A review by sunshine169
History Vs Women: The Defiant Lives That They Don't Want You to Know by Ebony Adams, Anita Sarkeesian

5.0

You do what you have to do, and when you must, then you do a little more- Maria Tallchief

History vs Women: The Defiant Lives that They Don't Want You to Know by Anita Sarkeesian; Ebony Adams aims to introduce readers to a range of dynamic women across many different races, countries, time periods, and classes. I can wholeheartedly say they achieve this goal. There were a few names in there that I had previous known about but the majority I sadly previously never knew. This was a tour-de-force collection of women who aspired for greatness despite their biological “setback.”

Some of the few standouts for me were:

Mai Bhago played a powerful role in preserving the Sikhs religious freedom when Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb tried to eradicate everything but Islam from his empire during the 18th century.

Fatima Al-Fihri used her inherited wealth to open an educational mosque in 859 that would eventually become al-Qarawiyin University. It is still a world renowned university into our times. Her and her sister used their wealth to serve Allah because the pursuit of knowledge and devotion to academic study are core principles of the Islamic faith.

Annie Jean Easley, dubbed “the human computer” helped send men to space through her incredible skills as a programmer and mathematician. In addition she, her computing skills helped scientists understand galaxies and analyze the ozone layer.

Murasaki Shikibu was an 11th century writer from Japan. Her novel, The Tale of Genji, is considered to be the first fictional work.

Lastly, but not truly last, there was Jackie Mitchell. She had a huge love of baseball and signed a contract to play with the Chattanooga Lookouts, a minor league baseball team in Tennessee. She played her one and only game on April 2nd 1931 against the New York Yankees for an exhibition game where she struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig! Her prize? She earned a torn up contract by the commissioner who stated baseball was too strenuous for women and accusations of her skills as being staged!

I think this is a great introduction book that can spear head further investigation into the lives of these women. It is sad to think about how many other wonderful achievements are lost to us through the suppression of woman achievement.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.