She led a sit-in to ensure protections for people with disabilities and laid the groundwork for the Americans with Disabilities Act. She’s calling on all of us to act radically and build a different kind of future for cinema—not only for the women being actively hurt inside the industry but for those outside it, whose lives, purchasing decisions, and sense of selves are shaped by the stories told. She’s proving how a groundswell of activism, led by everyday women, can create the incentives our political leaders need to change course and make affordable healthcare accessible for everybody. She’s advocating an out-loud, unapologetic feminist manifesto to teach women and girls to smash the patriarchy by embracing qualities they’ve been trained to avoid. She made her guitar talk, went electric before many guitarists did, and defined what we know as gospel, R&B, and rock music today. She went to fight on the battlefield because she wanted to, because she had to, because she simply could.

These are the women who have made and are making history, because they spoke up, even when the annals of history tried to silence them. By speaking up and speaking truth to power, they’re showing us the societal change that we’re capable of, that we need. Right now. Let’s give up it for these heroes! You can read their stories in these selected titles from our catalog.

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner

“A moving chronicle of social change, Being Heumann will restore your hope in our democracy and the power of our shared humanity.“
—Darren Walker, president, Ford Foundation

A Black Women’s History of the United States
Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross

“A powerful and important book that charts the rich and dynamic history of Black women in the United States. It shows how these courageous women challenged racial and gender oppression and boldly asserted their authority and visions of freedom even in the face of resistance.”
—Keisha N. Blain, author of Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom

Marching Toward Coverage: How Women Can Lead the Fight for Universal Health Care
Rosemarie Day

“Day offers a simpler remedy for fixing healthcare. If we want a healthcare system that’s more humane, more practical, and gets the important things right, turn to women. Read it and let’s get going.”
—Andy Slavitt, former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls
Mona Eltahawy

“Incredibly direct and fiercely intelligent . . . . A book for those who don’t wait for permission.”
—Marwa Helal, author of Invasive species

The Wrong Kind of Women: Inside Our Revolution to Dismantle the Gods of Hollywood
Naomi McDougall Jones

“A call to arms for both men and women who desire the industry to be more equitable and inclusive.”
—Melissa Silverstein, founder and publisher, Women and Hollywood

The Princess and the Prophet: The Secret History of Magic, Race, and the Moorish Muslims in America
Jacob S. Dorman

“A prodigious feat of detective work and archival magic. A spectacular book in so many ways.”
—Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original

Odetta: A Life in Music and Protest
Ian Zack

“An absorbing portrait of a seminal artist. Odetta was my Queen.”
—Joan Baez, musician and activist

Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black Muslim
Leah Vernon

“I love the fierce, unflinching honesty and integrity in Unashamed . . . . I laughed and cried and read this book in awe of Leah Vernon’s brave, bold, and beautiful voice.”
—Randa Abdel-Fattah, author of The Lines We Cross and Does My Head Look Big in This?

Women Warriors: An Unexpected History
Pamela D. Toler

“Toler blows past all expectations with this thoroughly delightful, personable, and crucially important history of women warriors.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review

Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Gayle F. Wald

“She blazed a trail for the rest of us women guitarists with her indomitable spirit and accomplished, engaging style. She has long been deserving of wider recognition and a place of honor in the field of music history.”
—Bonnie Raitt

The Trials of Nina McCall: Sex, Surveillance, and the Decades-Long Government Plan to Imprison “Promiscuous” Women
Scott W. Stern

“In our own era, when harassment is a great national topic, this book could not be more timely.”
—Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia and Women Rowing North

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
Jeanne Theoharis

“In the first sweeping history of Parks’s life, Theoharis shows us...[that] Parks not only sat down on the bus; she stood on the right side of justice for her entire life.”
—Julian Bond, chairman emeritus, NAACP