Product Description

More than 500 biographies of queens, empresses, prime ministers, presidents, regent rulers, de facto rulers, constitutional monarchs and other women who have taken the reins of a nation's - or empire's - destiny in their hands, are presented here. Entries are arranged alphabetically with geographical divisions and a chronologically arranged geographic index. Many hitherto little-known rulers from around the world and down the centuries are here brought under the spotlight.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2221256 in Books
• Published on: 2000-03
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 471 pages

Customer Reviews

thorough encyclopedia of female rulers in history
This is a sort of alphabetical encyclopedia of women rulers in history. Included are many different people like: Hoho, a 18th century Hottentot ruler, Drahomira, mother of the "Good King Wenceslas" of Bohemia, Betty Mae Jumper, chief of the Seminole Nation in the 1960s, Tansu Ciller, Prime Minister of Turkey in the 1990s, and Diane of Poitiers, mistress of the French King around 1550.

Caterina Sforza, as a widow in the 15th century, refused to yield her castle, when her children were held hostage, explaining that she could always make more babies. Cleopatra Thea of Egypt married successive Seleucid Kings and had her own son put to death. Jacqueline of Bavaria, Countess of Holland, wasn't able to keep hold of her county. Abandoned by several husbands, Philip the Good of Burgundy finally stole her inheritance. Kaahumanu, co-ruler of Hawaii in the 19th century, tried to raise the sexual moral standards of her subjects to the annoyance of foreign sailors.

Some entries are only a few lines, while other entries fill 3 pages, including a black-and-white picture. The number of references also differs for each entry with sometimes only one reference. Despite the difference in quality of the entries, the book is very thorough and contains many little known Queens.