50 thoroughly-researched stories of history's most badass moms from all around the world, most of whom you've never heard of. Each entry has a page of illustration and a page or three of text.
Short answer: 12 and up. Younger readers could enjoy most of it, but you'd probably want to read it with them.
Long answer: There's harsh material at the very end, but every entry has content warnings and a maturity level. In terms of US movie ratings, it's probably 35% PG, 60% PG-13, 5% R. This isn't a book to censor history or try to put a pretty spin on things, but it also doesn't get explicit regularly or without reason. Some of the most harrowing entries are online, to help you gauge how bad it gets: check out Tamar of Georgia, Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine, and Ranavalona I.
The full table of contents is available below - click here to jump to it. Many chapters are available for you to preview!
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(keep an eye out for these icons, showing content posted online that didn't make the final cut for the book)
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The lone survivor of an ill-fated scientific expedition, this Inuit woman persevered for two years on a remote arctic island in order to get money to treat her ill son.
Tomboy, daughter, spy, soldier, foster mom, innkeeper, gold miner, nurse, activist; veteran: Angela Jimenez doesn't need a movie so much as a mini-series.
The greatest ruler of Yemeni history, she defeated her numerous foes to usher the country into its golden age.
Loud, proud, uncompromising: this bold politician helped bring about Title IX, the Freedom of Information Act, and the Equal Rights Amendment - as well as much more.
The exiled daughter of a deposed ruler, she could have been a fairytale bridge between worlds - but fairy tales are not real. Benazir, whose name means "without flaw," was anything but.
Carolina Maria de Jesus (1914-1977)
Brash, funny, and difficult, this mother of three wrote her way out of extreme poverty with her uncompromising look at Brazilian society - and was alternately lauded and berated for it.
When her (second) rebel husband was killed, this heroine of Indonesian revolution took over the fight against the Dutch.
This uneducated, impoverished activist suffered unbelievable abuse in her journey to be able to vote -- but that did not stop her.
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (1900-1978)
Through years of unrelenting protest, this Nigerian teacher felled a king, won women the right to vote, and taught all of Africa how to protest.
When her rebel husband was imprisoned, she continued the movement - by holding a castle under siege for three long, lonely years.
This Polish nurse sacrificed her safety, her marriage, her very family to save 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust.
This Native American clan mother brought together 5 tribes under the Haudenosaunee Confederacy - and helped make the document that inspired the United States Constitution.
Juana Azurduy de Padilla (1780-1862)
This revolutionary (and mother of five) should have been the namesake of Bolivia - and that's the opinion of Simon Bolivar, the actual namesake of Bolivia!
When famine hit Jeju island, where she'd been exiled since birth, this prostitute-turned-businesswoman spent her fortune to feed everyone.
Labotsibeni Gwamile LaMdluli (c.1858-1925)
When her husband inadvertently sold the country to colonial forces, this queen spent the rest of her life getting it back.
America's ostensible first female self-made millionaire was a black beauty magnate who did it all for her daughter.
Destined to be a mere political pawn, this Mongol queen rode into battle while pregnant, united the warring tribes, and was considered to be the second coming of Genghis Khan.
Once upon a time, there was a lesbian Wild West abortion doctor. She once horsewhipped a guy in the face and was tossed in San Quentin Prison for sedition. To the surprise of no one, she lived in Portland.
This cheery godmother of trans civil rights masked a dark past of abuse.
The daughter of an aboriginal woman and a white man, her race led her to be kidnapped by the Australian government - only for her to escape and walk across the continent to get home... twice.
When a government magistrate unjustly killed her son, this unassuming middle-aged wife spent years raising an army to topple that same government.
Mother Jones (Mary Harris Jones) (1837-1930)
This leader of the labor movement suffered imprisonment, defamation, and untold misery to battle against forces that most of us just take for granted.
Olympias of Macedon (c.375-316 BCE)
The much-maligned woman fought tooth and nail to position her son, Alexander, to become "the Great" - and herself in the process.
Pailadzo Captanian (1882-1968)
After escaping the Armenian Genocide (by walking across the Syrian desert while pregnant), this woman went back into Armenia to rescue her sons, then made her way to America -- where she invented the recipe for Rice-a-Roni.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973)
The godmother of rock and roll, this black bisexual singer fused gospel and pop to blaze her own way across the Jim Crow-era south.
One of the most famous women in American history, this hyper-capable Shoshone woman walked across America with a baby strapped to her back, in order to map it.
In fighting the bias of the caste system to spread education, this woman brought knowledge to girls across India.
When her kid was stolen from her, this ex-slave successfully sued to get him back; she then went on to become a forceful speaker for abolition across the United States.
Susan la Flesche Picotte (1865-1915)
The first Native American medical doctor endured back-breaking labor, years spent alone, and institutional racism to better the lives of her people.
Te Ao-Kapurangi (19th century)
Abducted from her tribe, this Maori woman managed to save her kinsmen and stop a war - by straddling a roof and cramming the house underneath.
Turned into a revolutionary in middle age, this mother became one of the Philippines most heralded women.
With a dead husband and a hostile foreign country on her hands, this Indian queen did the unthinkable - turned her loyal servants into some of the first suicide bombers in recorded history.
When she was told to "go do women's work" after upstaging the medical community in her treatment of Hodgkin's disease, Dr. Vera Peters revolutionized breast cancer treatment through years of painstaking, meticulous work.
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