The Book Of Gutsy Women

This book is a tale of patronising middle-class privilege distilled through some Wikipedia-level history and peppered with frequent (and irritating) personal commentary. The stories of the women who are chosen are secondary to the wider story: the Clinton story. (Disclosure: I say this a a very much left-leaning and Hillary supporting reader). It was interesting to discover some (although not many) previously unknown names, but the book has little merit as either a social commentary, a feminist handbook or a historical resource.

Of course any collection of multiple biographies of this kind is subject to the author's (or, in this case the authors') personal choice of subjects for inclusion. Here I liked the emphasis on women of the Americas - an understandable bias given the nationality of the two authors - since it introduced me to the life and works of a lot of notable women about whom I knew little or nothing. (In fact, the less I knew about any particular subject, the more valuable I found that chapter; this book can only have been intended as an introduction to these women's lives. I really appreciated being able to note in the Kindle edition which women I wanted to investigate further and to add details of any relevant autobiographical or biographical works.)Considerable thought had been given to layout of the book, with the result that it was clear whether each woman was included at the instigation of Hillary or Chelsea, and whether the other author had added her perspective on on her co-author's choice. Highlighting key quotes from each woman was also a thoughtful touch.Thoroughly recommended.

This wonderful book by Hilary & Chelsea Clinton is both educational and inspiring! I loved the book so much, I read it in two days. Intelligently written yet accessible to all, it was impactful & allowed me to understand snippets of the women against historical facts. Read it, enjoy it but most of all feel blessed that these gutsy women (Hilary & Chelsea included) paved the way for the inclusion and relevance of women in an oft male dominated world. A fabulous book.

This covers quite a lot of women but misses out many too. I don't like the way the parts that have been written by Hilary or Chelsea are highlighted as having been written by them. Not really relevant to the stories at hand. Could have been done better.

Just opening the book put me off. Print and page set-up does not make for easy reading. Now have to find another present for my grand daughter.