative change agents in American law enforcement. She progressed rapidly to become the elected District Attorney for San Francisco, and then the chief law enforcement officer of the state of California as a whole. Known for bringing a voice to the voiceless, she took on the big banks during the foreclosure crisis, winning a historic settlement for California's working families. Her hallmarks were applying a holistic, data-driven approach to many of California's thorniest issues, always eschewing stale "tough on crime" rhetoric as presenting a series of false choices. Neither "tough" nor "soft" but smart on crime became her mantra. Being smart means learning the truths that can make us better as a community, and supporting those truths with all our might. That has been the pole star that guided Harris to a transformational career as the top law enforcement official in California, and it is guiding her now as a transformational United States Senator, grappling with an array of complex issues that affect her state, our country, and the world, from health care and the new economy to immigration, national security, the opioid crisis, and accelerating inequality. By reckoning with the big challenges we face together, drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, Kamala Harris offers in [this book] a master class in problem solving, in crisis management, and leadership in challenging times. Through the arc of her own life, on into the great work of our day, she communicates a vision of shared struggle, shared purpose, and shared values. In a book rich in many home truths, not least is that a relatively small number of people work very hard to convince a great many of us that we have less in common than we actually do, but it falls to us to look past them and get on with the good work of living our common truth. When we do, our shared effort will continue to sustain us and this great nation, now and in the years to come.

The source of self-regard : selected essays, speeches, and meditations by Toni Morrison

The most celebrated and revered writer of recent times releases a new non-fiction collection: a rich gathering of her essays, speeches, and meditations on society, culture, and art, spanning four decades

The queens of animation : the untold story of the women who transformed the world of Disney and made cinematic history by Nathalia Holt

From the bestselling author of "Rise of the Rocket Girls" comes the untold story of the women of Walt Disney Studios, who shaped the iconic films that have enthralled generations

The queen next door : Aretha Franklin, an intimate portrait by Linda Solomon

Reflections on the life of Aretha Franklin captured in exclusive photographs by her friend, photojournalist Linda Solomon

The pirate queen : Queen Elizabeth I, her pirate adventurers, and the dawn of empire by Susan Ronald

An analysis of Elizabeth I's use of piracy to promote her financial security offers insight into the personal beliefs and vision that motivated her choices, in an account that also traces the contributions of her merchants, philosophers, and councilors

The most powerful woman in the world : how Jacinda Ardern exemplifies progressive leadership by Madeleine Chapman

The fascinating story of an international icon - one of the world's most inspiring, progressive leaders. Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern is a leader for a new generation, one tired of inertia in the face of pressing issues such as climate change, immigration and the rise of far-right terrorism. Ardern was catapulted onto the international stage with her grace and compassion following the Christchurch mosque shooting. Oprah Winfrey invited us to 'channel our inner Jacindas' as praise for Ardern flooded headlines and social media. The world's youngest female head of government, and only the second elected world leader to give birth while in office, Ardern describes herself as a progressive and a social democrat. In this revealing biography, journalist Madeleine Chapman discovers the woman behind the headlines. Politically engaged from an early age, Ardern has encountered her fair share of sexism, but rather than let that harden her she advocates 'rising above' critics. In her first press conference, she announced an election campaign of 'relentless positivity'. The tactic was a resounding success: donations poured in and Labour rebounded in the polls. But can Ardern live up to her promise? What does her new style of leadership look like in practice? And what can we learn from the world's reaction to this inspiring leader?

The lady from the black lagoon : Hollywood monsters and the lost legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara

The lady and the peacock : the life of Aung San Suu Kyi by Peter Popham

The goddesses of food

In November of 2013, TIME Magazine released an international cover story called "The Gods of Food". Unfortunately, not a single female chef appeared on the list. In the male dominated food universe, discover the women changing the game on all levels. Presenting the best female chefs, including multi-Michelin star chefs Dominique Crenn and Barbara Lync, and introducing rising new stars and those making incredible food in all corners of the world. GODDESSES OF FOOD is a global journey exploring female strength in gastronomy. Prominent chefs and journalists investigate what holds women chefs back in the modern mediated world of cuisine and what needs to be done to change the way women in the food industry are viewed and covered in the press. Featuring Michelin chefs and sommeliers from USA, France, Italy, UK, Spain

The girls of Atomic City : the untold story of the women who helped win World War II by Denise Kiernan

Looks at the valuable contributions made by the thousands of women who worked at a secret uranium-enriching facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during World War II

The firsts : the inside story of the women reshaping Congress by Jennifer Steinhauer

"A lively, behind-the-scenes look at the historic cohort of diverse, young, and groundbreaking women newly elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 as they arrive in Washington, DC, and start working for change, written by a news reporter with sharp insight and deep knowledge of the Hill"--

The firebrand and the First Lady : portrait of a friendship : Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the struggle for social justice by Patricia Bell-Scott

In 1938, the twenty-eight-year-old Pauli Murray wrote a letter to the President and First Lady, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, protesting racial segregation in the South. Eleanor wrote back. So began a friendship that would last for a quarter of a century, as Pauli became a lawyer, principal strategist in the fight to protect Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and a co-founder of the National Organization of Women, and Eleanor became a diplomat and first chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

The extra woman : how Marjorie Hillis led a generation of women to live alone and like it by Joanna Scutts

With this vibrant examination of a remarkable life and profound feminist philosophy, Joanna Scutts at last reclaims Marjorie Hillis as the original queen of a maligned sisterhood. Channeling Hillis’s charm, The Extra Woman is both a brilliant exposé of women who forged their independent paths before the domestic backlash of the 1950s trapped them behind picket fences, and an illuminating excursion into the joys of fashion, mixology, decorating, and other manifestations of shameless self-love.

The Cave

"From the acclaimed filmmaker Feras Fayyad ('Last Men in Aleppo') comes the powerful film The Cave, Oscar Nominee for Best Documentary Feature, and a stirring portraid of courage, resilience and female solidarity. For besieged civilians in wartorn Syria, hope and safety lie underground inside the subterranean hospital known as the Cave, where pediatrician and managing physician Dr. Amani Ballour and her colleagues Samaher and Dr. Alaa have claimed their right to work as equals alongside their male counterparts, d0oing their jobs in a way that would be unthinkable in the oppressively patriarchal culture that exists above. Following the team as they contend with daily bombardment, chronic supply shortages and the ever-present threat of chemical attacks, The Cave delivers an unflinching look at the Syrian war and some of its heroic women"

The cancer journals by Audre Lorde

"First published over forty years ago, The Cancer Journals is a startling, powerful account of Audre Lorde's experience with breast cancer and mastectomy. Long before narratives explored the silences around illness and women's pain, Lorde questioned the rules of conformity for women's body images and supported the need to confront physical loss not hidden by prosthesis. Living as a "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," Lorde heals and re-envisions herself on her own terms and offers her voice, grief, resistance, and courage to those dealing with their own diagnosis. Poetic and profoundly feminist, Lorde's testament gives visibility and strength to women with cancer to define themselves, and to transform their silence into language and action"--

Temple Grandin : how the girl who loved cows embraced autism and changed the world by Sy Montgomery

An authorized portrait about Grandin's life with autism and her groundbreaking work as a scientist and designer of cruelty-free livestock facilities describes how she overcame key disabilities through education and the support of her mother

Suffrage : women's long battle for the vote by Ellen Carol DuBois

Honoring the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment to the Constitution, this exciting history explores the full scope of the movement to win the vote for women through portraits of its bold leaders and devoted activists

Sojourner Truth : a life, a symbol by Nell Irvin Painter

Eminent black historian Nell Irvin Painter goes beyond the myths, words, and photographs to uncover the life of a complex woman who was born into slavery and died a legend. Inspired by religion, Truth transformed herself from a domestic servant named Isabella into an itinerant pentecostal preacher; her words of empowerment have inspired black women and poor people the world over to this day. As an abolitionist and a feminist, Truth defied the notion that slaves were male and women were white, expounding a fact that still bears repeating: among blacks there are women; among women, there are blacks.

Shrill : notes from a loud woman by Lindy West

West has rocked readers in work published everywhere from The Guardian to GQ to This American Life. She is a catalyst for a national conversation in a world where not all stories are created equal and not every body is treated with equal respect. SHRILL is comprised of a series of essays that bravely shares her life, including her transition from quiet to feminist-out-loud, coming of age in a popular culture that is hostile to women (especially fat, funny women) and how keeping quiet is not an option for any of us

She represents : 44 women who are changing politics...and the world by Caitlin Donohue

"Each of the forty women profiled in this illustrated YA book demonstrates how women are capable of political and community leadership and activism. Readers will be inspired to pursue their own goals of social change."--

She made me laugh : my friend Nora Ephron by Richard M Cohen

"Nora Ephron, one of the most famous writers, film makers, and personalities of her time is captured by her long-time and dear friend in a hilarious, blunt, raucous, and poignant recollection of their decades-long friendship. Nora Ephron (1941-2012) wasa phenomenal personality, journalist, essayist, novelist, playwright, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and movie director (Sleepless in Seattle; You've Got Mail; When Harry Met Sally; Heartburn; Julie & Julia). She wrote a slew of bestsellers (I Feel Bad About My Neck; And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman; I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections; Scribble, Scribble: Notes on the Media; Crazy Salad: Some Things About Women). She was celebrated by Hollywood, embraced by literary New York, and adored by legions of fans throughout the world. Award-winning journalist Richard Cohen, wrote this about his "third-person memoir": "I call this book a third-person memoir. It is about my closest friend, Nora Ephron, and the lives we lived together and how her life gotto be bigger until, finally, she wrote her last work, the play, Lucky Guy, about a newspaper columnist dying of cancer while she herself was dying of cancer. I have interviewed many of her other friends--Mike Nichols, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Arianna Huffington--but the book is not a name-dropping star turn, but an attempt to capture a remarkable woman who meant so much to so many other women.""--

She came to slay : the life and times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Harriet Tubman is best known as one of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad. As a leading abolitionist, her bravery and selflessness has inspired generations in the continuing struggle for civil rights

Self made : inspired by the life of Madam C.J. Walker by A'Lelia Perry Bundles

Written by her great-great-grandaughter, the biography of one of history's great entrepreneurs and philanthropists, Madam C. J. Walker, is told through personal letters, records, and never-before-seen photographs from the family collection.

Sarah Bernhardt : the divine and dazzling life of the world's first superstar by Catherine Reef

"A tantalizing biography for teens on Sarah Bernhardt, the first international celebrity and one of the greatest actors of all time, who lived a highly unconventional, utterly fascinating life. Illustrated with more than sixty-five photos of Bernhardt onstage, in film, and in real life"--

Ruth Bader Ginsburg : a life by Jane Sherron De Hart

"The first full life--private; public; legal; philosophical--of the 107th Supreme Court Justice, one of the most profound and profoundly transformative legal minds of our time; a book fifteen years in work, written with the cooperation of Ruth Bader Ginsburg herself and based on many interviews with the Justice, her husband, her children, her friends, and associates. In this large, comprehensive, revelatory biography, Jane De Hart explores the central experiences that crucially shaped Ginsburg's passionfor justice, her advocacy for gender equality, her meticulous jurisprudence: her desire to make We the People more united and our union more perfect. At the heart of her story and abiding beliefs--her Jewish background. Tikkun Olam, the Hebrew injunctionto "repair the world," with its profound meaning for a young girl who grew up during the Holocaust and World War II. We see the influence of her mother, Celia Amster Bader, whose intellect inspired her daughter's feminism, insisting that Ruth become independent, as she witnessed her mother coping with terminal cervical cancer (Celia died the day before Ruth, at 17, graduated from high school). From Ruth's days as a baton twirler at Brooklyn's James Madison High School, to Cornell University, Harvard andColumbia Law School (first in her class), to being a law professor at Rutgers University (one of the few women in the field and fighting pay discrimination), hiding her second pregnancy so as not to risk losing her job; founding the Women's Rights Law Reporter, writing the brief for the first case that persuaded the Supreme Court to strike down a sex-discriminatory state law, then at Columbia (the law school's first tenured female professor); becoming the director of the women's rights project of the ACLU, persuading the Supreme Court in a series of decisions to ban laws that denied women full citizenship status with men. Her years on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, deciding cases the way she played golf, as she, left-handed, played with right-handed clubs--aiming left, swinging right, hitting down the middle. Her years on the Supreme Court. A pioneering life and legal career whose profound mark on American jurisprudence, on American society, on our American character and spirit, will reverberate deep into the twenty-first century and beyond"--

Royal sisters : Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret by Anne Edwards

Edwards’s book is an honest look at how the royal sisters feel toward each other, their parents, their close relations and the men whom they have loved. It openly discusses, with new insights and information, the romance of Elizabeth and Philip and the tragic aborted love affair between Margaret and Group Captain Peter Townsend, and it has a cast of characters ranging from the youthful sisters’ suitors to Winston Churchill and the entire Royal Family. It is also the story of the making of a queen, of the high drama of her situation in the Townsend affair, of the real effect their uncle’s abdication had on the sisters’ lives, and of the internecine feuds that have brewed within the Royal Family since that time.

Rosa Parks : in her own words by Susan Reyburn

"In this compelling new book from the Library of Congress, where the Parks Collection is housed, the civil rights icon is revealed for the first time in print through her private manuscripts and handwritten notes. Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words illumines her inner thoughts, her ongoing struggles, and how she came to be the person who stood up by sitting down. At the height of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, as Parks was both pilloried and celebrated, she found a catharsis in her writing. Her precise descriptions of her arrest, the segregated South, and her recollections of childhood resistance to white supremacy document a lifetime of battling inequality. Parks expressed her thoughts on paper using whatever was available--meeting agendas, event programs, drugstore bags. The book features one hundred color and black-and-white photographs from the Parks collection, many appearing in print for the first time, along with ephemera from the long life of a private person in the public eye."--Amazon.com.

Rise of the rocket girls : the women who propelled us, from missiles to the moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt

During World War Il, when the brand-new minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-thinking mathematicians to calculate jet velocities and plot missile trajectories, they recruited an elite group of young women--known as "computers"--who, with only pencil, paper, and mathematical prowess, transformed rocket design and helped bring about America's first ballistic missiles. But they were never interested in developing weapons--their hearts lay in the dream of space exploration. So when JPL became part of a new agency called NASA, the computers worked on the first probes to the moon, Venus, Mars, and beyond. Later, as digital computers largely replaced human ones, JPL was unique in training and retaining its brilliant pool of women. They became the first computer programmers and engineers, and through their efforts, we launched the ships that showed us the contours of our solar system. For the first time, this book tells the stories of these women who charted a course not only for the future of space exploration but also for the prospects of female scientists. Based on extensive research and interviews with the living members of the team, Rise of the Rocket Girls offers a unique perspective on the role of women in science, illuminating both where we've been and the far reaches of where we're heading.

Redefining realness : my path to womanhood, identity, love & so much more by Janet Mock

"In a landmark book, an extraordinary young woman recounts her coming-of-age as a transgender teen--a deeply personal and empowering portrait of self-revelation, adversity, and heroism. In 2011, Marie Claire magazine published a profile of Janet Mock in which she publicly stepped forward for the first time as a trans woman. Since then, Mock has gone from covering the red carpet for People.com to advocating for all those who live within the shadows of society. Redefining Realness offers a bold new perspective on being young, multiracial, economically challenged, and transgender in America. Welcomed into the world as her parents' firstborn son, Mock set out early on to be her own person--no simple feat for a young person like herself. She struggled as the smart, determined child in a deeply loving, yet ill-equipped family that lacked money, education, and resources. Mock had to navigate her way through her teen years without parental guidance but luckily with a few close friends and mentors she overcame extremely daunting hurdles. This powerful memoir follows Mock's quest for identity, from her early gender conviction to a turbulent adolescence in Honolulu that found her transitioning through the halls of her school, self-medicating with hormones at fifteen, and flying across the world for sex reassignment surgery at just eighteen. Ever resilient, Mock emerged with a scholarship to college and moved to New York City, where she earned her masters degree, basked in the success of an enviable career, and told no one about her past. It wasn't until Mock fell for a man who called her the woman of his dreams that she felt ready to finally tell her story, becoming a fierce advocate for girls like herself. A profound statement of affirmation from a courageous woman, Redefining Realness shows as never before what it means to be a woman today and how to be yourself when you don't fit the mold created for you"--

Reclaiming her time : the life, wit, and wisdom of American icon Maxine Waters by Helena Andrews-Dyer

"In the tradition of Notorious RBG, a lively, beautifully designed, full-color illustrated celebration of the life, wisdom, wit, legacy, and fearless style of iconic American Congresswoman Maxine Waters. "Let me just say this: I'm a strong black woman, and I cannot be intimidated. I cannot be undermined. I cannot be thought to be afraid of Bill O'Reilly or anyone."-Maxine Waters To millions nationwide, Congresswoman Maxine Waters is a hero of the resistance and an icon, serving eye rolls, withering looks,and sharp retorts to any who dare waste her time on nonsense. But behind the Auntie Maxine meme is a seasoned public servant and she's not here to play. Throughout her forty years in public service and eighty years on earth, U.S. Representative for California's 43rd district has been a role model, a crusader for justice, a game-changer, a trailblazer, and an advocate for the marginalized who has long defied her critics, including her most vocal detractor, Donald J. Trump. And she's just getting started.From her anti-apartheid work and support of affirmative action to her passionate opposition to the Iraq War and calls to hold Trump to account, you can count on Auntie Maxine to speak truth to power and do it with grace and, sometimes, sass. As ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee and one of the most powerful black women in America, she is the strong, ethical voice the country has always needed, especially right now. Reclaiming Her Time pays tribute to all things Maxine Waters, from growing up in St. Louis "too skinny" and "too black," to taking on Wall Street during the financial crisis and coming out on top in her legendary showdowns with Trump and his cronies. Featuring inspiring highlights from her personal life and political career, beloved memes, and testimonies from her many friends and fans, Reclaiming Her Time is a funny, warm, and admiring portrait of a champion who refuses to stay silent in the face of corruption and injustice; a powerful woman who is an inspiration to us all."--

RBG

A look at the life and work of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The radium girls : the dark story of America's shining women by Kate (Writer and editor) Moore

The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger. The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War. Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive - until they begin to fall mysteriously ill. But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come. Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

Queen Victoria by Walter L Arnstein

In this engaging study, Walter L. Arnstein explores both the private life and the public role of the young princess who inherited Britain's throne as a teenager and who became the octogenarian symbolic head of the largest empire in the history of the world. Arnstein incorporates the findings of past studies and recent research (including articles of his own based on previously unpublished letters and journals) to shed light on often-neglected aspects of Victoria's life and reign: her concern with gender roles, religion, politics, and Ireland; as well as her involvement with both the controversial domestic issues and the great international conflicts of the era. Wherever the historical evidence allows, Arnstein enables the monarch to speak in her own words, demonstrating that Victoria was not only the queen who became an adjective, but also a highly-quotable, multi-dimensional human being. Concise, authoritative and attractively illustrated, Queen Victoria provides the economic, social, cultural and political background knowledge to make the life of this fascinating monarch intelligible even to readers unfamiliar with her now distant world.

Pioneers : first women filmmakers Discs 4-6

In the early decades of cinema, some of the most innovative and celebrated filmmakers in America were women. Alice Guy-Blaché helped establish the basics of cinematic language, while others boldly continued its development : slapstick queen Mabel Normand (who taught Charlie Chaplin the craft of directing), action star Grace Cunard, and LGBTQ icon Alla Nazimova. Unafraid of controversy, filmmakers such as Lois Weber and Dorothy Davenport Reid tackled explosive issues such as birth control, abortion, and prostitution. This crucial chapter of film history comes alive through the presentation of a wide assortment of films, carefully curated, meticulously restored in 2K and 4K from archival sources, and presented with new musical scores

Pioneers : first women filmmakers Discs 1-3

In the early decades of cinema, some of the most innovative and celebrated filmmakers in America were women. Alice Guy-Blaché helped establish the basics of cinematic language, while others boldly continued its development : slapstick queen Mabel Normand (who taught Charlie Chaplin the craft of directing), action star Grace Cunard, and LGBTQ icon Alla Nazimova. Unafraid of controversy, filmmakers such as Lois Weber and Dorothy Davenport Reid tackled explosive issues such as birth control, abortion, and prostitution. This crucial chapter of film history comes alive through the presentation of a wide assortment of films, carefully curated, meticulously restored in 2K and 4K from archival sources, and presented with new musical scores

Pelosi by Molly Ball

She's the iconic leader who puts Donald Trump in his place, the woman with the toughness to take on a lawless president and defend American democracy. Ever since the Democrats took back the House in the 2018 midterm elections, Nancy Pelosi has led the opposition with strategic mastery and inimitable elan. It's a remarkable comeback for the veteran politician who for years was demonized by the right and taken for granted by many in her own party--even though, as speaker under President Barack Obama, she deserves much of the credit for epochal liberal accomplishments from universal access to health care to saving the US economy from collapse, from reforming Wall Street to allowing gay people to serve openly in the military. How did an Italian grandmother in four-inch heels become the greatest legislator since LBJ? Ball's nuanced, page-turning portrait takes readers inside the life and times of this historic and underappreciated figure. Based on exclusive interviews with the Speaker and deep background reporting, Ball shows Pelosi through a thoroughly modern lens to explain how this extraordinary woman has met her moment

Own it : Oprah Winfrey in her own words by Oprah Winfrey

Provides a unique look into the wisdom and thought processes of one of the most adored, respected, and powerful women in the world. This book collects her most insightful quotations, centered around her media career, life lessons, entrepreneurship, and remarkable personal story

One life by Megan Rapinoe

"Raised in a conservative small town in Northern California, the youngest of six, Megan Rapinoe was four years old when she kicked her first soccer ball. Her parents encouraged her love for the game, but taught her that winning was much less important than how she lived her life. From childhood on Rapinoe always did what she could to stand up for what was right - even if meant going up against people who disagreed. In One Life, Rapinoe reflects on the choices she has made, her victories and her failures, and embarks on a thoughtful and candid discussion of her personal journey into social justice. After the 2011 World Cup, discouraged by how few athletes were willing to discuss their sexuality, Rapinoe decided to come out publicly as gay and use her platform to advocate for marriage equality. Recognizing the power she had to bring attention to critical issues, in 2016 she took a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick to protest racial injustice and police brutality - the first high-profile white athlete to do so. The backlash was immediate, but it couldn't compare to the overwhelming support. Rapinoe became a force of change, both on and off the field. Using anecdotes from her own life and career as an Olympic gold medalist and two-time women's World Cup champion, from suing the US Soccer Federation over gender discrimination to her widely publicized refusal to visit the White House, Rapinoe discusses the obligation we all have to speak up, and the impact each of us can have on our communities. Deeply personal and inspiring, One Life reveals that real, concrete change lies within all of us, and asks: If we all have the same resource - this one precious life, made up of the decisions we make every day - what are you going to do?" --book jacket

Odetta : a life in music and protest by Ian Zack

"The untold story of the woman whose music and afro inspired a generation, whose voice provided a soundtrack for the unfolding civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s"--

Not for ourselves alone : the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony

Presents the history of women's suffrage in the United States through the dramatic, often turbulent friendship of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan Anthony. Part 1 covers the years from their youth up to the establishment of the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1868. Part 2 spans the period from 1868 to the passage in 1919 of the 19th amendment to the Constitution which gave women the vote

Not done : women remaking America

The women's movement has gone mainstream: from the first female presidential nominee to the inclusion of a woman of color on a major party ticket, from the Women's March to #MeToo, from Black Lives Matter to the fight for trans lives

Ninth Street women : Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler : five painters and the movement that changed modern art by Mary Gabriel

"Set amid the most turbulent social and political period of modern times, Ninth Street Women is the impassioned, wild, sometimes tragic, always exhilarating chronicle of five women who dared to enter the male-dominated world of twentieth-century abstract painting--not as muses but as artists. From their cold-water lofts, where they worked, drank, fought, and loved, these pioneers burst open the door to the art world for themselves and countless others to come. Gutsy and indomitable, Lee Krasner was a hell-raising leader among artists long before she became part of the modern art world's first celebrity couple by marrying Jackson Pollock. Elaine de Kooning, whose brilliant mind and peerless charm made her the emotional center of the New York School, used her work and words to build a bridge between the avant-garde and a public that scorned abstract art as a hoax. Grace Hartigan fearlessly abandoned life as a New Jersey housewife and mother to achieve stardom as one of the boldest painters of her generation. Joan Mitchell, whose notoriously tough exterior shielded a vulnerable artist within, escaped a privileged but emotionally damaging Chicago childhood to translate her fierce vision into magnificent canvases. And Helen Frankenthaler, the beautiful daughter of a prominent New York family, chose the difficult path of the creative life. Her gamble paid off: At twenty-three she created a work so original it launched a new school of painting. These women changed American art and society, tearing up the prevailing social code and replacing it with a doctrine of liberation. In Ninth Street Women, acclaimed author Mary Gabriel tells a remarkable and inspiring story of the power of art and artists in shaping not just postwar America but the future."--Inside dust jacket

With all due respect : defending America with grit and grace by Nikki Haley

"A revealing, dramatic, deeply personal book about the most significant events of our time, written by the former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is widely admired for her forthright manner ("With all due respect, I don't get confused"), her sensitive approach to tragic events, and her confident representation of America's interests as our Ambassador to the United Nations during times of crisis and consequence. In this book, Haley offers a first-hand perspective on major national and international matters, as well as a behind-the-scenes account of her tenure in the Trump administration. This book reveals a woman who can hold her own-and better-in domestic and international power politics, a diplomat who is unafraid to take a principled stand even when it is unpopular, and a leader who seeks to bring Americans together in divisive times"--

Nana

The story of an Auschwitz survivor who spent her life fighting intolerance. Born in Poland, Maryla Michalowski-Dyamant survived Ravensbruck, Malchow and Auschwitz, where she was the forced translator for the "Angel of Death," Josef Mengele. Maryla dedicated her life after the war to publicly speaking about her survival to younger generations

My sister : how one sibling's transition changed us both by Selenis Leyva

A powerful, honest memoir by two sisters - one a star on Orange Is the New Black, one a trans woman and activist - about transitioning, family, allyship, and the path to self-realization. When Selenis Leyva's parents adopted a baby into their warm, loving family, Selenis was immediately smitten. The pair were always close; Selenis showered her younger sibling with affection, who in turn looked up to Selenis and followed her everywhere. The siblings realized, almost at the same moment, that the younger of the two was struggling with their identity. As Marizol transitioned and fought to define her identity, Selenis and her family struggled to support her. In My Sister, they narrate their shared journey, challenges, and triumphs. In alternating chapters, Selenis and Marizol write honestly about the issues of violence, abuse, and discrimination that trans people and women of color - and especially trans women of color - experience daily. And they are open about the messiness and confusion of fully realizing oneself and being properly affirmed by others, even those who love you

My letter to the world

An in-depth exploration of the life and work of the great American poet Emily Dickinson

My beloved world : A Memoir by Sonia Sotomayor

"An instant American icon--the first Hispanic on the U.S. Supreme Court--tells the story of her life before becoming a judge in an inspiring, surprisingly personal memoir. With startling candor and intimacy, Sonia Sotomayor recounts her life from a Bronxhousing project to the federal bench, a progress that is testament to her extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself. She writes of her precarious childhood and the refuge she took with her passionately spirited paternal grandmother. She describes her resolve as a young girl to become a lawyer, and how she made this dream become reality: valedictorian of her high school class, summa cum laude at Princeton, Yale Law, prosecutor in the Manhattan D.A.'s office, private practice, federal district judge before the age of forty. She writes about her deeply valued mentors, about her failed marriage, about her cherished family of friends. Through her still-astonished eyes, America's infinite possibilities are envisioned anew in this warm and honest book, destined to become a classic of self-discovery and self-invention, alongside Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father"--

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes : the true story of New York City's greatest female detective and the 1917 missing girl case that captivated a nation by Brad Ricca

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes tells the true story of Grace Humiston, the lawyer, detective, and first woman U.S. District Attorney who turned her back on New York society life to become one of the nation's greatest crime-fighters during an era when women were still not allowed to vote. After agreeing to take the sensational case of missing eighteen-year-old Ruth Cruger, Grace and her partner, the hard-boiled detective Julius J. Kron, navigated a dangerous web of secret boyfriends, two-faced cops, underground tunnels, rumors of white slavery, and a mysterious pale man, in a desperate race against time.

Laura Bush : an intimate portrait of the first lady by Ronald Kessler

New York Times bestselling author Ronald Kessler draws back that curtain in the first biography of Laura Bush to be written with White House cooperation. Based on interviews with her closest friends and confidantes from childhood to the present, as well as family members and administration heavyweights like Condoleezza Rice and Andrew Card, Kessler paints a portrait of a woman who, even as she ascended to the heights of political fortune and power, never lost touch with the bedrock American values she absorbed in her youth.

Minority leader : how to lead from the outside and make real change by Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams combines aspects of memoir with real-world advice for women and people of color, offering hard-won insights for navigating worlds that, until now, were largely the territory of white men alone. Stacey encourages listeners both to leverage otherness to their advantage and to recognize their own underlying feelings of unworthiness and legitimate fears

Mighty justice : my life in civil rights by Dovey Johnson Roundtree

Trailblazing African American civil rights attorney Dovey Johnson Roundtree recounts her inspiring life story that speaks movingly and urgently to our racially troubled times. From the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina, to the segregated courtrooms of the nation's capital; from the male stronghold of the army where she broke gender and color barriers to the pulpits of churches where women had waited for years for the right to minister--in all these places, Roundtree sought justice. At a time when African American attorneys had to leave the courthouses to use the bathroom, Roundtree took on Washington's white legal establishment and prevailed, winning a 1955 landmark bus desegregation case that would help to dismantle the practice of "separate but equal" and shatter Jim Crow laws. Later, she led the vanguard of women ordained to the ministry in the AME Church in 1961, merging her law practice with her ministry to fight for families and children being destroyed by urban violence

Maya Angelou : And Still I Rise

Born into poverty and a broken family, Maya Angelou's gift for poetry and storytelling propelled her to international renown as a leader in African-American culture and literature. Ultimately, her personal story and written words inspired and delighted millions from all races around the world. Witness a close-up portrait of a legendary figure in this first feature documentary about her life

Maxine Waters : the life, times and rise of "Auntie Maxine" by Brenda (Communications director) author Jones

"Part of the four-book Queens of the Resistance series, saluting some of the most beloved boss ladies in Congress: a celebration of Representative Maxine Waters, who reclaimed her time and led the first calls for impeachment"--

Marie Curie and her daughters : the private lives of science's first family by Shelley Emling

"Marie Curie was the first person to be honored by two Nobel Prizes and she pioneered the use of radiation therapy for cancer patients. But she was also a mother, widowed young, who raised two extraordinary daughters alone: Irene, a Nobel Prize winning chemist in her own right, who played an important role in the development of the atomic bomb, and Eve, a highly regarded humanitarian and journalist, who fought alongside the French Resistance during WWII. As a woman fighting to succeed in a male dominatedprofession and a Polish immigrant caught in a xenophobic society, she had to find ways to support her research. Drawing on personal interviews with Curie's descendents, as well as revelatory new archives, this is a wholly new story about Marie Curie--anda family of women inextricably connected to the dawn of nuclear physics"--

Make trouble : stand up, speak out, and find the courage to lead by Cecile Richards

"From the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a memoir about learning to lead and make change, based on a lifetime of fighting for women's rights and social justice"--

Louisa May Alcott : the woman behind "Little Women"

Filmed on location at many places actually frequented by the real persons portrayed and featuring a script written from primary sources, this documentary tells the life story of American author Louisa May Alcott, chronicling her efforts to rescue her family from poverty and find wealth, fame, and happiness for herself. Includes animations and commentary from Alcott scholars, novelist Geraldine Brooks, and the "literary sleuths" who uncovered Alcott's lost thrillers

The little book of feminist saints by Julia Pierpont

In this luminous volume, New York Times bestselling writer Julia Pierpont and artist Manjit Thapp match short, vibrant, and surprising biographies with stunning full-color portraits of secular female “saints”: champions of strength and progress. These women broke ground, broke ceilings, and broke molds

Lise Meitner : the mother of the atom bomb

An exploration of Lise Meitner and her role in creating the atomic bomb during the 1930s while also making a name for herself as a pioneer of feminism

Lead from the outside : how to build your future and make real change by Stacey Abrams

In Lead from the Outside, Stacey Abrams argues that knowing your own passion is the key to success, regardless of the scale or target. From launching a company, to starting a day care center for homeless teen moms, to running a successful political campaign, finding what you want to fight for is as critical as knowing how to turn thought into action. Stacey uses her experience and hard-won insights to break down how ambition, fear, money, and failure function in leadership, while offering personal stories that illuminate practical strategies.

Know my name : a memoir by Chanel Miller

"She was know to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford's campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral--viewed by almost eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time. Now she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words. It was the perfect case, in many ways--there were eyewitnesses, Turner ran away, physical evidence was immediately secured. But her struggles with isolation and shame during the aftermath and the trial reveal the oppression victims face in even the best-case scenarios. Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life. "Know My Name" will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. It also introduces readers to an extraordinary writer, one whose words have already changed our world. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic." -- summary from book jacket

Josephine Baker in art and life : the icon and the image by Bennetta Jules-Rosette

Josephine Baker (1906-1975) was a dancer, singer, actress, author, politician, militant, and philanthropist, whose images and cultural legacy have survived beyond the hundredth anniversary of her birth. Neither an exercise in postmodern deconstruction nor simple biography, Josephine Baker in Art and Life presents a critical cultural study of the life and art of the Franco-American performer whose appearances as the savage dancer Fatou shocked the world.

Joan of Arc : a life transfigured by Kathryn Harrison

A fully documented portrait of the fifteenth-century peasant-turned-saint draws on historical facts, folklore, and centuries of critical interpretation to evaluate the questions attributed to her character.

Jane

An interview with Jane Goodall, who spent several decades studying chimpanzees in their natural habitat in Tanzania's Gombe National Park, and a look back over her life and career as a primatologist, animal rights advocate, and environmental activist

Invisible : the forgotten story of the black woman lawyer who took down America's most powerful mobster by Stephen L Carter

A moving, haunting, and as fast-paced as fiction, Invisible tells the true story of a woman who often found her path blocked by the social political expectations of her time. But Eunice Carter never accepted defeat

Ingrid Bergman : in her own words

Director Stig Björkman allows us unprecedented access to Ingrid Bergman's world, culling from the most personal of archival materials: letters, diary entries, photographs, and Super eight and sixteen mm footage Bergman herself shot, and following her from youth to tumultuous married life and motherhood. Intimate and artful, this lovingly assembled portrait, narrated by actor Alicia Vikander, provides luminous insight into the life and career of an undiminished legend

In praise of difficult women : life lessons from 29 heroines who dared to break the rules by Karen Karbo

Presents information on female rule-breakers, including Josephine Baker, Jane Goodall, Margaret Cho, and Hillary Rodham Clinton

Lonely Planet In her footsteps : where trailblazing women changed the world

Discover the lives and locations of trailblazing women who changed the course of history as you journey to the heart of women's activism, history and creativity through the ages. From the temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Egypt and Empress Dowager Cixi's summer palace in Beijing, to the homes and meeting sites of suffragette heroes Sylvia Pankhurst and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the creative workrooms of Frida Kahlo and Virginia Woolf, and the tennis courts where the Williams sisters first learned to play— we showcase female pioneers whose lives and actions continue to inspire today. In Her Footsteps is not only a celebration of incredible women, but a travel guide to the places where they studied, lived, worked, reigned and explored. We'll tell you where to find the secret feminist history of sites around the world

Ida B. the queen : the extraordinary life and legacy of Ida B. Wells by Michelle Duster

Written by her great-granddaughter, a historical portrait of the boundary-breaking civil rights pioneer covers Wells' early years as a slave, her famous acts of resistance, and her achievements as a journalist and anti-lynching activist.

How dare the sun rise : memoirs of a war child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

The author shares the story of her survival during the Gatumba massacre, despite losing her mother and sister, and how after moving to America she found healing through art and activism.

Hedy Lamarr : an incredible life by William Roy

From her native Austria to the limelight of Hollywood, Hedy Lamarr was constantly bombarded with societal limitations and personal obstacles -- including her own beauty. Only through courage, ambition, and intellect would she rise to become both a cultural icon and an unparalleled inventor whose creations would alter the course of history.

Heart berries : a memoir by Terese Marie Mailhot

"Heart Berries is a powerful, poetic memoir of a woman's coming of age on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in the Pacific Northwest. Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to find herself hospitalized and facing a dual diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder and bipolar II disorder; Terese Marie Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma. The triumphant result is Heart Berries, a memorial for Mailhot's mother, a social worker and activist who had a thing for prisoners; a story of reconciliation with her father-an abusive drunk and a brilliant artist-who was murdered under mysterious circumstances; and an elegy on how difficult it is to love someone while dragging the long shadows of shame. Mailhot trusts the reader to understand that memory isn't exact, but melded to imagination, pain, and what we can bring ourselves to accept. Her unique and at times unsettling voice graphically illustrates her mental state. As she writes, she discovers her own truevoice, seizes control of her story, and, in so doing, reestablishes her connection to her family, to her people, and to her place in the world."--

Girls who run the world : 31 CEOs who mean business by Diana (Diane E Kapp

Looks at the success stories of thirty-one women who founded some of today's hottest companies, including online fashion sites, biotech companies, and environmental enterprises.

Girl squads : 20 female friendships that changed history by Sam Maggs

Spanning art, science, politics, activism, and sports, these 20 diverse profiles show just how essential female friendship have been across history and around the world. In this engaging and well-researched book, Sam Maggs takes you on a tour of some of history's most fascinating and bravest BFFs

Girl decoded by Rana El Kaliouby

In a captivating memoir, an Egyptian American visionary and scientist provides an intimate view of her personal transformation as she follows her calling-to humanize our technology and how we connect with one another. Rana el Kaliouby is a rarity in both the tech world and her native Middle East: a Muslim woman in charge in a field that is still overwhelmingly white and male.

Bevelations : lessons from a mutha, auntie, bestie by Bevy Smith

"Not your typical candidate for a midlife crisis, Bevy Smith had what seemed like a fantastic life and career. As a fashion and beauty editor at Vibe, and then Rolling Stone, she traveled to Paris six times a year for fashion shows and was seen at every hot spot. She was a shopaholic with discounts at every store and a mighty roster of lovers. So it came as quite a shock to her when one day, after a Mercedes had dropped her off at her luxury Milan hotel, Bevy collapsed on the Frette sheets of her king-sized bed and sobbed. After that, she resigned from Rolling Stone and set out on her own path, one that she carved from a tremendous amount of self-reflection and, ultimately, clarity. Going from a $350K annual salary to about $35K would have most running back to corporate America, but not Bevy. With renewed self-confidence and acceptance, she embraced this season as one of the most creative times of her life. In her signature lively and infectious voice, Bevy provides her story as an example of how we too can manifest our biggest dreams. From reclaiming her bold childhood nature and realizing she'd become a Googleable star to envisioning where's she's headed next (Malibu Bevy, with natural hair, a huge charitable organization, and a midcentury house overlooking the Pacific Ocean), Bevy shows how each of us can live our best lives with honesty and joy"--

Fun home : a family tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

A memoir done in the form of a graphic novel by a cult favorite comic artist offers a darkly funny family portrait that details her relationship with her father--a funeral home director, high school English teacher, and closeted homosexual

Frida in America : the creative awakening of a great artist by Celia Stahr

"The riveting story of how three years spent in the United States transformed Frida Kahlo into the artist we know today Mexican artist Frida Kahlo adored adventure. In November, 1930, she was thrilled to realize her dream of traveling to the United Statesto live in San Francisco, Detroit, and New York. Still, leaving her family and her country for the first time was monumental. Only twenty-three and newly married to the already world-famous forty-three-year-old Diego Rivera, she was at a crossroads in her life and this new place, one filled with magnificent beauty, horrific poverty, racial tension, anti-Semitism, ethnic diversity, bland Midwestern food, and a thriving music scene, pushed Frida in unexpected directions. Shifts in her style of painting began to appear, cracks in her marriage widened, and tragedy struck, twice while she was living in Detroit. Frida in America is the first in-depth biography of these formative years spent in Gringolandia, a place Frida couldn't always understand. But it's precisely her feelings of being a stranger in a strange land that fueled her creative passions and an even stronger sense of Mexican identity. With vivid detail, Frida in America recreates the pivotal journey that made Senora Rivera the world famous Frida Kahlo"--

Forgotten women : the scientists by Zing Tsjeng

Short biographies of women scientists, both the well known, and the largely forgotten

For Sama

The Frontline film is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab's life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her

Fly girls : how five daring women defied all odds and made aviation history by Keith O'Brien

"High adventure and high ideals merge when a corps of intrepid female aviators battle to take part in the hugely popular air shows of the 1920s and 1930s. Ultimately, one of our heroines would win a race that earned her the right to be called America's best pilot"--

First : Sandra Day O'Connor by Evan Thomas

"Based on exclusive interviews and access to the Supreme Court archives, this is the intimate, inspiring, and authoritative biography of America's first female Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor--by New York Times bestselling author Evan Thomas. She was born in 1930 in El Paso and grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. At a time when women were expected to be homemakers, she set her sights on Stanford University. When she graduated near the top of her class at law school in 1952, no firm would even interview her. But Sandra Day O'Connor's story is that of a woman who repeatedly shattered glass ceilings--doing so with a blend of grace, wisdom, humor, understatement, and cowgirl toughness. She became the first-ever female majority leader of a state senate. As a judge on the Arizona State Court of Appeals, she stood up to corrupt lawyers and humanized the law. When she arrived at the Supreme Court, appointed by Reagan in 1981, she began a quarter-century tenure on the court, hearing cases that ultimately shaped American law. Diagnosed with cancer at fifty-eight, and caring for a husband with Alzheimer's, O'Connor endured every difficulty with grit and poise. Women and men today will be inspired by how to be first in your own life, how to know when to fight and when to walk away, through O'Connor's example. This is a remarkably vivid and personal portrait of a woman who loved her family and believed in serving her country, who, when she became the most powerful woman in America, built a bridge forward for the women who followed her"--

Eye on the struggle : Ethel Payne, the first lady of the Black Press by James McGrath Morris

Describes the life and career of the journalist and network news commentator who covered such important civil rights events as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the desegregation crisis in Little Rock.

Era of ignition : Coming of Age in a Time of Rage and Revolution by Amber Tamblyn

"A passionate manifesto with personal stories, anecdotes, and opinions from the front lines of modern American womanhood from actor, filmmaker, and activist Amber Tamblyn"--

Eleanor by David Michaelis

Prizewinning bestselling author David Michaelis presents a breakthrough portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt, America's longest-serving First Lady, an avatar of democracy whose ever-expanding agency as diplomat, activist, and humanitarian made her one of the world's most widely admired and influential women

Dutch girl : Audrey Hepburn and World War II by Robert D Matzen

Near the end of 1939, ten-year-old Audrey Hepburn flew from boarding school in England into the Netherlands, which would soon become a war zone. What she experienced in five years of Nazi occupation has never been explored until now. Dutch Girl sets the story straight, revealing the Nazi past of Audrey's parents and how their daughter dealt with this information. The book examines her career as an acclaimed young ballerina, her involvement with the Dutch Resistance, an active role tending wounded, and dark months in the line of fire as the end drew near for the Nazi regime

Dust tracks on a road : the restored text established by the Library of America by Zora Neale Hurston

Dust Tracks on a Road is the bold, poignant, and funny autobiography of novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, one of American literature’s most compelling and influential authors. Hurston’s powerful novels of the South—including Jonah’s Gourd Vine and, most famously, Their Eyes Were Watching God—continue to enthrall readers with their lyrical grace, sharp detail, and captivating emotionality. First published in 1942, Dust Tracks on a Road is Hurston’s personal story, told in her own words

Extraordinary, ordinary people : a memoir of family by Condoleezza Rice

This is the story of Condoleezza Rice--her early years growing up in the hostile environment of Brimingham, Alabama; her rising in the ranks at Stanford University to become the university's second-in-command and an expert in Soviet and Eastern European Affairs; and finally, in 2000, her appointment as the first black woman ever to serve as Secretary of State

Dolly Parton, songteller : my life in lyrics by Dolly Parton

"For the first time ever, legendary singer-songwriter Dolly Parton brings you behind the lyrics of 175 of her songs to reveal the personal stories and vibrant memories that have inspired sixty years of songwriting. Lushly illustrated and told in Dolly's inimitable voice, this rich collection offers an intimate, exclusive look at the colorful life, prolific career, and rags-to-rhinestones journey of one of the most revered entertainers of our time"--

The queen next door : Aretha Franklin, an intimate portrait by Linda Solomon

Reflections on the life of Aretha Franklin captured in exclusive photographs by her friend, photojournalist Linda Solomon

Deliverance : Mary Fields : first African American woman star route mail carrier in the United States : a Montana history by Miantae Metcalf McConnell

Mary Fields, a fifty-three-year-old second-generation slave, emancipated and residing in Toledo, receives news of her friend’s impending death. Remedies packed in her satchel, Mary rushes to board the Northern Pacific. Days later, she arrives in the Montana wilderness to find Mother Mary Amadeus lying on frozen earth in a broken-down cabin. Certain that the cloister of frostbit Ursuline nuns and their students, Indian girls rescued from nearby reservations, will not survive without assistance, Mary decides to stay.

Daughter of the boycott : carrying on a Montgomery family's civil rights legacy by Karen Gray Houston

"Award-winning broadcast journalist Karen Gray Houston tells the story of the key roles played by her father, Thomas Gray, and her uncle, Fred D. Gray, in the historic Montgomery bus boycott, the action that kick-started the civil rights movement"--

Daring to drive : a Saudi woman's awakening by Manal Sharif

The fiercely intimate memoir of an accidental activist, a powerfully vivid story of a young Muslim woman who stood up to a kingdom of men, and won. Writing on the cusp of history, Manal offers a rare glimpse into the lives of women in Saudi Arabia today. Her memoir is a remarkable celebration of resilience in the face of tyranny, the extraordinary power of education and female solidarity, and the difficulties, absurdities, and joys of making your voice heard

Code girls : the untold story of the American women code breakers who helped win World War II by Liza Mundy

The award-winning national bestseller about the American women who secretly served as codebreakers during World War II—a "prodigiously researched and engrossing" (New York Times) book that "shines a light on a hidden chapter of American history" (Denver Post).Recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy from small towns and elite colleges, more than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to Washington and learned the meticulous work of code-breaking. Their efforts shortened the war, saved countless lives, and gave them access to careers previously denied to them. A strict vow of secrecy nearly erased their efforts from history; now, through dazzling research and interviews with surviving code girls, bestselling author Liza Mundy brings to life this riveting and vital story of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishment.

Coco Chanel : an intimate life by Lisa Chaney

Revolutionizing women's dress, Gabrielle "Coco'' Chanel was the twentieth century's most influential designer. Her extraordinary and unconventional journey—from abject poverty to a new kind of glamour—helped forge the idea of modern woman. Unearthing an astonishing life, this remarkable biography shows how, more than any previous designer, Chanel became synonymous with a rebellious and progressive style. Her numerous liaisons, whose poignant and tragic details have eluded all previous biographers, were the very stuff of legend. Witty and mesmerizing, she became muse, patron, or mistress to the century's most celebrated artists, including Picasso, Dalí, and Stravinsky.

Carry : a memoir of survival on stolen land by Toni Jensen

"A powerful, poetic memoir about what it means to exist as an indigenous woman in America, told in snapshots of the author's encounters with gun violence--for readers of Jesmyn Ward and Terese Marie Mailhot. Toni Jensen grew up in the Midwest around guns:As a girl, she learned how to shoot birds with her father, a card-carrying member of the NRA. As an adult, she's had guns waved in her face in the fracklands around Standing Rock, and felt their silent threat on the concealed-carry campus where she teaches. And she has always known she is not alone. As a Maetis woman, she is no stranger to the violence enacted on the bodies of indigenous women, on indigenous land, and the ways it is hidden, ignored, forgotten. In Carry, Jensen maps her personal experience onto the historical, exploring how history is lived in the body and redefining the language we use to speak about violence in America. In the title chapter, Jensen recalls the discrimination she faced in college as a Native American student from her roommate to her faculty adviser. "The Worry Line" explores the gun and gang violence in her neighborhood the year her daughter was born. "At the Workshop" focuses on her graduate school years, during which a classmate repeatedly wrote stories in which he killed thinly veiled versions of her. In "Women in the Fracklands," Jensen takes the reader inside Standing Rock during the Dakota Access pipeline protests, as well as the peril faced by women, in regions overcome by the fracking boom. In prose at once forensic and deeply emotional, Toni Jensen shows herself to be a brave new voice and a fearless witness to her own difficult history--as well as to the violent cultural landscape in which she finds her coordinates as a Native American woman. With each chapter,Carry reminds us that surviving in one's country is not the same as surviving one's country."--

Is everyone hanging out without me? : (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling

The writer and actress best known as Kelly Kapoor on "The Office" shares observations on topics ranging from favorite male archetypes and her hatred of dieting to her relationship with her mother and the haphazard creative process in the "Office" writers' room

Broad band : the untold story of the women who made the Internet by Claire Lisa Evans

"The history of technology you probably know is one of men and machines, garages and riches, alpha nerds and brogrammers. But the little-known fact is that female visionaries have always been at the vanguard of technology and innovation--they've just beenerased from the story. Until now. Women are not ancillary to the history of technology; they turn up at the very beginning of every important wave. But they've often been hidden in plain sight, their inventions and contributions touching our lives in ways we don't even realize. VICE reporter and YACHT lead singer Claire L. Evans finally gives these unsung female heroes their due with her insightful social history of the Broad Band, the women who made the internet what it is today. Learn from Ada Lovelace, the tortured, imaginative daughter of Lord Byron, who wove numbers into the first program for a mechanical computer in 1842. Seek inspiration from Grace Hopper, the tenacious mathematician who democratized computing by leading the charge for machine-independent programming languages after World War II. Meet Elizabeth "Jake" Feinler, the one-woman Google who kept the earliest version of the Internet online, and Stacy Horn, who ran one of the first-ever social networks on a shoestring out of her New York City apartment in the 1980s. Evans shows us how these women built and colored the technologies we can't imagine life without. Join the ranks of the pioneers who defied social convention and the longest odds to become database poets, information-wranglers, hypertext dreamers, and glass ceiling-shattering dot com-era entrepreneurs. This inspiring call to action is a revelation: women have embraced technology from the start. It shines a light on the bright minds whom history forgot, and shows us how theywill continue to shape our world in ways we can no longer ignore. Welcome to the Broad Band. You're next"--

Brazen : rebel ladies who rocked the world by Pénélope Bagieu

Profiles inspiring women--some who are world famous and some who are little knownin graphic format, including Nellie Bly, Mae Jemison, Hedy Lamarr, Josephine Baker, and Naziq al-Abid.

Bombshell : the Hedy Lamarr story

What do the most ravishingly beautiful actress of the 1930s and '40s and the inventor whose concepts were the basis of cell phone and Bluetooth technology have in common? They are both Hedy Lamarr, the glamour icon whose ravishing visage was the inspiration for Snow White and Cat Woman and a technological trailblazer who perfected a radio system to throw Nazi torpedoes off course during WWII

Black wings

A documentary on the first African American aviators, examining the achievements of Bessie Coleman, William Powell, James Herman Banning, Thomas C. Allen, and Marlon Green

Black diamond queens : African American women and rock and roll by Maureen Mahon

"African American women have played a pivotal part in rock and roll-from laying its foundations and singing chart-topping hits to influencing some of the genre's most iconic acts. Despite this, black women's importance to the music's history has been diminished by narratives of rock as a mostly white male enterprise. In Black Diamond Queens, Maureen Mahon draws on recordings, press coverage, archival materials, and interviews to document the history of African American women in rock and roll between the 1950s and the 1980s. Mahon details the musical contributions and cultural impact of Big Mama Thornton, LaVern Baker, Betty Davis, Tina Turner, Merry Clayton, Labelle, the Shirelles, and others, demonstrating how dominant views of gender, race, sexuality, and genre affected their careers. By uncovering this hidden history of black women in rock and roll, Mahon reveals a powerful sonic legacy that continues to reverberate into the twenty-first century"--

Barbra Streisand : redefining beauty, femininity, and power by Neal Gabler

Barbra Streisand has been called the “most successful...talented performer of her generation” by Vanity Fair, and her voice, said pianist Glenn Gould, is “one of the natural wonders of the age.” Streisand scaled the heights of entertainment—from a popular vocalist to a first-rank Broadway star in Funny Girl to an Oscar-winning actress to a producer and director. But she has also become a cultural icon who has transcended show business. To achieve her success, Brooklyn-born Streisand had to overcome tremendous odds, not the least of which was her Jewishness. Dismissed, insulted, even reviled when she embarked on a show business career for acting too Jewish and looking too Jewish, she brilliantly converted her Jewishness into a metaphor for outsiderness that would eventually make her the avenger for anyone who felt marginalized and powerless.

Sisters first : stories from our wild and wonderful life by Jenna Bush

Former first daughters Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush share intimate stories and reflections from the Texas countryside to the storied halls of the White House and beyond

Around the way girl : a memoir by Taraji P Henson

With a sensibility that recalls her beloved screen characters, including Yvette, Queenie, Shug, and the iconic Cookie from Empire, yet is all Taraji, the screen actress writes of her families - the one she was born into and the one she created. She shares stories of her father, a Vietnam vet who was bowed but never broken by life's challenges, and of her mother, who survived violence both in the home and on DC's volatile streets. Here, too, she opens up about her experiences as a single mother, a journey some saw as a burden but she saw as a gift.

AOC : fighter, phenom, change maker by Prachi Gupta

Born in the Bronx and raised in the suburbs of Westchester County, New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez witnessed firsthand how a person’s zip code can shape their destiny. That early exposure to income inequality fueled a passion for change that, in turn, led her to take on—and defeat—a ten-term incumbent to become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Now a target for the right, she is an inspiration to millions of millennial voters, women of color, and progressives.

Ansel Adams : the National Park Service photographs by Ansel Adams

The invitation to photograph the nation's parklands was the perfect assignment for Adams, as it allowed him to express his deepest convictions as artist, conservationist, and citizen. These stunning photographs of the natural geysers and terraces in Yellowstone, the rocks and ravines in the Grand Canyon, the winding rivers and majestic mountains in Glacier and Grand Teton national parks, the mysterious Carlsbad Caverns, the architecture of ancient Indian villages, and many other evocative views of the American West demonstrate the genius of Adams' technical and aesthetic inventiveness.

Anne Frank : the biography by Melissa Müller

Praised as "remarkable," "meticulous," and "long overdue," Anne Frank: The Biography, originally published in 1998, still stands as the definitive account of the girl who has become "the human face of the Holocaust." Full of revelations, Müller's richly textured narrative returned Anne Frank to history, portraying the flesh-and-blood girl unsentimentalized and so all the more affecting. Now, sixteen years after the book first appeared, much new information has come to light: letters sent by Otto Frank to relatives in America as he sought to emigrate with his family, the identity of other suspects involved in the betrayal of the Franks, and important details about the family's arrest and subsequent fate. Revised and updated with more than thirty percent new material, this is an indispensable volume for all those who seek a deeper understanding of Anne Frank and the brutal times in which she lived and died.

And she could be next

The documentary follows a defiant movement of women of color as they transform politics from the ground up. Filmed during the historic 2018 midterm elections, the series follows organizers and candidates (including Rashida Tlaib and Stacey Abrams) as they fight for a truly reflective government, asking whether democracy can be preserved, and made stronger, by those most marginalized

An unladylike profession : American women war correspondents in World War I by Chris (Military historian) Dubbs

"Chris Dubbs tells the dramatic stories of more than thirty women who traveled to Europe to write about World War I for America's newspapers and magazines"--

American queenmaker : how Missy Meloney brought women into politics by Julie Des Jardins

"Marie 'Missy' Mattingly Meloney was born in 1878, in an America where women couldn't vote. Yet she recognized the power that women held as consumers and family decision-makers, and persuaded male publishers and politicians to take them seriously. Over the course of her life as a journalist, magazine editor-in-chief, and political advisor, Missy created the idea of the female demographic. After the passage of the 19th Amendment she encouraged candidates to engage with and appeal to women directly. In thisrole, she advised Presidents from Hoover and Coolidge to FDR. By the time she died in 1943, women were a recognized political force to be reckoned with. In this groundbreaking biography, historian Julie Des Jardins restores Missy to her rightful place inAmerican history"--

Amazons, abolitionists, and activists : a graphic history of women's fight for their rights by Mikki Kendall

"A bold and gripping graphic history of the fight for women's rights The ongoing struggle for women's rights has spanned human history, touched nearly every culture on Earth, and encompassed a wide range of issues, such as the right to vote, work, get aneducation, own property, exercise bodily autonomy, and beyond. Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists is a fun and fascinating graphic novel-style primer that covers the key figures and events that have advanced women's rights from antiquity to the modernera. In addition, this compelling book illuminates the stories of notable women throughout history--from queens and freedom fighters to warriors and spies--and the progressive movements led by women that have shaped history, including abolition, suffrage,labor, civil rights, LGBTQ liberation, reproductive rights, and more. Examining where we've been, where we are, and where we're going, Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists is an indispensable resource for people of all genders interested in the fight for a more liberated future"--

Always the queen : the Denise LaSalle story by Denise LaSalle

"This is the autobiography of soul and blues singer Denise LaSalle "as told to" the blues scholar David Whiteis. The book documents Ms. LaSalle's move from rural Mississippi to Chicago as a teenager, where she eventually established herself as a successful songwriter and performer in gospel and blues. She also founded several record labels and demonstrated considerable savvy as a businesswoman. In the early 1980s, realizing that her brand of emotionally resonant soul music had lost ground in the marketplace to newer forms - first disco, and then rap/hip-hop - Ms. LaSalle began to write songs and perform in the modern-day blues genre usually referred to as "soul-blues" (a term she takes credit for inventing) or "southern soul." Her songs in this genre conveyed a bold, often provocative message of womanly assertiveness and pride, including explicitly drawn demands for both sexual and financial satisfaction, that both invoked and modernized the classic blueswoman's stance of power and independence, a trope that links her directly to such legendary blues singers as Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Ida Cox. Armed with this new material but still capable of pleasing long-time fans with renditions of her earlier hits, Ms. LaSalle became one of the dominant figures on the "southern soul"/"soul-blues" circuit, which was actually a newly revitalized incarnation of the old "chitlin' circuit," the network of predominantly African-American performance venues that crisscrossed the south and also extended into some northernand western urban strongholds (tracing, more or less, the geographic pattern of the early/mid-20th Century Great Migration). She remains one of the most beloved figures on that circuit, admired by listeners and fellow artists alike for her legacy and herongoing dedication to her music and fans. LaSalle's story thus complements the overall story of blues and soul music as the cultural expression of a diasporan people who reinvented themselves to adjust to Northern life while retaining many of the cultural, religious, and social traditions with which they had grown up in the South"--

Alice Walker : a life by Evelyn C White

A full-length portrait of the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer draws on letters, journals, and interviews to discuss her birth into a family of Georgia sharecroppers, the childhood accident that left her blind in one eye and sympathetic to human suffering, her activism during the 1960s, and her literary achievements.

Ain't I a woman : black women and feminism 2nd edition by Bell Hooks

A classic work of feminist scholarship, Ain't I a Woman has become a must-read for all those interested in the nature of black womanhood. Examining the impact of sexism on black women during slavery, the devaluation of black womanhood, black male sexism, racism among feminists, and the black woman's involvement with feminism, Hooks attempts to move us beyond racist and sexist assumptions. The result is nothing short of groundbreaking, giving this book a critical place on every feminist scholar's bookshelf

A woman's place : the inventors, rumrunners, lawbreakers, scientists & single moms who changed the world with food by Deepi Ahluwalia

Discover the trailblazing women who changed the world from their kitchens. If "a woman's place is in the kitchen," why is the history of food such an old boys' club? A Woman's Place sets the record straight, sharing stories of more than 80 hidden figures of food who made a lasting mark on history. In an era when women were told to stay at home and leave glory to the men, these rebel women used the transformative power of food to break barriers and fight for a better world.

A wild and precious life : a memoir by Edie Windsor

"A lively, intimate memoir from an icon of the gay rights movement, describing gay life in 1950s and 60s New York City and her longtime activism which opened the door for marriage equality. Edie Windsor became internationally famous when she sued the US government, seeking federal recognition for her marriage to Thea Spyer, her partner of more than four decades. The Supreme Court ruled in Edie's favor, a landmark victory that set the stage for full marriage equality in the US. Beloved by the LGBTQ community, Edie embraced her new role as an icon; she had already been living an extraordinary and groundbreaking life for decades. In this memoir, which she began before passing away in 2017 and completed by her co-writer, Edie recounts her childhood in Philadelphia, her realization that she was a lesbian, and her active social life in Greenwich Village's electrifying underground gay scene during the 1950s. Edie was also one of a select group of trailblazing women in computing, working her way up the ladder at IBM and achieving their highest technical ranking while developing software. In the early 1960s Edie met Thea, an expat from a Dutch Jewish family that fled the Nazis, and a widely respected clinical psychologist. Their partnership lasted forty-four years, until Thea died in 2009. Edie found love again, marrying Judith Kasen-Windsor in 2016. A Wild and Precious Life is remarkable portrait of an iconic woman, gay life in New York in the second half of the twentieth century, and the rise of LGBT activism"--

Dear girls : intimate tales, untold secrets, and advice for living your best life by Ali Wong

"In her hit Netflix comedy special Baby Cobra, an eight-month pregnant Ali Wong resonated so heavily that she became a popular Halloween costume. Wong told the world her remarkably unfiltered thoughts on marriage, sex, Asian culture, working women, and why you never see new mom comics on stage but you sure see plenty of new dads. The sharp insights and humor are even more personal in this completely original collection. She shares the wisdom she's learned from a life in comedy and reveals stories from her life off stage, including the brutal singles life in New York (i.e. the inevitable confrontation with erectile dysfunction), reconnecting with her roots (and drinking snake blood) in Vietnam, tales of being a wild child growing up in San Francisco, and parenting war stories. Though addressed to her daughters, Ali Wong's letters are absurdly funny, surprisingly moving, and enlightening (and disgusting) for all"--

A game of birds and wolves : the ingenious young women whose secret board game helped win World War II by Simon Parkin

Combining vibrant novelistic storytelling with extensive research, interviews, and previously unpublished accounts, Simon Parkin describes for the first time the role that women played in developing the Allied strategy that, in the words of one admiral, "contributed in no small measure to the final defeat of Germany." Rich with unforgettable cinematic detail and larger-than-life characters, A Game of Birds and Wolves is a heart-wrenching tale of ingenuity, dedication, perseverance, and love, bringing to life the imagination and sacrifice required to defeat the Nazis at sea.

10 women who changed science, and the world by Catherine Whitlock

"Ten Women Who Changed Science tells the moving stories of the physicists, biologists, chemists, astronomers and doctors who helped to shape our world with their extraordinary breakthroughs and inventions, and outlines their remarkable achievements.These scientists overcame significant obstacles, often simply because they were women their science and their lives were driven by personal tragedies and shaped by seismic world events. What drove these remarkable women to cure previously incurable diseases, disprove existing theories or discover new sources of energy? Some were rewarded with the Nobel Prize for their pioneering achievements— Madame Curie, twice— others were not and, even if they had, many are not household names.Despite living during periods when the contribution of women was disregarded, if not ignored, these resilient women persevered with their research, whether creating life-saving drugs or expanding our knowledge of the cosmos. By daring to ask 'How?' and 'Why?' and persevering against the odds, each of these women, in a variety of ways, has made the world a better place." --

Recipient of the National Medal, the nation's highest honor for libraries.