Women’s History Month

By Luis Diaz | March 4 2021 | General

March is Women’s History Month, which recognizes the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields. Beginning as “Women’s History Week,” a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California in 1978, the movement spread across the country as other communities initiated their own Women’s History Week celebrations the following year. To learn more, click here.

We’d like to take the opportunity to highlight a selection of titles on extraordinary women to be shared with and read by your students all year long.

 

Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

“They didn’t ask to be remembered,” Pulitzer Prize-winning author Laurel Ulrich wrote in 1976 about the pious women of colonial New England. And then she added a phrase that has since gained widespread currency: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” Today those words appear almost everywhere—on T-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, plaques, greeting cards, and more. But what do they really mean? In this engrossing volume, Laurel Ulrich goes far beyond the slogan she inadvertently created and explores what it means to make history.

 

The Genius of Women

Even in this time of rethinking women’s roles, we define genius almost exclusively through male achievement. When asked to name a genius, people mention Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, and Steve Jobs. As for great women? In one survey, the only female genius anyone listed was Marie Curie. Janice Kaplan set out to determine why the extraordinary work of so many women has been brushed aside. Using her unique mix of memoir, narrative, and inspiration, she makes surprising discoveries about women geniuses now and throughout history, in fields from music to robotics.

 

The Women with Silver Wings

The thrilling true story of the daring female aviators who helped the United States win World War II—only to be forgotten by the country they served.

 

Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister

They were the most famous women in China. As the country battled through a hundred years of wars, revolutions and seismic transformations, the three Soong sisters from Shanghai were at the center of power, and each of them left an indelible mark on history.

 

Square Haunting

In the early twentieth century, Mecklenburgh Square—a hidden architectural gem in the heart of London—was a radical address. On the outskirts of Bloomsbury known for the eponymous group who “lived in squares, painted in circles, and loved in triangles,” the square was home to students, struggling artists, and revolutionaries. With sparkling insight and a novelistic style, Francesca Wade sheds new light on a group of artists and thinkers whose pioneering work would enrich the possibilities of women’s lives for generations to come.

 

The Woman Behind the New Deal

Frances Perkins is no longer a household name, yet she was one of the most influential women of the twentieth century. Based on eight years of research, extensive archival materials, new documents, and exclusive access to Perkins’s family members and friends, this biography is the first complete portrait of a devoted public servant with a passionate personal life, a mother who changed the landscape of American business and society.

 

First

Based on exclusive interviews and access to her Supreme Court archives, this is the intimate, inspiring, and authoritative biography of America’s first female Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor.


Discover more titles

History of Women

Women and Politics


 

9781400075270
“They didn’t ask to be remembered,” Pulitzer Prize-winning author Laurel Ulrich wrote in 1976 about the pious women of colonial New England. And then she added a phrase that has since gained widespread currency: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” Today those words appear almost everywhere—on T-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, plaques, greeting cards, and more. But what do they really mean? In this engrossing volume, Laurel Ulrich goes far beyond the slogan she inadvertently created and explores what it means to make history.
$19.00 US
Sep 23, 2008
Paperback
320 Pages
Vintage

From Overlooked to Changing the World
9781524744236
Now in Paperback: We tell girls that they can be anything, so why do 90 percent of Americans believe that geniuses are almost always men? New York Times bestselling journalist Janice Kaplan explores the powerful forces that have rigged the system--and celebrates the women geniuses past and present who have triumphed anyway.
$17.00 US
Feb 16, 2021
Paperback
352 Pages
Dutton

The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II
9781524762827
The thrilling true story of the daring female aviators who helped the United States win World War II--only to be forgotten by the country they served.
$20.00 US
Mar 30, 2021
Paperback
464 Pages
Crown

Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China
9781101972922
They were the most famous women in China. As the country battled through a hundred years of wars, revolutions and seismic transformations, the three Soong sisters from Shanghai were at the center of power, and each of them left an indelible mark on history.
$17.00 US
Sep 22, 2020
Paperback
432 Pages
Anchor

The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance,
9781400078561
One of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s closest friends and the first female secretary of labor, Perkins capitalized on the president’s political savvy and popularity to enact most of the Depression-era programs that are today considered essential parts of the country’s social safety network.
$21.00 US
Feb 23, 2010
Paperback
496 Pages
Anchor

Sandra Day O'Connor
9780399589300
Based on exclusive interviews and access to her Supreme Court archives, this is the intimate, inspiring, and authoritative biography of America's first female Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor--by New York Times bestselling author Evan Thomas.
$22.00 US
May 05, 2020
Paperback
496 Pages
Random House Trade Paperbacks