Women's History Past and Present: Adult NonFiction

Nonfiction titles for adults that chronicle the lives of extraordinary women, examine historical movements, and address feminist issues.

Updated January 8, 2026
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The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life
Cordalis, Amy Bowers
The Yurok Tribe and an Indigenous family share a moving multigenerational story of their fight to undam the Klamath river-the largest river restoration project in history-and save the planet. The Water Remembers is the story of Indigenous resistance and an...
The Look
Obama, Michelle
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Beautifully illustrated with more than 200 photographs, including never-before-seen images, The Look is a stunning journey through Michelle Obama's style evolution, in her own words for the first time. In this celebration of style,...
Saving five : a memoir of hope
Nguyen, Amanda
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller and a New York Times Book Review Editors'' Choice. Natalie Portman''s Book Club Pick for March. "Amanda''s story--innovatively told by versions of herself at different ages--underscores the lasting power of speaking...
Black Panther woman : the political and spiritual life of Ericka Huggins
Phillips, Mary Frances
Paper Book
The first biography of Ericka Huggins, a queer Black woman who brought spiritual self-care practices to the Black Panther Party. In this groundbreaking biography, Mary Frances Phillips immerses readers in the life and legacy of Ericka Huggins, a revered Black Panther Party...
Twice as hard : the stories of Black women who fought to become physicians, from the Civil War to the 21st Century
Brown, Jasmine
Paper Book
Black women physicians' stories have gone untold for far too long, leaving gaping holes in American medical history, in women's history, and in black history. It's time to set the record straight No real account of black women physicians in the US exists, and what little mention...
The six : the untold story of America's first women astronauts
Grush, Loren
Paper Book
"Vivid." --The Guardian * "Engrossing." --Booklist * "Suspenseful, meticulously observed, enlightening." --Margot Lee Shetterly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures In this account of America's first women astronauts "Grush...
Formidable : American women and the fight for equality, 1920-2020
Griffith, Elisabeth
Paper Book
"An essential history of the struggle by both Black and white women to achieve their equal rights."--Hillary Rodham Clinton The Nineteenth Amendment was an incomplete victory. Black and white women fought hard for voting rights and doubled the number of eligible voters, but the...
We will be jaguars : a memoir of my people
Nenquimo, Nemonte
Paper Book
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK Named one of the Best Nonfiction Books of the Year by Library Journal "An unforgettable memoir about fighting for your home and your heart." --Reese Witherspoon (Reese's Book Club November '24 Pick) ...
Fearless Women: Feminist Patriots from Abigail Adams to Beyoncé
Elizabeth Cobbs
Paper Book
This passionate and inspiring book by the New York Times bestselling author of The Hello Girls shows us that the quest for women's rights is deeply entwined with the founding story of the United States. When America became a nation, a woman had no legal existence...
Eve : how the female body drove 200 million years of human evolution
Bohannon, Cat
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION FINALIST * THE REAL ORIGIN OF OUR SPECIES: a myth-busting, eye-opening landmark account of how humans evolved, offering a paradigm shift in our thinking about what the female body is, how it came to be, and how this evolution...
The girls who fought crime : the untold true story of the country's first female investigator and her crime fighting squad
Eder, Mari K.
Paper Book
For fans of Margot Lee Shetterley and Liza Mundy comes an inspiring feminist tale of a woman who dedicated her entire life to the New York Police Department, upending the patriarchy and the status quo for women working in public service. Corsets, Crime, and the Woman to Change Modern...
Black women taught us : an intimate history of Black feminism
Jackson, Jenn M.
Paper Book
A reclamation of essential history and a hopeful gesture toward a better political future, this is what listening to Black women looks like--from a professor of political science and columnist for Teen Vogue. "Jenn M. Jackson is a beautiful writer and excellent scholar....
In the shadow of Quetzalcoatl : Zelia Nuttall and the search for Mexico's ancient civilizations
Grindle, Merilee Serrill
Paper Book
The gripping story of a pioneering anthropologist whose exploration of Aztec cosmology, rediscovery of ancient texts, and passion for collecting helped shape our understanding of pre-Columbian Mexico. Where do human societies come from? The drive to answer this question...
Althea : the life of tennis champion Althea Gibson
Jacobs, Sally H.
Paper Book
WASHINGTON POST BEST NONFICTION OF 2023 KIRKUS REVIEWS'' BEST BIOGRAPHIES OF 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR "A captivating book that brilliantly reveals an American sports legend long overlooked. Sally...
We set the night on fire : igniting the gay revolution
Shelley, Martha
Paper Book
Martha Shelley didn't start out in life wanting to become a gay activist, or an activist of any kind. The daughter of Jewish refugees and undocumented immigrants in New York City, she grew up during the Red Scare of the late 1940s and 1950s, was inspired by the civil rights and anti...
The story is in our bones : how worldviews and climate justice can remake a world in crisis
Lake, Osprey Orielle
Paper Book
It's time to rewild ourselves and our dominant worldviews to build Earth-centered communities for all These pages summon from our bones our commitment to defend this living Earth. --Joanna Macy, author, Coming Back to Life and Active Hope The dominant cultural worldview is...
Normal women : 900 years of making history
Gregory, Philippa
Paper Book
INDIE BESTSELLER "An amazing read."--The Los Angeles Times The #1 New York Times bestselling historical novelist delivers her magnum opus--a landmark work of feminist nonfiction that radically redefines our understanding of the extraordinary roles...
A place of our own : six spaces that shaped queer women's culture
Thomas, June (Journalist)
Paper Book
A "riveting" and "indispensable" (Alison Bechdel) cultural history of queer women's lives in the second half of the twentieth century, told through six iconic spaces For as long as queer women have existed, they've created gathering grounds where they can be...
She-wolves : the untold history of women on Wall Street
Bren, Paulina
Paper Book
First came the secretaries from Brooklyn and Queens--the "smart cookies" who saw that making money, lots of it, might be within their grasp. Then came the first female Harvard Business School graduates, who were in for a rude awakening because an equal degree did not mean equal opportunity. But by...
The movement : how women's liberation transformed America, 1963-1973
Bingham, Clara
Paper Book
A comprehensive and engaging oral history of the decade that defined the feminist movement, including interviews with living icons and unsung heroes--from former Newsweek reporter and author of the "powerful and moving" (The New York Times) Witness to the Revolution.<...
Beware of the woman artist
Adler, Laure
Paper Book
Traversing decades and continents, these fifty gorgeously illustrated profiles celebrate pioneering women who at once fought against and transformed the male-dominated artistic establishment of their time. From mystic and groundbreaking color theorist Hilma af Klimt to the multi...
Forgotten warriors : the long history of women in combat
Percy, Sarah
Paper Book
The definitive history of women in war, revealing how women have always been an essential part of combat  From Boudicca's rebellion to the war in Ukraine, battlefields have always contained a surprising number of women. Some formed all-female armies, like...
The sisterhood : the secret history of women at the CIA
Mundy, Liza
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A "rip-roaring" (Steve Coll), "staggeringly well-researched" (The New York Times) history of three generations at the CIA, "electric with revelations" (Booklist) about the women who fought to become operatives, transformed spycraft, and tracked down Osama bin...
The missing thread : a women's history of the ancient world
Dunn, Daisy
Paper Book
One of The Smithsonian's 10 best history books of 2024 One of BBC History Magazine's best books of 2024 "Thoroughly researched and sprightly.... a complete history of the [Mediterranean world] with the women added back in, as they always should have been."<...
No stopping us now : the adventures of older women in American history
Collins, Gail
Paper Book
The beloved New York Times columnist "inspires women to embrace aging and look at it with a new sense of hope" in this lively, fascinating, eye-opening look at women and aging in America (Parade Magazine). "You're not getting older, you're getting...
Women and the piano : a history in 50 lives
Tomes, Susan
Paper Book
Women are an essential part of the history of the piano--but how many women pianists can you name?   Throughout most of the piano's history, women pianists lacked access to formal training and were excluded from male-dominated performance spaces. Even the modern...
Mother tongue : the surprising history of women's words
Nuttall, Jenni
Paper Book
"A fascinating look at how we talk about women. . . . Dense with information and anecdotes, Mother Tongue touches on the hilarious and the devastating, with ample dashes of an ingredient so painfully absent from most discussions of sex and gender: humor." ―Lisa Selin Davis, The...
The bluestockings : a history of the first women's movement
Gibson, Susannah
Paper Book
In England in the 1700s, a woman who was an intellectual, spoke out, or wrote professionally was considered unnatural. After all, as the wisdom of the era dictated, a clever woman--if there were such a thing--would never make a good wife. But a circle of women called the Bluestockings did...
The American women's almanac : 500 years of making history
Felder, Deborah G.
Paper Book
Celebrate the vital roles and vibrant experiences of women in America! The most complete and affordable single-volume reference on women's history available today, The American Women's Almanac: 500 Years of Vitality, Triumph and Excellence is a unique and valuable resource...
Femina : a new history of the Middle Ages, through the women written out of it
Ramirez, Janina
Paper Book
THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 CUNDIL HISTORY PRIZE A "Next Big Idea Book Club" Must Read? A groundbreaking reappraisal of medieval femininity, revealing why women have been written out of history and why it matters ...
Fly girls : how five daring women defied all odds and made aviation history
O'Brien, Keith
Paper Book
Between the world wars, no sport was more popular, or more dangerous, than airplane racing. Fly Girls recounts how a cadre of women banded together to break the original glass ceiling: the entrenched prejudice that conspired to keep them out of the sky.
How women made music : a revolutionary history from NPR Music
Fensterstock, Alison
Paper Book
Drawn from NPR Music's acclaimed, groundbreaking series Turning the Tables, the definitive book on the vital role of Women in Music--from Beyoncé to Odetta, Taylor Swift to Joan Baez, Joan Jett to Dolly Parton--featuring archival interviews, essays, photographs, and illustrations.<...
Red paint : the ancestral autobiography of a Coast Salish punk
LaPointe, Sasha taqwšeblu
Paper Book
Winner of the 2023 Pacific Northwest Book Award Winner of the Washington State Book Award for Creative Nonfiction/Memoir An Indigenous artist blends the aesthetics of punk rock with the traditional spiritual practices of the women in her lineage in this bold, contemporary...
Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking
DeSpain, Pyet
Next Level Chef winner Pyet De Spain celebrates her Mexican and Native American heritage in this collection of mouthwatering recipes, a vibrant fusion that ties us to the land and to one another. Star chef Pyet DeSpain rose to prominence as the first winner of Gordon Ramsey's Fox...
Fighting for the Puyallup Tribe : a memoir
Bennett Bill, Ramona
A compelling on-the-ground account of Native activism in the Northwest A relentless advocate for Native rights, Ramona Bennett Bill has been involved in the battles waged by the Puyallup and other Northwest tribes around fishing rights, land rights, health, and...
Wild for Austen : a rebellious, subversive, and untamed Jane
Looser, Devoney
USA Today Bestseller! Incisive, funny, and deeply-researched insights into the life, writing, and legacy of Jane Austen, by the preeminent scholar Devoney Looser. Thieves! Spies! Abolitionists! Ghosts! If we ever truly believed Jane Austen to be a quiet...
Motherland : a feminist history of modern Russia, from revolution to autocracy
Ioffe, Julia
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NAMED ONE OF THE 10 BEST BOOKS OF 2025 BY THE WASHINGTON POST NAMED ONE OF THE 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2025 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES A GUARDIAN BEST BOOK OF 2025 NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF FALL...
On a mission : the Smithsonian history of US women astronauts
Neal, Valerie
The definitive history of all 61 American women astronauts that's perfect for fans of The Six eager for more Sally Ride became a household name as the first American woman in space, but scores of equally impressive women have also left their mark in space. On a Mission-...
Queens of Islam : The Muslim World's Historic Women Rulers
Verde, Tom
From Pakistan to Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan to Nigeria, from Senegal to Turkey, it is not unusual in modern times for women in Muslim-majority countries to be appointed and/or elected to high offices, including heads of state. Nor has it ever been. Stretching back nearly to the founding of Islam itself,...
Daughter of daring : the trick-riding, train-leaping, road-racing life of Helen Gibson, Hollywood's first stuntwoman
O'Meara, Mallory
Paper Book
From LA Times bestselling author Mallory O'Meara, the story of America's first professional stuntwoman, Helen Gibson, who rose to fame during a time when women ruled Hollywood. Helen Gibson was a woman willing to do anything to give audiences a thrill. Advertised as "The...
How to kill a witch : the patriarchy's guide to silencing women
Venditozzi, Zoë
Paper Book
"Terrifying, fascinating, and important." --Sara Sheridan, author of Where Are the Women? and The Fair Botanists Nothing brings people together like a common enemy, and witches were the greatest enemy of all. Scotland, 1563: Crops failed. People starved. And the Devil's influence...
For the sun after long nights : the story of Iran's women-led uprising
Jamalpour, Fatemeh
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD * A moving exploration of the 2022 women-led protests in Iran, as told through the interwoven stories of two Iranian journalists "Unlike anything I've read . . . A searing, courageous, and ultimately beautiful book filled with the spirit of...
Claire McCardell : the designer who set women free
Dickinson, Elizabeth Evitts
Paper Book
Named one of The New York Times's 100 Notable Books of 2025 The riveting hidden history of Claire McCardell, the most influential fashion designer you've never heard of. Claire McCardell forever changed fashion--and most importantly, the lives of...
The improbable Victoria Woodhull : suffrage, free love, and the first woman to run for president
Collinsworth, Eden
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE . From the acclaimed author of What the Ermine Saw and Behaving Badly, a portrait of Victoria Woodhull, a celebrated and maligned 19th-century businesswoman and activist, and a leader in the fight for women's suffrage and labor...
Dear Miss Perkins : a story of Frances Perkins's efforts to aid refugees from Nazi Germany
Graham, Rebecca Brenner
Paper Book
A fascinating portrait of the progressive female trailblazer and US Secretary for Labor who navigated the foreboding rise of Nazism in her battle to make America a safer place for refugees. She was the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet, the longest-serving Labor...
The world of Nancy Kwan : a memoir by Hollywood's Asian superstar
Kwan, Nancy
Paper Book
A Hollywood icon and Asian superstar shares the inspiring story of her groundbreaking career.  When Nancy Kwan burst onto the scene in the early 1960s, Asian characters in film were portrayed by white actors in makeup playing "yellowface," and those minor roles...
Positive obsession : the life and times of Octavia E. Butler
Morris, Susana M.
Paper Book
A magnificent cultural biography that charts the life of one of our greatest writers, situating her alongside the key historical and social moments that shaped her work.  As the first Black woman to consistently write and publish in the field of science fiction, Octavia...
107 days
Harris, Kamala
For the first time, and with surprising and revealing insights, former Vice President Kamala Harris tells the story of one of the wildest and most consequential presidential campaigns in American history. Your Secret Service code name is Pioneer. You are the first woman...
Fearless and free : a memoir
Baker, Josephine
Paper Book
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR: The TODAY Show, Vanity Fair, Financial Times, W Magazine, Oprah Daily, LibraryReads Praised as "funny and witty" by Kwame Alexander on the TODAY show, now published in the US for the first time, Fearless and Free is the...

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