Ready to learn more about women’s history? Dive into our curated list of books that illuminate the diverse experiences, triumphs, and untold stories of women throughout history. Prepare to be inspired and challenged.
From hard-hitting historical deep-dives to stunning picture books for our younger audiences, we’ve got something for women’s history scholars of all stripes. Browse the highlights below or click the links to check out the full lists.
The Bluestockings : a history of the first women’s movement
by Susannah Gibson
“This illuminating group portrait delves into the lives of a circle of 18th-century women called the Bluestockings, who came together in glittering salons to discuss and debate as intellectual equals with men, fighting for women to be educated and have a public role in society.”
The radium girls : the dark story of America’s shining women
by Kate Moore
“As World War I raged across the globe, hundreds of young women toiled away at the radium-dial factories. These “shining girls” were considered the luckiest alive. As the fatal poison of the radium took hold, they found themselves embroiled in one of America’s biggest scandals and a groundbreaking battle for workers’ rights.”
Say Anarcha : a young woman, a devious surgeon, and the harrowing birth of modern women’s health
by J.C. Hallman
“Excavates history, deconstructing the biographical smoke screen of a surgeon who has falsely been enshrined as a medical pioneer and bringing forth a heroic Black woman to her rightful place at the center of the creation story of modern women’s health care.”
The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
“Her cells–taken without her knowledge–became one of the most important tools in medicine. The story of the Lacks family is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of–From publisher description.”
by Elizabeth Comen
“Draws back the curtain on the collective medical history of women to reintroduce us to our whole bodies: how they work, the actual doctors and patients whose perspectives and experiences laid the foundation for today’s medical thought, and the many oversights that remain unaddressed.”
History vs women : the defiant lives that they don’t want you to know
by Anita Sarkeesian & Ebony Adams
“Reclaimed the stories of twenty-five remarkable women who dared to defy history and change the world around them. From Mongolian wrestlers to Chinese pirates, Native American ballerinas to Egyptian scientists, Japanese novelists to British Prime Ministers, History vs Women will reframe the history that you thought you knew.”
Rad Girls Can : Stories of Bold, Brave, and Brilliant Young Women
by Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl
“A bold and brave collection of stories and art about inspiring and accomplished girls who have made positive impacts on the world before the age of 20. “
Our mothers’ war : American women at home and at the front during World War II
by Emily Yellin
“Re-creates what American women from all walks of life were doing and thinking, on the home front and abroad. These heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking accounts of the women we have known as mothers, aunts, and grandmothers reveal facets of their lives that have usually remained unmentioned and unappreciated.”
Swimming pretty : the untold story of women in water
by Vicki Valosik
“A groundbreaking history of how women found synchronicity–and power–in water. Published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of synchronized swimming’s elevation to Olympic status, this breathtaking book, tracing a century of aquatic performance, from vaudeville and dime museums to the Olympic arena.”
Broad band : the untold story of the women who made the Internet
by Claire Lisa Evans
“Shows us how women built and colored the technologies we can’t imagine life without. 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 they will continue to shape our world in ways we can no longer ignore.”