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The New York Public Library amazing women in American History

Join Susan B. Anthony's fight for voting rights. Follow Sandra Day O'Connor to the U.S. Supreme Court and Sally Ride into space. Find the answers to your questions about the amazing women in American history...

Who were the Daughters of Liberty? See page 19.

Who was the first woman to run for president? See page 79.

Who were early leaders of the women's movement? See page 38.

Who was Sojourner Truth, and how did she get her name? See page 32.

What were flappers? See page 115.

Who was Mother Jones? See page 107.

How did the National Organization for Women (NOW) begin? See page 138.

What is The Feminine Mystique, and why is it so significant? See page 139.

Also in this series . . .

• The New York Public Library Incredible Earth
• The New York Public Library Amazing Space
• The New York Public Library Amazing African American History

Customer Reviews (1)

Essential Book For Your Child's Library
I was thrilled to encounter this book. Finally, there is a book to help fill the gaping hole in children's traditional history education. This book is written in a simple question and answer format that provides succinct historical facts about women of all colors.This book should be requiredin every school! ... Read more

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This is the first comprehensive study on Mary Magdalene in those second andthird century Gnostic texts in which Jesus' most famous female follower gainsa prominent position.Special attention is paid to the way Mary is presented in relation to otherdisciples, and to how her portrait pertains to gender imagery used in thewritings. Detailed text analyses, based on a careful philological study, showthat no uniform picture and use of the figure of Mary can be traced. Contraryto a common supposition, the book also demonstrates that the positive view ofMary displayed in the texts does not automatically imply a positive attitudetowards women in general.The work provides a basis for all further discussion of Mary Magdalene in theNag Hammadi and related documents. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The Woman Jesus Loved
In all of the Gnostic writings which contain and use Mary Magdalene traditions she is presented as a dominant figure among the followers of Jesus. It is conspicuous that in many of these sources her visible, positive role leads to some kind of controversy with the male disciples of Jesus. The primary interest in this study is to see what role Mary Magdalene assumes in the textual and symbolic world of a particular writing and what her characterization reveals about the author's views on women, especially about their possibilities to gain a position of authority. In addition, an attempt is made to ask what Mary Magdalene passages can tell, if anything, about the attitudes towards women, the concrete circumstance of their lives, and leadership roles within the circles where the text were read. Clearly, the texts displaying a conflict between Mary Magdalene and the male disciples need special attention when it is asked whether and what the texts can tell about the attitudes of the authors and the concrete situation of the audiences.

An Intellectual Treatment ofthe Da Vinci Code
While this book will never make it to the silver screen, it is researched and written throughtfully. The author accurately describes the meaning of the love of Jesus toward Mary of Magdela. It was the love of a teacher to a prize student. One who he could count on, who understood the rivalries among men, but remained his friend, confidant and vigil.

As recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, Mary of Magdela was not a prostitute. She was a prosperous handmaiden and business woman in the period preceding her transformation by Jesus. This period was marked by corruption and brutality. Mary of Magdela was a member of Jesus's inner circle. While the Apostle Peter lamented that Mary did not belong because she was a woman and not worthy, Jesus defended her place as his most favored.

At this point, I suspect the Roman Catholic Church differs with the author. The author asserts the inclusion of Mary of Magdela in the inner circle along with another Mary, Simon's sister presented a form of jealousy of the all men apostles. Peter is quoted in The Book of Thomas as accusing Jesus of loving Mary of Magdela more than he loved the others.

The Nag Hammadi Codices are far from being completely translated, but these early Coptic writings cast a more gentle and accepting attitude of the inherent intelligence of women.
Further in the beginning there existed a more a-sexual attitude of God. Fears of the ruling order in subsequent centuries quelled the notion of the a-sexual God, cast Mary of Magdela in a saved sinner role and altered substantially the view of women. Significantly, the role of Eve as the temptress with all of the sexual stereotypes associated with her remain today to a degree.It was a more convenient, more black and white version of the beginning of man.This was finalized by the death of the Gnosist movement, destruction of the Coptic codices and a Papal Bull banning their interpretations and writings in the 4th century.These codices were hidden by Byzanntine Monks and discovered in the mid-twentieth century.

Jesus appreciated and loved Mary Magdela. He trusted her opinion , he trusted her loyalty and she never disappointed him. This was the love he expressed. His confidence in her, not a carnal lovedescribed by Mr. Brown's popular silver screen summer book. Thetruth is more interesting and more is to come in the future.

A Comprehensive Work
Don't let the title of this book deceive you. This book is a very thorough look at the position of Mary Magdalene in Jesus' eyes and in the eyes of the Apostles. At times she appears as an equal, while at other times she appears higher than the others.

This is a scholarly book, but is the definitive word on Mary's place in Jesus' life. From the title one might expect something salacious, but that is far from the case.

I enjoy Marjanen's interpretations better than Ms. Pagels'. While I don't read Coptic, Aramaic or Greek, when I review some of her references it seems she takes liberties with her interpretations to prove her point, while Marjanen takes a very measured, rational approach.

Of the books I've read in this genre, this book provides the most insight into the dynamics of the personalities surrounding Jesus. It's definitely worthy of 5 stars!

An in-depth, scholarly look at the Gnostic Mary Magdalene.
This book provides plenty of information of gnosticism, the Nag Hammadi texts, and on the gnostic Mary Magdalene, one who has nothing in common with the helpless weeping prostitute of legend or the barely existent MaryMagdalene of the Gospels.Marjanen is a feminist reader of these texts,though his rhetorical strategies are not what I would consider feminist,since he is consummately nasty about the work of other scholars,particuarly women.This work is useful in exploring the idea of thefeminine, and possibly the role of women, in the early Christian church andgnostic movement.Minor criticism: Marjanen assumes a scholarly audiencethat reads some ancient languages, so sometimes he doesn't translateeverything he should. Elaine Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels is a lot more funto read.

Very wordy academic treatise containing few words of bible.
Someone please explain this book to me.

I read it trying to find outwhat the early early church said about women.

The book was verythorough in interpreting what was of no interest to 'Thomas' readers. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

This is American Revolutionary history in a nutshell ~ the role of women and children
In colonial times, women were not taken very seriously, but they were expected to work very hard taking care of their homes, husbands and children.At the time their primary role was to "be a wife and a mother."Children didn't fare much better as they had a lot of work to do as well. They did play simple games like hopscotch and leapfrog, but playtime was simply out of the question when there was work to do!

Are you a `tween or teen now?If you were a fourteen-year-old boy during these times, you would already be starting an apprenticeship to learn a trade.Girls would not be attending school as "many parents though it was more important for girls to spend time doing household chores than to spend time in school."There were exceptions, but not often.

When the Revolutionary war came, the importance of the woman and children became obvious. In this book we meet and learn about interesting women and children such as Eliza Bleecker, Annis Boudinot Stockton, Esther De Berdt Reed, Abigail Adams, Betsy Ross, eight-year-old Sarah Frazer, the "camp followers" (women and children who traveled with the armies), nurses, Sarah Osborn, Martha Washington and many more.Some are well known to history while others are rather obscure.

This is Revolutionary history in a nutshell.The text is heavily illustrated.There are numerous boxed historical tidbits, a time line, a glossary and recommended books and internet addresses. This book covers a wide range of characters and events, but does it nicely.The student or reader can use this as a stepping stone to further research on a more specific topic, perhaps on someone or something he or she meets here! ... Read more

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Women Online focuses on the problems of investigating interdisciplinary topics in women's studies, working with controlled vocabularies and inconsistent indexing, and locating feminist scholarship. The authoritative contributors to the book not only analyze these problems in general terms but also suggest practical strategies for making online research more effective and productive.

The sixteen chapters in this much-needed book are organized into three broad categories covering disciplines, such as humanities and social sciences; format of the material covered, such as non-bibliographic and cited reference databases; and specific topics, such as lesbian studies and women of color.

Chapter authors employ a variety of useful methods to analyze issues of coverage and content. They compare the results of controlled vocabulary and free-text or full-text searching and make use of search examples, cited reference and multi-file searching, and bibliometric techniques, including analysis of recall, precision, overlap, relevancy, uniqueness, and trends in file growth. The Database Matrix provides an alphabetical listing of files discussed in the book and serves as a directory for online research in women's studies.

Women Online will be useful to librarians, scholars, and students who search databases, as well as to producers who design and market them. ... Read more

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This study analyzes the publication, review and collection of fiction and poetry titles written by African American women, published between 1980-1990 by Association of Research Libraries member academic libraries. It is an examination of institutionalized legitimizing social forces and their influence on the collection and sanctioning of knowledge as expressed through academic library collections. An analysis of discourse of a small set of titles reveals how expressions of social reality by a marginalized social group informs the discourse of larger society inherent in such library collections. A statistical analysis reveals that 70 per cent of the titles written by African-American women during this time frame were poetry and that over half of these titles were published by small publishers. It was determined that there was no statistical relationship between the size of the publisher and the number of these titles a publisher produced. Approximately 40 per cent of the titles received at least one book review, but the six core library professional and book trade review journals did not proportionately review these titles.The factors that were related to holdings of these titles include the total number of book reviews a title received, the number of titles the author published, the presence of an African-American Studies Department at the member institution, and the total number of volumes held by the library. ... Read more

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Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth-Century England is the first major study of three profusely illustrated, textually diverse books of hours, the De Lisle, De Bois, and Neville of Hornby Hours, all of which were made for three English laywomen: Margaret de Beauchamp, the wife of a baron and loyal royal servant; Hawisia de Bois, a member of a distinguished knightly family; and Isabel de Byron, the matriarch of a rising gentry family.

Through detailed analysis of the manuscripts' visual and textual programs, and by embedding the books within a rich interpretive context constructed from religious and secular literature, sermons, and a broad range of artistic and historical evidence, Kathryn A. Smith examines how the three books mediated the devotional experience of their owners and constructed and confirmed their sense of personal, familial, local, and social identity. The study explores the potential functions of illustrated books of hours ? as vehicles for penitent self-examination, familial, and dynastic commemoration and legitimation, and instruction of one's children ? and reveals how the manuscripts' contents and design accommodated these functions. Art, Identity, and Devotion in Fourteenth-Century England offers new insights into the issues of female patronage and book ownership, lay literacy, and the roles and uses of imagery in later medieval religion.

Customer Reviews (1)

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For the illuminations researcher, this book is not for you.I was looking for illuminations, which this does not furnish well despite the title claim to be the Books of Hours of three Englishwomen of the Middle Ages.The book is not lavishly illustrated and very few color illuminations.

The author's comments on the difficulties of researching females from this time period were interesting ... Read more

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A missionary with 13 years experience of Africa writes about the life of Valenge women in 1933. Although intended as technical anthropology it contains an account of the feminine aspect of the simple life with much homely detail. ... Read more

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A jargon-free, non-technical, and easily accessible introduction to women's studies!

All too many students enter academia with the hazy idea that the field of women's studies is restricted to housework, birth control, and Susan B. Anthony. Their first encounter with a women's studies textbook is likely to focus on the history and sociology of women's lives. While these topics are important, the emphasis on them has led to neglect of equally important issues. Transforming the Disciplines: A Women's Studies Primer is one of the first women's studies textbooks to show feminist scholarship as an active force, changing the way we study such diverse fields as architecture, bioethics, history, mathematics, religion, and sports studies.

Although this text was designed as an introduction to women's studies, it is also rewarding for upper-level or graduate students who want to understand the pervasive effects of feminist theory. Most chapters provide a bibliography or list of further reading of significant works. Its clear, jargon-free prose makes feminist thought accessible to general readers without sacrificing the revolutionary power of its ideas.

In almost thirty essays, covering a broad range of subjects from anthropology to chemistry to rhetoric, Transforming the Disciplines exemplifies the changes achieved by feminist thought.

Transforming the Disciplines:

• combines a high standard of writing and scholarship with personal insight
• includes both traditional academic arguments and alternative, non-agonistic forms of discussion
• embraces an international scope
• challenges traditional assumptions, models, and methodologies
• offers an inter- and multidisciplinary approach
• strengthens readers’understanding of the big picture not only for women but for all disempowered groups
• critiques feminism as well as patriarchal society

Customer Reviews (1)

Best Women's Studies Book I've Come Across
This is an awesome textbook.The editors really know their stuff!I highly recommend this book for any reader interested in Women's Studies - especially college level classes. ... Read more

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Out of Her Mind, edited by Rebecca Shannonhouse, captures the best literature by and about women struggling with madness. A remarkable chronicle of gifted and unconventional women who have spun their inner turmoil into literary gold, the collection features classic short stories, breathtaking literary excerpts, key historical writings, and previously unpublished letters by Zelda Fitzgerald.

Shannonhouse’s recent anthology, Under the Influence: The Literature of Addiction, is also available as a Modern Library Paperback Original. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Still Waiting For The T-Shirt
Been there; done that.Or so I thought.This is a brilliant compilation of well-known and also little-known writers in the field of women and madness.The most shocking parts of the book reveal how women were regarded only a few decades ago.So a woman has PMS or post-partum depression?Or maybe her husband just wants to get rid of her so he can marry someone younger and prettier? The treatment for all of the aboveis to take away her clothes and belongings and send her to a poor house where she will be chained to the floor and occasionally whipped.Of course, she doesn't get to actually live in the house: that's what barns are for.Oh, and sometimes she gets a few pieces of bread to eat.And it's all true; if it were fiction, nobody would believe it.And I think, there but for the grace of God, go I....

Boring
I got this book to learn more about the history of mental hospitals. Granted it is about women but they were all in different periods of psychiatry history. Really all the book was about was some ramblings of different women and there really wasn't any history to it. And no real insight into what the conditions were like or what they went through during treatment. I really don't recommend this book if you are wanting any real information.

In turn horrifying, moving and informative
I have worked in the field of mental health for several years, and collect fiction that deals with the subject. This collection is among the best I have found.It includes the well known Yellow Wallpaper, and selections from Bell Jar and Girl, Interrupted. But it also includes lesser known works that portray vividly what is it like to suddenly find yourself in the throes of depression and schizophrenia, and what it is like to watch a family member's descent into that hell, knowing there is little or nothing you can do. You will also find descriptions of how society has attempted to treat mentally illness for the last 400 years, with terrifying results.If you have any interest in this subject, read this book.

Slim volume on a vast topic
The Modern Library carries a certain weight of moral authority, especially for readers who grew up with its respectable tomes lining the family bookshelves. It was the canon, really, for middle class America. So I expected more than twenty-odd quick (though arresting) briefs filed from the various historic madhouses - that comprise this collection. Why so meager? The listing claims 229 pages. My edition has 175 plus an eight-page Introduction. In addition, quite a few of the selections have likely already been read by many, since they have been culled from American best-sellers of the past several decades.As dark and important a subject as women and madness deserves more than this quick once-over.

Illuminating
This is an excellent collection of essays, stories and excerpts from longer works that lingers long after you put it down.Despite the brevity of most entries (the entire book is less than 200 pages) their resonance deepens as you read story after story of women from the 15th century through today.

It does not matter if you are a therapist, a therapy client or you have never thought about entering such a relationship.Nor does it matter whether you are a man or woman.These stories speak to everyone who has had a dark night of the soul.Yet they clarify the difference between having an occasional dark night and being swamped in darkness.

It is painful reading, but will bring you closer to "madness" than anything short of direct experience. ... Read more

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Girl in a Library is an essay collection about coming of age and asserting authority as a Southern woman writer and reader of her generation, as well as review essays about diverse Southern women writers. Essays touch upon such themes as cultural diversity, feminism, literary enthusiasm, and American culture. The collection ends with an autobiographical essay reflecting on the author's own previous work. A serious yet often humorous collection, Girl in a Library is both poignant and surprising. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A worthwhile addition to any memoir collection focusing on the trade and life of writing
Writing is a key way of expressing oneself. "Girl in a Library: On Women Writers & the Writing Life" reflects on the writing life and how women's face unique and special challenges that women writers pursuing writing as a career, and the unique lifestyle that comes with this pursuit. Profound and poignant writing which has much for readers to read into and relate to, "Girl in a Library" is a worthwhile addition to any memoir collection focusing on the trade and life of writing. ... Read more

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This truly monumental work maps the literature of women's studies, covering thousands of titles and Web sites in 19 subject areas published between 1985 and 1999. Intended as a reference and collection development tool, this bibliography provides a guide for women's studies information for each title along with a detailed, often evaluative review. The annotations summarize each work's content, its importance or contribution to women's studies, and its relationship to other titles on the subject. Core titles and titles that are out of print are noted, and reviews indicate which titles are appropriate as texts or supplemental texts. This definitive guide to the literature of women's studies is a must-purchase for academic libraries that support women's studies programs, and it is a useful addition to any academic or public library that endeavors to represent the field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I purchased this book for a weekly class
I purchased this book for a weekly class. The content is decent, but not outstanding.

On the plus side, there were two chapters on women: one on the suffragist movement and one on the proposed equal rights amendment. There were also separate chapters on abolition and the civil rights movement.

On the negative side, the children noticed right away that Asians and people with disabilities were lumped into one chapter "like neither was important enough for their own chapter". The chapter on Latinos seemed dated and made no mention of the current, on-going anti-immigrant hysteria, the ICE raids, or the prisons for men, women and children. These shortcomings were definitely noted in a class where two of the eight children were Asian and one was Latina.

Most annoying though, the copy I received was misbound. The pages were incredibly out of order. So, I could not use it until I copied it and reordered the pages correctly. ... Read more