Medium – Book
About the Book – Father and daughter duo Jonathan and Emily Jordan tell the stories of fourteen women, crossing time periods and nations, who led their people into battle. From Tomryis, the Massagetae Queen who rode into battle and killed the Persian King, to Margaret Thatcher, who commanded the British Army (albeit from London) during the Falklands War, the women discussed cover the whole political spectrum, but all are united in their courage in the face of overwhelming odds and their ability to make important and often bloodthirsty decisions.
My Rating – 4/5
My Thoughts – This book was one that has been on my TBR pile since the start of the first lockdown, so it is ironic that today, on the eve of the second major lockdown in the UK, I’ve finished it! I bought the book after hearing the authors on the ‘History Hack’ podcast, and thought that the whole premise of the book was fantastic and ‘just my sort of thing’. I really enjoyed the range of women who were covered, particularly the more historical and less well known women, such as Artemisia of Caria, Tamar of Georgia and Catherine the Great (although the latter is quite well known!) Some of the women were more ‘battle queens’ than others, with some actually wielding weapons and others managing tactics. What unites all of them, though, is a determination to win for their people.
I found the style and tone of this book interesting, although I did find some of the shorter, earlier biographies easier to read than the later, longer ones. I would have quite liked more of the shorter length chapters for more women, especially as there does not seem to have been a shortage of women who went to war one to two thousand years ago. Some of the later chapters did drag a little, but all were readable and I liked the slightly lighter tone of the book in comparison to other weighty history tomes. Overall, a book that I enjoyed and will be passing on to my husband, who was very impressed by the bits I read to him at the beginning!
Jen's Book Blog 