Baweja’s featured women are riveting, both personally and professionally, and readers will be caught up in their dynamic stories. He covers leaders such as Wilma Rudolph, the youngest competing team member of the 1956 United States Olympic Women’s Track and Field Team, who overcame debilitating childhood medical crises and racism in the segregated South to become a highly awarded international sports icon; Hannah Arendt—a German of Jewish descent classified by Baweja as “one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century”—who survived Nazi imprisonment and immigrated to the United States, writing on ethics and the nature of evil in established academic circles; and women’s suffragette Lucy Burns, whose public activism heavily influenced ratification of the 19th amendment.

Readers will spot many widely recognized names in Baweja’s writing, like Margaret Thatcher and Marie Curie, but he offers portraits of lesser-known standouts as well, including scientific genius Janet Taylor—widely accomplished in maritime navigation and inventor of the Mariner’s compass—and Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, whose research in the medical field led to breakthroughs in diagnosing medical conditions and unprecedented advancements in the treatment of Type II diabetes. Though heavily academic in places, Baweja’s work is a valuable resource on women’s history, and readers will be equally inspired and educated by each of his renderings.

Takeaway: A riveting account of notable women throughout history.

Great for fans of: Dava Sobel’s The Glass Universe; Olivia Campbell’s Women in White Coats.

Production grades
Cover: C
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: NA
Editing: B
Marketing copy: B