This book was amazing. Just... there is so much of a great material in here, I want to read books about those women, I want to see movies. Give me more! That said I think that the quantity for this book was optimal, some readers are saying that the entries are too short and I just have to disagree. It's a perfect attention catcher, if it were longer the whole book would become much less accessible.
I have to say that after reading [b:The Philosopher Queens: The lives and legacies of philosophy's unsung women|53066001|The Philosopher Queens The lives and legacies of philosophy's unsung women|Rebecca Buxton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586389993l/53066001._SY75_.jpg|79635221] the inclusivity here just felt so good. We don't just get one Indian, one Chinese/Japanese and one Nigerian women and call it a day - sure it's still US centric, but we always center around our own experiences, it's only natural. We got women all around the world, we got straight women, bisexual women, lesbians, trans/gender-non-conforming people (I mean, it's hard to call someone non-binary or trans when the concept didn't exist in their era). We got women from all possible fields - mathematicians, artists, criminals, fighters, architects, activists, hairdressers... So, it's no surprise I absolutely disagree with the comments saying that this volume only contains woman that succeeded in the male roles... like... for women to be successful, she has to succeed in both? Just a thought, I don't really feel like philosophizing about the nature of society right now, so I'll just let it go.

Some of my favourites...
Lakshmibai the Rani of Jhansi The Mom Who Fought Colonialism
A rani who fought the British over her (adopted) sons right to rule Jhansi. Such a badass, I added a book about her on my to-read list.

"Lakshmibai herself fought to prevent the invasion of Jhansi from both rival regional lords and the aforementioned British dingbats. And by fought, I mean she rode into battle with her kid strapped to her back, a sword in each hand, and her horse's reins between her teeth."

Ching Shih Terror of the South China Seas

"At the height of her piratical reign, Ching Shih was known as The Terror of the South China Sea. She commanded eighty thousand sailors aboard almost two thousand ships, statistics that soundly kick hellions like Blackbeard and Francis Drake in the balls.
For obvious reasons, most notably piratical terror, the Chinese emperor was not keen on Ching and her Red Flag Fleet, as they were called. So, he launched a campaign to take her down.
It did not go well... for the emperor."

Do I need to say more?
Emily Warren Roebling Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge

"Washington's father, John Roebling, was a bridge engineer, and Washington was following in the family trade of getting people across the water. And once that ring was on her finger, Emily gleefully made that family her family and that trade her trade. When Washington went to Europe to study the use of caissons in the building bridges, Emily went, too, and learned at his side. Most romantic honeymoon of all time - don't you love it when two nerds fall in love?"

Oh yes, I do! I absolutely ship those two and I need to read some fanfic about them

4.6/5 stars, full review to come!

Organization : 5/5
Writing: 4/5
Enjoyment of subject/ideas: 5/5

What. A. Fun. Book.
I read half of it really quick and then only allowed myself to read about one woman a night to make it last longer because it’s that good.
I 100% recommend it as a gift for your fierce female friend or as a nice gift to yourself. If you like The Skimm, you’ll love this. I learned a lot, the illustrations are fab, and it was just overall enjoyable. I would give it a 4.75 though because some parts seemed grammatically weird and like there should have been one more proof read before printing.

The concept and ideas behind this is greatly inspirational; however, it wasn't executed too entertainingly. I loved the artworks throughout, and read with full attention for around 75% of this book. Then it felt too repetitive, too overly positive and excited that it seemed forced.

I needed to read this for some serious mental reboot.

It’s neat. It’s full of interesting historical figures I hadn’t heard of because the American education system, particularly on the topic of history, is a dread morass of whitewashing and deliberate obtuseness which shivers in its dressing gown nightly with terror at the mere suggestion of acknowledging the role or action of anyone who wasn’t rich white and male in shaping the flow of events, but I was a bit thrown by the tone. A lot of very Gen-Z language, so I guess I’m a little older than the target audience?

It’s not a huge obstacle, should you be similarly well-preserved (or it shouldn’t be. Not everything should be, or even can be, about you) but if you’re looking for a Very Somber Examination of the Day the Thing Happened, this isn’t that.

Das ist eins der Bücher, die ich mir als Jugendliche gewünscht hätte, denn darin werden lauter Frauen vorgestellt, die zum Vorbild taugen. Die meisten waren mir bisher unbekannt und ich finde es super, dass Mackenzi Lee ihnen ein Denkmal in Buchform gesetzt hat. Sie haben es allesamt verdient!

Aber der Reihe nach. Vorgestellt werden 52 Frauen, die auf ihre Weise Großartiges geleistet haben. Das Schöne ist aber, es sind Frauen, die weitestgehend in Vergessenheit geraten sind. Dass Meckenzi Lee nicht auf die üblichen Verdächtigen zurückgegriffen hat, über die wir ja eh schon einiges wissen und vor allem reichlich Literatur vorliegen haben, ehrt sie.

Rein sprachlich merkt man, dass sich Lee eher an Jugendliche bzw. junge Frauen richtet, aber auch ich als „gestandenes Weibsbild“ war insgesamt angetan. Die Zielgruppe – da bin ich mir sicher – wird ihre helle Freude an dem Buch haben, denn das Buch fasst das Leben der 52 Frauen auf jeweils zwei bis drei Textseiten sowie jeweils einer Bildseite sehr gut zusammen. Wie gesagt richtet sich das Buch offenbar an Jugendliche. Die Frauen sind allesamt „cool“, „kick-ass“ und auch sonst ist die Sprache eher ungezwungen. Aber gerade das macht auch einen großen Reiz des Buches aus.

Die Texte sind jeweils kurz gehalten; Leser*innen sollten allzu nicht allzu tiefschürfende Biografien erwarten – teilweise ist das auch aus Mangel an Informationen schlicht nicht möglich. Aber das Buch macht Lust auf mehr und so trifft es sich gut, dass Lee am Ende des Buches noch weiterführende Lesetipps anbietet.

Mir hat das Buch sehr gut gefallen und durch die schöne Aufmachung bietet es sich geradezu als Geschenk an!

Quick recaps of some amazing women breaking the bonds of what their times normally allowed. They're written in a very fun, modern voice that some may not appreciate. But you should really guess that about a book with the word "badass" in the title. I listened to this with my 12 year old son and he learned both some history and some appreciation for what women have endured. Bonus: it was history that he enjoyed because it was quick and quirky.