Remember the Ladies: 100 Great American Women

In a 1776 letter cautioning her husband to "remember the ladies," Abigail Adams made one of the earliest pleas for women's rights in America. How could she have known, in the years to follow, just how many strong and independent women would step forward to forge new paths in their fight for equality?

From Clara Barton and Harriet Tubman to the less well-known but equally important Belva Lockwood and Maya Ying Lin, Remember the Ladies spans the centuries to provide an engaging look at one hundred outstanding women who have helped shape our great nation.

Who are the people who shaped America? Lawyers, artists, rebels, guides, fighters, doctors, athletes, astronomers, airplane pilots, environmentalists, scientists, politicians, and parents. These men... Wait a second! We're not talking about men, here. Although American history has always emphasized Founding Fathers, Sons of Liberty, boys in uniform, etc., there have been millions of women who have had an equally profound impact on the identity and character of the country. In 1776 Abigail Adams told her husband, future president John Adams, to "remember the ladies," when thinking about their new government. Author Cheryl Harness has taken those words to heart in her celebration of just 100 of the illustrious, sometimes forgotten women in American history. Vibrant, well-known women, including Pocahontas, Lucretia Mott, Eleanor Roosevelt, Toni Morrison, and Madeleine Albright, fill the pages of this exciting book, as do less familiar women such as Phillis Wheatley, the first African American to be published (in the 1770s); pioneer Abigail Scott Duniway, who ran a hat shop, a school, and a newspaper to support her disabled husband and their six children while campaigning to win equal justice for women; and Antonia Novello, the first Hispanic woman to be surgeon general. Every page, chronologically ordered, is packed with illustrations and fascinating, conversational text. Additional resources (glossary, bibliography, lists of historic sites and women's organizations, a pictorial timeline, and more) guide readers to learn more about these remarkable heroines. Girls--and boys--will be empowered by the tremendous accomplishments of America's best and brightest. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter