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ijustkindalikebooks's review against another edition
4.0
The first dedicated collection of seminal speeches by women from around the world, So Here I Am is about women at the forefront of change – within politics, science, human rights and media; discussing everything from free love, anti-war, scientific discoveries, race, gender and women's rights.
I do like the breadth of different voices shown in this book. Bringing new names to my attention and being able to discover more important historical women is so important right now and this book does it well. Women such as Maria Stewart, Victoria Woodhull and Sarah Winnemucca are certainly women I want to know more about, as this book explores so many different backgrounds and stories that make for fascinating reads.
In combination with these speeches are some incredible portraits. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emmelline Pankhurst and Ursula K. Le Guin in particular stand out as they work so well with the message of these women and just look so good - this would be a great book for anyone to read - but with these pictures, I would definitely use this book in a school talking about famous women in history as I feel these are short and sweet enough for a class.
I am also glad there are books at the end recommended for further reading at the end of the book - my tbr just got a lot bigger!
(I received an ARC from Netgalley for honest review).
I do like the breadth of different voices shown in this book. Bringing new names to my attention and being able to discover more important historical women is so important right now and this book does it well. Women such as Maria Stewart, Victoria Woodhull and Sarah Winnemucca are certainly women I want to know more about, as this book explores so many different backgrounds and stories that make for fascinating reads.
In combination with these speeches are some incredible portraits. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emmelline Pankhurst and Ursula K. Le Guin in particular stand out as they work so well with the message of these women and just look so good - this would be a great book for anyone to read - but with these pictures, I would definitely use this book in a school talking about famous women in history as I feel these are short and sweet enough for a class.
I am also glad there are books at the end recommended for further reading at the end of the book - my tbr just got a lot bigger!
(I received an ARC from Netgalley for honest review).
greenflamingo's review against another edition
4.0
Reading Anna Russell's intro to this book made me realise just why it exists. That there's been a dearth of books about women's speeches. That history has written men's words in indelible ink and women's in invisible. That there is always an opportunity to change.
From Elizabeth I to Julia Gillard and from Sojourner Truth to Huda Sha'arawi — there are familiar faces and new ones to meet.
Stylistic illustrative portraits accompany a brief intro to each women, before carving out plenty of copy space for the powerful speeches. It's a testament to the content of these women's words that the book doesn't need to convolute its offering — it's simple yet striking.
Highly recommended as a reference book for every household. Would make a great gift too! Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.
From Elizabeth I to Julia Gillard and from Sojourner Truth to Huda Sha'arawi — there are familiar faces and new ones to meet.
Stylistic illustrative portraits accompany a brief intro to each women, before carving out plenty of copy space for the powerful speeches. It's a testament to the content of these women's words that the book doesn't need to convolute its offering — it's simple yet striking.
Highly recommended as a reference book for every household. Would make a great gift too! Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.
kmkitty's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC of this title form NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
About the Book:
Great Women's Speeches is a curated collection of excerpts from, unsurprisingly, speeches made by women, accompanied by contextual background and biography by Anna Russell, and visually striking illustrations by Camila Pinheiro. The result is a volume beautiful in its content, if not always in design (see below).
The collection is also inclusive in its choices. With all but one entry taken from the 19th = 21st centuries, readers will learn from a diverse group of women around the globe.
The Good:
The first thing that will catch your eye is Ms. Pinheiro's gorgeous artwork. With an illustration of each and every one of the dozens of women featured, the book becomes bright, colorful, and engaging. Her work turns the book from a collection of information into a celebration of feminine power. Pinheiro's pictures are complemented by monochrome, full-page block quotes interspersed throughout the book.
While heavily skewed toward the modern and western populations of women, the book does feature speakers from all identities around the world. To be fair, I am unsure how many recorded speeches there are by women prior to the 19th century given the patriarchal gatekeeping of public communications.
Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Russell for including short but informative biographies of each speaker. Her addition ensures we do not just read a nicely written speech, but also that we engage with the background of each woman and her situation. The reader is grounded in rich context that brings deeper meaning to each entry.
The Bad:
While the illustrations were beautiful and eye-catching, the size and detail was inconsistent throughout the book. Many readers may well enjoy this variation, but I personally would have enjoyed more consistency in design.
Other design aspects were disappointing as well. For one, the blocks of text in which the speeches, and occasionally biographies, are set are more intimidating to the eye than inviting. Although it is not precisely a textbook, the text design doesn't feel too far off.
For another, the cover design does not do justice to the book. While the bright colors are indicative of its contents, the cover does not clue the reader in to the beautiful illustrations they will find. It may have been better served by tastefully highlighting some of the women featured.
Lastly, and this is very nit-picky of me, the introduction has random sketches in the margins. It feels hectic, disconnected, and, once again, unrepresentative of the illustrations to come.
Who Will Like This Book:
This book is excellent for a reader passionate about women's history, women's rights, or oration. It is certainly in the style of a coffee-table book, something beautiful to share with others, but also something you may peruse more casually rather than sitting down for an extended period of time with the intention of reading.
About the Book:
Great Women's Speeches is a curated collection of excerpts from, unsurprisingly, speeches made by women, accompanied by contextual background and biography by Anna Russell, and visually striking illustrations by Camila Pinheiro. The result is a volume beautiful in its content, if not always in design (see below).
The collection is also inclusive in its choices. With all but one entry taken from the 19th = 21st centuries, readers will learn from a diverse group of women around the globe.
The Good:
The first thing that will catch your eye is Ms. Pinheiro's gorgeous artwork. With an illustration of each and every one of the dozens of women featured, the book becomes bright, colorful, and engaging. Her work turns the book from a collection of information into a celebration of feminine power. Pinheiro's pictures are complemented by monochrome, full-page block quotes interspersed throughout the book.
While heavily skewed toward the modern and western populations of women, the book does feature speakers from all identities around the world. To be fair, I am unsure how many recorded speeches there are by women prior to the 19th century given the patriarchal gatekeeping of public communications.
Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Russell for including short but informative biographies of each speaker. Her addition ensures we do not just read a nicely written speech, but also that we engage with the background of each woman and her situation. The reader is grounded in rich context that brings deeper meaning to each entry.
The Bad:
While the illustrations were beautiful and eye-catching, the size and detail was inconsistent throughout the book. Many readers may well enjoy this variation, but I personally would have enjoyed more consistency in design.
Other design aspects were disappointing as well. For one, the blocks of text in which the speeches, and occasionally biographies, are set are more intimidating to the eye than inviting. Although it is not precisely a textbook, the text design doesn't feel too far off.
For another, the cover design does not do justice to the book. While the bright colors are indicative of its contents, the cover does not clue the reader in to the beautiful illustrations they will find. It may have been better served by tastefully highlighting some of the women featured.
Lastly, and this is very nit-picky of me, the introduction has random sketches in the margins. It feels hectic, disconnected, and, once again, unrepresentative of the illustrations to come.
Who Will Like This Book:
This book is excellent for a reader passionate about women's history, women's rights, or oration. It is certainly in the style of a coffee-table book, something beautiful to share with others, but also something you may peruse more casually rather than sitting down for an extended period of time with the intention of reading.
sebrittainclark's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.5
This book was full of incredible speeches made by incredible women (primarily in the last 200 years). I was unfamiliar with most of the speeches, and many of these incredible women. I appreciated that there was a brief bio before an excerpt from a speech they gave, and I loved the illustrations of all the women.
easyqueenie's review against another edition
3.0
So Here I Am by Anna Russell is a roundup of over 50 famous speeches given by women, beginning with Queen Elizabeth I’s rousing proclamation to her armies in the face on the approaching Spanish Armada in 1588 and coming right up-to-date with Maya Lin’s 2018 SVA Commencement Address. There are some speeches you may be familiar with such as Emma Watson’s #HeForShe Campaign launch at the United Nations, and Michelle Obama’s speech to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and many more you may well be unaware of like Angela Merkel’s 2009 speech to the US Congress or Victoria Woodhall’s 1871 speech on the Principals of Social Freedom.
Each entry in this book is accompanied by a short biography of the woman who gave the speech and original artwork by Camila Pinheiro. These biographies help to place the speeches in the context of their time and give the history of why they came to be made and recorded into the history books.
My one disappointment with the book is that the speeches are not given in their entirety and are only printed as short extracts that frequently take up only half a page each. While printing the speeches in full would, naturally, have meant either an unwieldy large book or fewer entries, I would have much preferred to have read them completely in multiple volumes than only being shown a snippet of what these women had to say.
This book is proof that despite the odds, women have never been afraid to speak out.
Each entry in this book is accompanied by a short biography of the woman who gave the speech and original artwork by Camila Pinheiro. These biographies help to place the speeches in the context of their time and give the history of why they came to be made and recorded into the history books.
My one disappointment with the book is that the speeches are not given in their entirety and are only printed as short extracts that frequently take up only half a page each. While printing the speeches in full would, naturally, have meant either an unwieldy large book or fewer entries, I would have much preferred to have read them completely in multiple volumes than only being shown a snippet of what these women had to say.
This book is proof that despite the odds, women have never been afraid to speak out.
bookwormmuse's review against another edition
5.0
An absolutely amazing book filled with speeches from brilliant women. It's not often that we get to read such a brilliant collection of speeches. The illustrations are amazing and the overall effect is simple yet leaves such an impact on the reader.
A book everyone should read to be more aware of things that people so easily dismiss or not take into consideration. No woman from this collection is perfect but she was powerful and her imperfections make us more aware of her as a human being, as someone who is at once powerful and painfully human.
If you can (and you really should) then give this one a chance because if nothing else, you get to read about great women in the history of mankind.
A book everyone should read to be more aware of things that people so easily dismiss or not take into consideration. No woman from this collection is perfect but she was powerful and her imperfections make us more aware of her as a human being, as someone who is at once powerful and painfully human.
If you can (and you really should) then give this one a chance because if nothing else, you get to read about great women in the history of mankind.
laurag22's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful inspiring gift for the young women in your life. This shows some of the most inspiring women through history in their own words and can be read all in one go or in smaller bitesize chunks.
julesg's review against another edition
5.0
This is a wonderful collection of speeches by more than fifty women in history, Elizabeth I., Marie Curie, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and lots more. It would make a perfect gift and is certainly going to find its way onto my coffee table to browse and read from time to time.
easyqueenie's review against another edition
3.0
So Here I Am by Anna Russell is a roundup of over 50 famous speeches given by women, beginning with Queen Elizabeth I’s rousing proclamation to her armies in the face on the approaching Spanish Armada in 1588 and coming right up-to-date with Maya Lin’s 2018 SVA Commencement Address. There are some speeches you may be familiar with such as Emma Watson’s #HeForShe Campaign launch at the United Nations, and Michelle Obama’s speech to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and many more you may well be unaware of like Angela Merkel’s 2009 speech to the US Congress or Victoria Woodhall’s 1871 speech on the Principals of Social Freedom.
Each entry in this book is accompanied by a short biography of the woman who gave the speech and original artwork by Camila Pinheiro. These biographies help to place the speeches in the context of their time and give the history of why they came to be made and recorded into the history books.
My one disappointment with the book is that the speeches are not given in their entirety and are only printed as short extracts that frequently take up only half a page each. While printing the speeches in full would, naturally, have meant either an unwieldy large book or fewer entries, I would have much preferred to have read them completely in multiple volumes than only being shown a snippet of what these women had to say.
This book is proof that despite the odds, women have never been afraid to speak out.
Each entry in this book is accompanied by a short biography of the woman who gave the speech and original artwork by Camila Pinheiro. These biographies help to place the speeches in the context of their time and give the history of why they came to be made and recorded into the history books.
My one disappointment with the book is that the speeches are not given in their entirety and are only printed as short extracts that frequently take up only half a page each. While printing the speeches in full would, naturally, have meant either an unwieldy large book or fewer entries, I would have much preferred to have read them completely in multiple volumes than only being shown a snippet of what these women had to say.
This book is proof that despite the odds, women have never been afraid to speak out.