Women's History Month Reading List
March is Women’s History Month! This year’s theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” This month, and all year, we look to celebrate the women of the past and present who have been storytellers across all mediums. Everything from stage to screen, print to blogs. These women have devoted their lives to telling stories, pursuing the truth, creating art, and changing the world for decades.
American Women's History: A Very Short Introduction
Feminist biographer, author, and editor explains how American women's lives transformed and were transformed by history, from the seventeenth through the twentieth century. Discusses slavery, gender expectations, effect of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, industrialization, and the economic contribution of women's labor. Describes nineteenth-century women's movements, including suffrage. 2015.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB085586
It's My Country Too: Women's Military Stories from the American Revolution to Afghanistan
A collection of accounts of women aiding in military efforts throughout American history, beginning with the Revolutionary War. Includes profiles of Harriet Tubman, Josette Dermody Wingo, Barbara Dulinsky, and Brooke King, among many others. Features excerpts from diaries, letters, oral histories, and memoirs. Some violence and some strong language. 2017.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB088929
The Genius of Women: From Overlooked to Changing the World
The author of The Gratitude Diaries (DB 82454) reflects on women geniuses and their accomplishments throughout history. Also draws on interviews with women geniuses at work in the early twenty-first century, including Nobel Prize winner Frances Arnold and AI expert Fei-Fei Li. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2020.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB098816
The Secret History of Home Economics
The author maps out the founding and trajectory of the formal field of home economics, discussing its history from Black colleges and Eleanor Roosevelt to a Betty Crocker brigade and DIY techies. Along the way, she examines the impact of this field on American women and society at large. Commercial audiobook. 2021.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB105718
Women of Motown: An Oral History
A music writer from Detroit presents an oral history of Motown, focusing on the many women who were part of the heyday of the record label. The short profiles start with Mable John and include girl groups such as Martha and the Vandellas and the Supremes. 2017.
Book Length:
Digital Book Number: DB090547
America's Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today
An examination of Jewish women throughout American history, including Grace Nathan, Emma Lazarus, Bessie Hillman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and countless other activists, workers, and mothers. Discusses the historical impact of Jewish women who fought for causes such as suffrage, civil rights, and feminism. Commercial audiobook. 2019.
Book Length: DB094844
Digital Book Number:
Once I was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America
The author of Crews (DB 42950) examines immigration in America through the lens of her own family's experiences and decades of reporting. She discusses the history of US immigration policy and how rhetoric informs American attitudes towards outsiders. Strong language, some violence, and some descriptions of sex. 2020.
Book Length: 12 hours 50 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB102205
Don’t Stop Believin’
The Grammy-winning singer and actress most famous for her role in the movie musical Grease tells her story. In addition to discussing her career, she shares her experiences growing up in Melbourne, Australia; her battle with cancer; and her advocacy on behalf of many charities. Commercial audiobook. 2019.
Book Length: 7 hours, 51 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB094446
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina
Ballerina recounts her experiences as the first African American soloist for the American Ballet Theatre in New York City. Explains her status as a latecomer to dancing at the age of thirteen and details her personal struggles with food, racism, and self-doubts. 2014.
Book Length: 8 hours, 6 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB078843
My Own Words
Writings and speeches from the associate justice. Covers such subjects as gender equality, the workings of the Supreme Court, being Jewish, and the value of an international perspective when interpreting the Constitution. The selections included in this volume were chosen by Ginsburg and her authorized biographers, Mary Hartnett and Wendy W. Williams. Bestseller. 2016.
Book Length: 14 hours, 35 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB086782
Audition: A Memoir
Television journalist Walters discusses her personal life. Covers her adopted daughter, her marriages and affairs, and her sister's mental disability. Walters also details her professional career and memorable people she has interviewed, including politicians, celebrities, and Robert and Michelle Smithdas--married teachers who are both deaf-blind. Bestseller. 2008.
Book Length: 25 hours, 3 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB066696
The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race
Author of Leonardo da Vinci (DB 89588) and Steve Jobs (DB 73682) profiles the life and work of biochemist Jennifer Doudna, a co-recipient of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on developing CRISPR technology which allows for editing of genes. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2021.
Book Length: 16 hours, 8 minutes
Digital Book Number: DB102772