joelafond's review against another edition
4.0
I think the only downside for me with this book was the informal—rather, trying-too-hard to be informal—writing and tone. At times it almost came off as flippant, as if these talented and pioneering women aren’t worth a real historical synopsis. That said though, I’m going to say that the author probably had a certain audience in mind (let’s say pre-teen, tween, teenage girls) in this book. With that in mind, I think the tone and informality makes it accessible to those readers, who (let’s be real) are just looking for a little lighthearted girl power, not a dry, fact-based historical review. If you aren’t a part of that audience, chances are that the writing made you roll your eyes a couple times. At the end of the day, though, does something need be so serious to learn from it. In spite of not being I that target audience, I learned a ton from this book and am really glad that I picked it up.
nosinne's review against another edition
4.0
This March, I had the pleasure of attending a panel with Sam Maggs at Dutch Comic Con. Even though I follow her on Twitter, I knew too little about her books so this was a great opportunity to learn more. Maggs spoke about her first book, The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy and about her latest book: Wonder Women. Wonder Women tells about 25 innovators, inventors and trailblazers who changed history. Thanks to this great panel (also a big shout out to organiser ABC and their panel moderator), I just had to pick up that book.
First of all: why Sam Maggs is awesome
Sam Maggs Wonder Women signed stay radSam Maggs is someone to look up to as a nerdgirl. She’s an assistent writer at BioWare, which is the company that gave me my videogame crushes Alistair, Anders and Iron Bull. Anyone working there is automatically Cool As Shit. She wrote The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy, a handbook for girl geeks:
Fandom, feminism, cosplay, cons, books, memes, podcasts, vlogs, OTPs and RPGs and MMOs and more—it’s never been a better time to be a girl geek. With delightful illustrations and an unabashed love for all the in(ternet)s and outs of geek culture, this book is packed with tips, playthroughs, and cheat codes
Now, I haven’t yet read that book but it’s definitely on my wishlist. Maggs is a comic con moderator and was named ‘Awesome Geek Feminist of the Year’ by Women Write About Comics. Just go to her Twitter or her website to read more and see how funny and amazing she is. Also, she signed my copy of Wonder Women and now I will have to stay rad forever. OK, so far for my fangirling, back to Wonder Women.
Wonder Women: 25 women who changed history
The book features 25 (well, technically some more since there are shorter pieces on more women at the end of each chapter) wonder women. Women of all races and backgrounds who left their mark on history. For instance, there is Lise Meitner, an Austrian nuclear physicist:
Lise was relegated to the status of ‘guest’ and denied salary because her boss didn’t want women in the lab for fear that their “rather exotic hairstyle” might catch fire from a Bunsen burner (unlike a man’s bushy beard?).
Lise Meitner made the discovery of nuclear fission and should have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. That sadly went, ofcourse, to a white dude who stole all the credit. Wonder Women makes clear just how many times women weren’t taken seriously, just because they were women. Take for instance the intro to the chapter ‘women of innovation’:
Of the more than 5 million U.S. patents that have been granted since 1790, only about 5 percent have a women’s name on them. Men often took credit for women’s inventions, sometimes at the behest of women of color who feared that white consumers wouldn’t want to purchase their items.
Of the 25 main wonder women, I knew NONE, so yeah, shame on me. But now I have read about them and know their amazing stories. Each story is incredible and these women should get more credit and more attention. Seriously, people of Hollywood, pick up this book and go make 25 films (or tv-series) about these women! Do it now, we need these movies asap.
This review is continued here: http://www.thesassologist.com/books/book-review-wonder-women-sam-maggs/
First of all: why Sam Maggs is awesome
Sam Maggs Wonder Women signed stay radSam Maggs is someone to look up to as a nerdgirl. She’s an assistent writer at BioWare, which is the company that gave me my videogame crushes Alistair, Anders and Iron Bull. Anyone working there is automatically Cool As Shit. She wrote The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy, a handbook for girl geeks:
Fandom, feminism, cosplay, cons, books, memes, podcasts, vlogs, OTPs and RPGs and MMOs and more—it’s never been a better time to be a girl geek. With delightful illustrations and an unabashed love for all the in(ternet)s and outs of geek culture, this book is packed with tips, playthroughs, and cheat codes
Now, I haven’t yet read that book but it’s definitely on my wishlist. Maggs is a comic con moderator and was named ‘Awesome Geek Feminist of the Year’ by Women Write About Comics. Just go to her Twitter or her website to read more and see how funny and amazing she is. Also, she signed my copy of Wonder Women and now I will have to stay rad forever. OK, so far for my fangirling, back to Wonder Women.
Wonder Women: 25 women who changed history
The book features 25 (well, technically some more since there are shorter pieces on more women at the end of each chapter) wonder women. Women of all races and backgrounds who left their mark on history. For instance, there is Lise Meitner, an Austrian nuclear physicist:
Lise was relegated to the status of ‘guest’ and denied salary because her boss didn’t want women in the lab for fear that their “rather exotic hairstyle” might catch fire from a Bunsen burner (unlike a man’s bushy beard?).
Lise Meitner made the discovery of nuclear fission and should have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. That sadly went, ofcourse, to a white dude who stole all the credit. Wonder Women makes clear just how many times women weren’t taken seriously, just because they were women. Take for instance the intro to the chapter ‘women of innovation’:
Of the more than 5 million U.S. patents that have been granted since 1790, only about 5 percent have a women’s name on them. Men often took credit for women’s inventions, sometimes at the behest of women of color who feared that white consumers wouldn’t want to purchase their items.
Of the 25 main wonder women, I knew NONE, so yeah, shame on me. But now I have read about them and know their amazing stories. Each story is incredible and these women should get more credit and more attention. Seriously, people of Hollywood, pick up this book and go make 25 films (or tv-series) about these women! Do it now, we need these movies asap.
This review is continued here: http://www.thesassologist.com/books/book-review-wonder-women-sam-maggs/
girlreading's review against another edition
5.0
4.5* A book sharing the stories and lives of a diverse group of amazing, badass and ridiculously smart women, what’s not to love? This put a smile on my face on numerous occasions, whether that be because of the amazing things these women conquered or because of the kickass things they did and said to conquer them. The structure of the book made for a quick and easy read I could dip in and out of with I really enjoyed. I adored reading about each and everyone of these awesome women and have already pushed this into the hands of my mum who’s already started reading it!
shalot's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to love this book. I love biographies, STEM, and badass women in history. Unfortunately, the voice of the author got in the way of my enjoyment of the book.
There were lots of asides and snide remarks (in parentheses) that I found so annoying that my brain started skipping anything in brackets. It reads like it will be out of date within five years from the casual language and terms used. It would be really fascinating and fun to talk to the author in-person about the badass women at a party this way, but way less fun to read.
There were lots of asides and snide remarks (in parentheses) that I found so annoying that my brain started skipping anything in brackets. It reads like it will be out of date within five years from the casual language and terms used. It would be really fascinating and fun to talk to the author in-person about the badass women at a party this way, but way less fun to read.
francisopal's review against another edition
5.0
Inspiring! Informing! Fantastic! Coffee Table Book!
mckennie2's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
abbyreads8's review against another edition
4.0
In Wonder Women, Sam Maggs introduces readers to under-recognized feminist icons from world history. From female scientists whose ideas were taken by men to badass women spies, each woman has her own mini-biography that truly shows how much of this world was actually built by women-- regardless of what the history books may say. There are also interviews with modern day "Wonder Women" who are trying to continue on with this amazing work in the world today.
I was absolutely thrilled to see this book was being published-- y'all know that I'm a feminist and that I am so passionate about bringing light to the accomplishments of women who haven't been credit where credit is due. The mini biographies were about 5 pages each and gave a great overview of each woman's life and career. This was a great way to educate people on a lot of women in a short period of time, but I personally wished it was even longer. That being said, I wrote down the names of almost every woman featured so I can do more research on them!
I think this is a great read for people who want to learn more about the women who have helped the world get to where it is today. It was encouraging, empowering, and inspiring! I also think this is a great book for mothers to read with their daughters-- the illustrations help make it extra eye-catching and make it a great book for mothers and their young readers. 4 stars for this awesome read!
I was absolutely thrilled to see this book was being published-- y'all know that I'm a feminist and that I am so passionate about bringing light to the accomplishments of women who haven't been credit where credit is due. The mini biographies were about 5 pages each and gave a great overview of each woman's life and career. This was a great way to educate people on a lot of women in a short period of time, but I personally wished it was even longer. That being said, I wrote down the names of almost every woman featured so I can do more research on them!
I think this is a great read for people who want to learn more about the women who have helped the world get to where it is today. It was encouraging, empowering, and inspiring! I also think this is a great book for mothers to read with their daughters-- the illustrations help make it extra eye-catching and make it a great book for mothers and their young readers. 4 stars for this awesome read!
mpiedfort's review against another edition
4.0
Sam Maggs? More like DAMMMMN MAGGS you wrote a good-ass book
huffleclaire's review against another edition
5.0
All great ladies have been forgotten and all great ladies were gay.
So I casually read this book over the course of a month. I enjoyed reading a few pages about every lady. It never got too in depth but still had enough information I could complain about the injustices done to women to my friends.
So I casually read this book over the course of a month. I enjoyed reading a few pages about every lady. It never got too in depth but still had enough information I could complain about the injustices done to women to my friends.