The Other Half of History: Fifteen Women Courage, Power, and Defiance

History has a way of making women disappear. Bringing them back means telling their stories in full, including the uncomfortable parts.In The Other Half of History, David Fooks explores fifteen women whose courage, ambition, intelligence, and sometimes ruthlessness helped shape their worlds. Their achievements were remarkable. Their choices could be troubling. Their struggles reveal the opportunities, limits, and human costs of power.Among the women you will encounter: - Cleopatra, fighting to preserve Egypt amid Rome's expanding power. - Boudicca, leading a revolt against Roman rule. - Gráinne O'Malley, commanding ships and challenging authority along the Irish coast. - Nzinga Mbande, resisting Portuguese expansion in Central Africa. - Ching Shih, exercising authority over a vast pirate confederation. - Lozen, helping defend her Apache people against displacement and war.Across different centuries and cultures, these fifteen lives raise enduring questions: Who gets to wield power? What does resistance demand? And why are some people remembered as heroes while others become villains-or disappear from the story altogether?Drawing on a lifelong interest in folklife and overlooked history, Fooks brings a storyteller's eye to women whose lives deserve closer attention. He examines their accomplishments alongside their failures, contradictions, and the consequences of their decisions.Written for adult readers who enjoy accessible narrative history and revealing biographies, The Other Half of History offers fifteen compelling encounters with women who refused to accept the places assigned to them. Cleopatra VII: The Last Egyptian Pharaoh Boudicca: A Celtic Woman Against the Roman Empire Freydís Eiríksdóttir: Hero, Killer, Legend Alaqai Beki: Genghis Khan's Daughters Lioness of Brittany: Her Revenge Crippled the French Empire Joan of Arc: Faith, Hero, Saint, and Legend Mandukhai the Wise: Savior Of The Mongol Empire Queen Isabella I: Her Terrible Legacies Gráinne O'Malley: The Woman Who Ruled the Irish Sea Queen Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen's Secret War Nzinga Mbande: African Queen Who Fought The Europeans Catherine the Great: Power Without Mercy Ching Shih: The Woman Who Ruled the China Sea Sacagawea: Courage at the Edge of Power Lozen: Apache Warrior, Healer, and Leader