Customer Reviews (12)

Evil Women and Motivation for Good People to Act
I was intrigued to see Shelley Klein's stories of The Most Evil Women in History prominently featured during a recent visit to Barnes and Noble. Later finding the book selling on Amazon for as little as $.01, I'm glad I only browsed it in the bookstore. Klein's anthologies on evil, from Evil Men to Evil Dictators, Evil Pirates, Evil Secret Societies, and Evil Women, offer a compelling study of society's most horrific abuses. Although her recent title, Senior Moments, may be a hint that her studies of evil are complete, if she does pen another, I propose Evil Lawyers. Regardless of the focus, understanding the breaking point and pathologies that lead people who could have lived productive, meaningful lives that contributed to society instead commit senseless atrocities is a reminder of Albert Einstein's famous quote: "For evil to succeed in the world, it is enough for good men to stand by and do nothing."

When girls go bad
Great stories.Lots of facts.Good photos/pictures.Easy reading.Sent a copy to a friend.Would love it if there was a volume two.

Not What I Thought
I had gotten this book because the books The Most Evil Mobsters in History and The Most Evil Secret Societies in History were interesting. This fell short of expectations. Almost all of the women were simply murderers. Yes, heinous crimes, but there was very little variety of types of evil. If a book about evil men came out, they probably wouldn't include simple murderers; this book should have been titled Women Murderers in History. There were some interesting people in it however, so it's probably still worth a read if you're interested.

great packaging, quick ship!
I got this book for a friend and she really enjoyed it. It's a good read

most evil?
The most evil women in this book are:

Lizzie Borden
Audrey Marie Hilley
Valeria Messalina
Agrippina the younger
Tz'u-Hsi
Catherine the great
Queen Ranavalona
Elena Ceausescu
Mary Ann Cotton
Marie Noë
Rose West
Grace Marks
Aileen Wuornos
Myra Hindley
Karla Homolka

Some of these women certainly belong in this book, but Lizzie Borden and queen Ranavalona? I don't know. Nonetheless, it is still a nice compilation of serial killers and despots, who I wouldn't have liked to meet. Some of the women were new to me, which is always interesting. 3 stars for the new information, not for being the most evil women in history. ... Read more

Product Description
From colonial to modern-day times this narrative history, incorporating first-person accounts, traces the development of women's roles in America.Against the backdrop of major historical events and movements, the authors examine the issues that changed the roles and lives of women in our society.Includes photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Very 1986
A lot of excellent research has been done since 1986 (when this book was published) that has illuminated our understanding of women in America.Sure, this book will give you a general idea of women's history.But it is full of generalities that are unexplained, unsophisticated, and sometimes just wrong.For an understanding of women's lot in America before the women's movement, I recommend Mary Beth Norton's "Liberty's Daughters", or Laura Ulrich's "Good Wives."In these books you will find a much more nuanced telling of women's history, and a history that is footnoted to boot -- so we know where the author is getting her information.

Dull book
I was required to read this for AP US History. It's dull. Just two women arguing about how society isn't fair...

Women's History
I use this book in my AP History class to help students understand the role of Women in US History

History of Women in America
The book was in fine shape as advertised and came in a timely manner Thanks.

I learned a lot of things I didn't know.
I bought this book for a History class but I really enjoyed reading it. I learned a lot of fascinating things about women that are not included in the regular History books. ... Read more

Product Description
Henrietta Leyser considers the problems and attitudes fundamental to every woman of the time: medieval views on sex, marriage and motherhood; the world of work and the experience of widowhood for peasant, townswoman and aristocrat.The intellectual and spiritual worlds of medieval women are also explored. MEDIEVAL WOMEN celebrates the diversity and vitality of English women's lives in the Middle Ages. ... Read more

Product Description
It's said if you want to succeed, watch successful people and do what they do. Simply Irresistible is a humorous manual of case studies that show how the greatest sirens of history did what they did and got what they wanted, nearly all the time. Our role models--many of whom are still weaving their charms today-- include Eva Peron, Greta Garbo, Coco Chanel, Nigella Lawson, Angelina Jolie, Edith Piaf, Lucretia Borgia, Anne Boleyn, Mata Hari, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Simply Irresistible gives practical, sexy, and sometimes downright outrageous advice on modern seduction. It exalts the siren archetypes of the Companion, Competitor, Goddess, Mother, and Sex Kitten. The cheeky histories of the iconic real-life women are paired with a fun array of quizzes, quotes, photos, tongue-in-cheek captions, and personal stories of triumph and tragedy. (Mata Hari and Anne Boleyn were, after all, both executed.) The wisdom of these famous sirens is fleshed out with the contributions of everyday, lesser known charismatic women. The conclusion? All women have an inner siren--the ability to bring men to their knees--just waiting to come out. Now they'll know how. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Enjoyable read
I thought this book was good fun and a really enjoyable read. It's not an academic thesis and doesn't go into much depth about the characters involved and the stuff about recent sirens was a bit thin. I felt that the historical info and the tips kind of sat uneasily together.

A Mezmerizing Historical Narrative of Women's Sexual Power
This is a beautifully written and meticulously researched tribute to women's sexual power. Once I started reading, I could not put it down, which is unusual for me. Thank you Ellen T. White for reminding women that they have an additional weapon in their arsenal, the capacity for seduction, which can be used to achieve goals in all realms of life.

Siren-in-Training
The book was more than I was expecting and it truly delivered.The Sirens that the author wrote about were inspiring.The book was very informative.It would be great if the author created a training manuel that could expand on the ideas that were presented in the book because I want to be a siren.

Simply Irresistible: Unleash Your Inner Siren
This book was a genuine pleasure to read. For me, it was less a self-help book and more a look at sirens throughout history. It brings to mind the recent slogan I've seen popping up on T-shirts and bumper stickers recently, "Well-behaved women rarely make history." I'm sure many of the women profiled in this book sent tongues a-waggin' on a regular basis; but they succeeded in catching their men and were never boring.
There is value in determining what type of siren you are even if you never intend to use that knowledge to lure a man. It gives you insight into how you relate to people in general; and all of us can use more self-knowledge.

from a guy's perspective...
I heard about a book written particularly for women entitled Simply Irresistible. After reading a short synopsis and the author's take, I found the book to be, well, simply irresistible.

I'm of the male persuasion, but I read it even though the book was written specifically for women. But one that promised to help you "unleash your inner siren and mesmerize men?" Sure. I'm all for learning about "sirendom" especially "with help from the most famous and infamous women in history." The opportunity to learn about female/male relationships by reading case histories of some of the most intriguing and seductive women of our time is alluring indeed. And the book does not disappoint.

Ellen T. White, writing in a lively and invigorating style, divided the book into two sections: Finding Your Inner Siren and Personalizing Your Appeal. In the first part, the reader discovers White's explanation of what it truly takes to be a siren. She also reveals that women generally fall into five categories or archetypes she labels: the goddess, companion, sex kitten, competitor, and mother. Each category features a representing albeit appropriate study of a woman of well-known stature.

The second part features tips and suggestions on how to hone the skills necessary to develop the desired archetypical role. Here too the reader will find examples of such players as Mae West, Nicole Kidman, Jacqueline Kennedy, and even Queen Elizabeth I. Their lives offer a myriad of ideas and unique personal character traits to help cultivate and improve your siren ways.

I admit to knowing less than nothing about these female archetypes until now. But I hope women will believe me when I say this book may present the opportunity to become the siren they always aspired to be. If not, they will have received one heck of history lesson on some pretty interesting women, and perhaps a little insight into their own personalities as well. ... Read more

Product Description
This collection of original essays focuses on the rich, historically diverse, and often misunderstood experiences of Amish, Mennonite, and other women of Anabaptist traditions across 400 years.Equal parts sociology, religious history, and gender studies, the book explores the changing roles and issues surrounding Anabaptist women in communities ranging from sixteenth-century Europe to contemporary North America. Gathered under the overarching theme of the insider/outsider distinction, the essays discuss, among other topics:

•How womanhood was defined in early Anabaptist societies of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and how women served as central figures by convening meetings across class boundaries or becoming religious leaders
•How nineteenth-century Amish tightened the connections among the individual, the family, the household, and the community by linking them into a shared framework with the father figure at the helm
•The changing work world and domestic life of Mennonite women in the three decades following World War II
•The recent ascendency of anti-modernism and plain dress among the Amish
•The special difficulties faced by scholars who try to apply a historical or sociological method to the very same cultural subgroups from which they derive

The essays in this collection follow a fascinating journey through time and place to give voice to women who are often characterized as the "quiet in the land." Their voices and their experiences demonstrate the power of religion to shape identity and social practice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Introduction to a Different World
"Strangers at Home" is a multi-authored volume on the subject of Amish and Mennonite women, which grew out of a conference on the subject at Millersville University in 1995. It explores the many facets of the lives of women in Amish and Old Order or Conservative Mennonite communities, from history, to their role in religious ceremony, to their dress and daily lives.

As with most multi-authored works, not all of the chapters are equally good; but many of the essays are gems. Hasia Diner's opening essay, "Writing History From Inside and Outside", is both an introduction to the subject of Mennonite women, and a reflection on the relationship of scholar to the culture that she studies. Beth Graybill's essay on Mennonite dress is both informative and deeply empathetic. The late Margaret Reynolds' description of the breadmaking ritual among the River Breathren is fascinating, a fine description of the ritual without being voyeuristic or judgmental. Julia Kasdorf's essay on poetry by women of Mennonite background is a fine introduction to the subject by a woman who is herself of Mennonite background, a poet, and novelist.

Persons who are deeply versed in this subject may quibble with one or another chapter. But for someone like myself - a man and a Catholic, for whom the world of Mennonite women is terra incognita - "Strangers at Home" is a fine introduction to that world. I found the book to be informative and generous in its empathy, in the best tradition of humanistic scholarship. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
The American Historical Association's Committee on Women Historians commissioned some of the pioneering figures in women's history to prepare essays in their respective areas of expertise. This volume collects their efforts. The first in a major three-volume set, "Women's History in Global Perspective, Volume 1" addresses the comparative themes that the editors and contributors see as central to understanding women's history around the world. Later volumes will be concerned with issues that have shaped the history of women in particular regions. The authors of these essays, including Margaret Strobel, Alice Kessler-Harris, and Mrinalini Sinha, provide general overviews of the theory and practice of women's and gender history and analyze family history, nationalism, and work. The collection is rounded out by essays on religion, race, ethnicity, and the different varieties of feminism. ... Read more

Product Description
In conjunction with the Channel 5 series, this book contains 16 essays on the most evil men and women of all time. Included are: Nero; Vlad the Impaler; King John; Ivan the Terrible; Attila the Hun; Rasputin; Hitler; Pol Pot; and Idi Amin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Decent book and good buy for the price
Ran across this in Barnes and Nobles one day for [...] bucks.Not a bad price.The book is moderately interesting but only comparable to the quality of information and writing one would find in a Wikipedia article.The style is rather poor and there are occasional grammar or spelling errors.Also, the author does not seem to concerned with substantiating many of her claims, and at a couple points, the book even admits that what it is presenting as true is very debated amongst experts on the topic, i.e. not necessarily true at all.It's a decent bathroom or even bedtime book, but if you are really interested in the info, stick to an encyclopedia, or even go check out Wikipedia.

Interesting book
I only read a small segment from this book (it was my friend's copy), but I liked it so much that I gave it to my two younger brothers for Christmas.They said that they really like the book as well.I also bought The Most Evil Women in History and The Most Evil Secret Societies in History for them as well.

for entertainment only
While this book does make for interesting reading, the author tends to present many outlandish (and proven untrue or at least questionable) anecdotes as facts. This makes the book highly entertaining for those who don't know any better, but serious history buffs will probably be annoyed.

16 most evil men and women in history
It is always dangerous to write books like these. What makes one man or woman more evil then another? Here are the persons who, according to the author, are the most evil persons in history:

- Caligula
- Nero
- Attila the Hun
- King John
- Torquemada
- Vlad Dracula
- Francisco Pizarro
- Bloody Mary
- Ivan the Terrible
- Elizabeth Bathory
- Rasputin
- Jozef Stalin
- Adolf Hitler
- Ilse Koch
- Pol Pot
- Idi Amin

There is no doubt that Hilter and Stalin should be in this book, but what about Caligula and Elizabeth Bathory? Recent studies have shown that the stories that surround both Caligula and Elizabeth were mostly invented. Robert Graves' book 'I Claudius' is fiction, but a lot of people really believe that the stories in his book actually happened. Okay, Caligula was cruel, but hasn't every king or emperor done cruel things? Elizabeth Bathory was a politician and a woman. Isn't it probable that all the stories were invented by people (i.e. men) who wanted to stop her political career? I guess no one will ever know.

Nonetheless this is an intriguing book with small biographies of some of the greatest villains in the history of the world.

Tabloid history
Let's face it, any book with the word 'EVIL' emblazoned on the cover in 3-inch-high letters is probably going to have an agenda.It reads like the National Enquirer of historical figures.Granted, few listed in this book would be considered 'nice guys' by anyone's standards, but most are far too complex to be adequately represented in this rather one-dimensional study.Instead it focuses strictly on the dirt, and dirt is what sells.Don't get me wrong, it was entertaining light reading, but don't come away thinking you've read any sort of in-depth biography.

BTW - It's my personal belief that history has been unfairly unkind to Rasputin.The image of an illiterate drunken rake stems from the slander spread by jealous Russian nobles before the revolution, and the Soviets saw fit to not contest it. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description

This unique reader presents primary source documents that give an overview of women's lives throughout the course of European history. Each chapter augments its readings with chapter introductions, section introductions, headnotes, and review questions.

Customer Reviews (2)

Great book!
Received in on time, even before...The book is in great shape.I'm using it for my history class. Thank you!

great condition
I received the book in way better condition than the description said it was in.It is a used book in a great condition and at a great price ... Read more

Product Description
Informed by the work of 75 distinguished historians, this five-volume series sets before us an engaging, panoramic chronicle that extends from antiquity to the present day. Volume One offers fresh insight into more than 20 centuries of Greek and Roman history to illustrate how representations of women evolved during this age. 84 illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Angela Metzger's Review
The book arrived on time & was in good shape! I am very pleased with my purchase

A historical vision of women, at last
"Our ambition is grandiose," writes editor Pauline Schmitt Pantel. And why not? This book's editors and authors are building a historical record for better than half--or do I mean the better half?--of all humans descended from Greece and Rome. "A History of Women in the West, Volume 1" is full of the challenges our forebears had to debate. Take the first chapter: "What is a Goddess?" asks, "Is a goddess's femininity of the same kind found in mortal women or of a different, more intense kind?" (p.14). "Maternity was destiny," asserts another among many (mostly female) contributing authors, "as it was to all women prior to the advent of modern medicine" (p.298).

"A History of Women in the West" gives a voice to females who came before, albeit an uneven voice. "We will have nothing to say about important periods of history," the editor warns, or about periods well covered elsewhere. So "A History of Women in the West" is not a general survey. Rather, this book explores the more prominent bumps on the sometimes barely discernable trace that measures the female pulse in history from classical times.

"At one time a history of women would have seemed an inconceivable or futile undertaking," write general editors Georges Duby and Michelle Perrot. "The roles for which women were destined were silent ones: motherhood and homemaking." There were exceptions: "No tragedy was complete without a chorus of women in tears." (See Duby's "Women of the Twelfth Century" trilogy, Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3.)

"A History of Women in the West" attempts and delivers a vast vision, from earth mothers to Engels. Midway between its covers--("Body Politics in Ancient Rome")--we learn that doctors advised wealthy families to bind the hips of newborn boys to produce a tight pelvis, but to leave girls' hips unbound--easing eventual childbirth and enhancing young women's allure. The means to achieving that end have changed through time, but the motive, never.

General readers, take note! This book is eminently readable, but it is not easy. It succeeds as a volume of broad reach and high-minded scholarship without coming across as overly academic. First published in Italian, it benefits from an excellent English translation by Arthur Goldhammer, giving it a lighter, more fluent tone than one comes to expect from native English-speaking academics penning jargon in the passive voice. Goldhammer's even, readable style shines. So does "A History of Women in the West," which entertains and fascinates, suiting general readers who want to explore it in sections rather than read a long volume from cover to cover.

Robert Fripp
Author, "Power of a Woman. Memoirs of...Eleanor of Aquitaine" ... Read more

Product Description
Designed to encourage critical thinking about history, the Major Problems in American History series introduces students to both primary sources and analytical essays on important topics in U.S. history. Major Problems in American Women's History is the leading reader for courses on the history of American women, covering the subject's entire chronological span. While attentive to the roles of women and the details of women's lives, the authors are especially concerned with issues of historical interpretation and historiography. The Fourth Edition features greater coverage of the experiences of women in the Midwest and the West, immigrant women, and more voices of women of color. Key pedagogical elements of the Major Problems format have been retained: 14 to 15 chapters per volume, chapter introductions, headnotes, and suggested readings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Book with Good Information
I used the older version of this textbook for a class on Women's history, and this version pairs nicely with the older. It is filled with interesting essays and diary entries from women who experienced and lived through the best and worst times of history. Each account is riveting in its own right. Worth having on the shelf as a resource and makes for a great history text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not impressed...
This book is flawed.In an attempt to write a gender-based history, the author actually offers a limited, gender-biased view of the past three centuries.Much of the book is a history of the feminist movement.Men and conservatives are villanized, while feminists are glorified.This wouldn't be so apprehensible if the book at least revealed historical trends in the woman's movement.Instead, the reader is forced to infer and piece these trends together from 560 pages.Furthermore, the author overly-references historically isolated and irregular figures and portrays them as representative of all women during the period.Needless to say, I was unimpressed with her product.

Excellent survey of European women's history
This is a terrific book for serious students of women's history.It's readable--intended for college course use, it's much better-written than the average textbook.Also included are many unusual illustrations, timelines, brief excerpts from documents, and references to additionalreadings.Bonnie Smith is a noted scholar of early modern and women'shistory who takes pains to orient her readers to the general historicalcontext, while focussing on the lives and experiences of women.Althoughfamous women receive some attention, her emphasis is on the lives of moreordinary women.She carefully distinguishes the experiences of rural,working- class, middle-class, and aristocratic women, which often werestrikingly different in important ways. The book covers almost 3centuries in about 540 pages.It's clear and interesting and has workedwell with my students.There's nothing else in print now that's nearly asgood. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Decently written, poorly titled
This is a good social history of slavery. The most prominent fault with this work is that it does not actually address the title's claim thoroughly: that women are natural rebels. In fact, all of the slaves exhibited rebellious behavior, and should be recognized for it. To highlight women as "natural rebels" seems to indicate that men were not. This is of course ridiculous. The author should have been more careful and clear with the title - instead it seems the author was grasping for dramatic effect. ... Read more

Product Description
Stories of 37 women who served God's kingdom as missionaries, martyrs, educators, charitable workers, wives, mothers and instruments of justice. Includes pictures and interesting sidebars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Very Inspirational!
Wow!It made me realize that God uses ordinary women to do great things in His kingdom.He can use me!

The best giftfor any women wanting to know God more intimately
I have purchased multiple copies of this book. A must read for any person wanting to live more by faith. Each story will inspire and move the reader to desire God more in their lives. ... Read more

Product Description
"In order to try to understand the religious lives of ordinary Methodist women, Schmidt has looked at their diaries, letters, spiritual autobiographies, and the accounts of their pious lives and holy deaths that appeared as obituaries in publications such as the Methodist Magazine. Explorations of women's religious lives can tell us much about the religious appeal of Methodism. Schmidt has tried to achieve a balance between the chronological description and thematic interpretation of Methodist women's history and a more intimate portrait of individual women in this tradition. There are powerful stories of faith here that are part of the shared history of Methodist people, both women and men. As contemporary women struggle with their own sense of call, they often resonate in powerful ways with the faith stories of these religious foremothers."--BOOK JACKET. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wonderful Untold Story of Women in Methdism
This is a great book about the role of women in the early Methodist movement.It offers a perspective not easily found in other more general historical reviews of Methodism.I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
Popular music grew out of ragtime, vaudeville and the blues to become global mass entertainment. Women like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith were the original pop divas, yet eighty years after they blazed a trail, have their successors achieved the recognition and affirmation they deserve? Or has the only was to success been to slot into saleable images of the cute baby or sexy chanteuse? Lucy O'Brien has written the ultimate hands-on history of women in rock, pop, and soul. Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Dusty Springfield, Patti Smith, Madonna, Joni Mitchell, whitney Houston, Courtney Love, Alanis Morissette, Destiny's child - all the key names are here. But She Bop II refuses to look at women artists simply as personalities, problems or victims. From dream babes to rock chicks, riot grrrls and ragamuffins, girlpower, Lilith Fair rock and the rise of the corporate diva, She Bop II is the uncompromising story of women as creators and innovators. Lucy O'Brien is the author of two previous books: the bestsellers Annie Lennox (1991) and Dusty (1989).She has contributed to the Guardian, Sunday Times, Observer, Marie Claire, New Musical Express and The Face, and worked extensively in TV and radio, as both guest pundit and producer. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

She rocks & folks & pops & souls
She Bop II is an encyclopedic work on the history of women in blues, country, folk, pop, rock, soul and world music. This 2nd edition updates the story until 2001 with major new interviews and an additional chapter on millennial trends like Girlpower, Alanis Morissette and Lilith Fair, soul singers like Erykah Badu and Lauren Hill, plus pop singers like Mariah Carey and Britney Spears.

In the Prologue the author tells of her own introduction to the music world in a girl group in Southampton, England in 1979. They were called The Catholic Girls. Following this, in the Introduction O'Brien details some key changes for women in music since the publication of the first edition of She Bop in 1995.

Based on more than 250 interviews conducted between 1984 and 2001 plus many secondary sources, She Bop is not a simple chronological history but rather an exploration of themes, trends and genres. It looks at how women have negotiated their place in the music industry, the importance of role models and even the internecine rivalry.

It examines the issues that have challenged women from the blues through 1940s swing to MTV at various stages in the development of pop, for example how they deal with stardom, how they negotiate everything from contracts to image, the genres in which women predominate and women on the business side: managers, executives, publicists, journalists, producers and A&R people. In addition, the author discusses women as consumers of music.

The chapters are as follows:
Riffin' The Scotch: From Blues To The Jazz Age
Stupid Cupid: Dream Babes In 1950s Pop
The Real Thing: Motown, Spector And 1960s Svengalis
Can The Can: Whatever Happened To The Rock Chick?
Final Girls: Punk, Performance Art And PMT Pop
Ladies Of The Canyon: Female Singer/Songwriters Of The Grand Hotel
Lipstick Traces: Madonna, Manipulation And MTV
She Wears The Trousers: Artistry, Androgyny And The Lesbian Question
I Wanna Dance With Somebody: Deconstructing The Disco Diva
In Search Of Our Mothers' Gardens: The True Story Of Women In Rap And Reggae
Oye Mi Canto: Hear My Voice - Women In World Music
Talkin' Tough: The Enemy Within - Women And Protest Pop
Talkin' Business: Nuts `N' Bolts And All The Necessaries
Girlpower: The New Generation

The book concludes with 15pp of Notes, a Selected Discography, Selected Bibliography, Index Of Names and Index Of Albums and Singles. There is one color plate with photographs of Madonna, Mary J Blige, Debbie Harry, Billie Holiday, Alanis Morissette, Lauren Hill, Janis Joplin, Britney Spears and Diana Ross, plus many black & white photographs throughout the text.

Because of its length, this is quite a daunting tome but it soon enough becomes an engaging read. There are some factual errors, probably because of sloppy editing (the 6-day War took place in 1967 not 1957) and a few other contradictions often on the same page. Also, O'Brien's feminist theorizing can become tiresome at times, but her knowledge and enthusiasm for the music ultimately make She Bop II a gripping read. It is also a superb reference work.

Angry Women in Rock: Volume One

She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock and Roll

We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The True, Tough Story of Women in Rock




... Read more

Product Description
This volume is the first historical introduction to women's writing in France from the sixth century to the present day. Specially commissioned essays by leading scholars provide the first introduction in English to the wealth and diversity of French women writers, offering new readingsand new perspectives. Each chapter focuses on a given period and range of writers, taking account of prevailing sexual ideologies and the social, political, economic and cultural surroundings. Extensive reference features include a bibliography and guide to more than one hundred and fifty writers and their works. ... Read more

Product Description
Did women really constitute a 'fourth estate' in medieval society and, if so, in what sense? In this wide-ranging study Shulamith Shahar considers this and the whole question of varying attitudes to women and their status in Western Europe between the twelfth and the fifteenth centuries. She draws a cohesive picture of women in a range of situations: nuns and married women, peasants and noblewomen, townswomen and women involved in heretical movements and witchcraft.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good but not great
This book serves as a nice introduction but suffers a bit from being dated -- there is a lot more stuff "out there" than there was a decade ago.It also presents a more static picture of the medieval millenium than could be desired.Nevertheless, it can't be beat for an introductory survey -- particularly if you can get a used copy! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

A remarkable book
This is a remarkable book that should receive more attention than it will probably get.It is a very valuable contribution to the growing literature on the history of science as well as women's history.It should be good reading for historians and women professionals in a variety of fields as well as to men in science as they interact with female associates.,The theme of 'genderization of science' inevitably runs through the book but this is NOT a feminist sob story.It is a realistic analysis of the different roles women have played as scientific research in various fields advanced.It was written by an historian with a real talent for in-depth research, analysis, organization and a clear, interesting writing style.I found the book fascinating and very readable.

The author defines three eras during the period from 1880 to the end of the 20th century and chose several women in each era to illustrate her points.While these eras were not distinct and blended with each other, and while there were a few exceptional female scientists along the way who did not fit the mold she describes, the general descriptions of these eras seem well defined to this reviewer (who was a participant in the middle era, from 1941-1962 and beyond.)

What is most fascinating is the way in which she traces woman's roles in domestic life and child bearing and rearing from the time when it was a limiting factor in her participation in scientific research to the point where those very biological and cultural roles contribute valuable new insights, possibly even new paradigms, to many scientific fields.Many of her new insights are challenging and important.I wish she would return, analyze and report on the situation 25 years from now. Times are changing!

Read This!
Every day at the bookstore where I work I have to stare at the cover with a photograph of Francis Crick. I do not enjoy it. If you do not know who Francis Crick is then you should read The Madame Curie Complex. Francis Crick is only a small part (ultimately in the history of science a big part) of one of the many stories of men getting credit for women's work and great women scientists who were undermined or not recognized for their scientific successes. Extremely well written and entertaining The Madame Curie Complex will open your eyes (the book opened mine) to a slew of women in science that I had no idea about. ... Read more

Product Description

Thematic emphases include the contacts between European women and those outside European frontiers; sexuality and its importance for the construction of gender over the centuries; coverage of women from all time periods and sociocultural backgrounds; the role of women in the great events and movements in European history and the impact of such events on them; and the interplay of gender and women's lives over the centuries.

Customer Reviews (2)

perfect condition
I couldn't tell that this was a used book from the great condition the entire book was in. Great price and fast shipping too!

wonderful tool for finding women in history
This book is a wonderful introduction to the role of women throughout European history.Women have often been written out of history.This book allows readers to see the important positions and influence that women haveheld through some of the major time periods and events in history. ... Read more