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A review by paperbackd
Girl Squads: 20 Female Friendships That Changed History by Sam Maggs
5.0
In her follow up to the brilliant Wonder Women Sam Maggs introduces readers to 20 girl squads that redefined art, science, sports, war and politics throughout history.
Written in a colloquial, accessible tone, each chapter of Girl Squads tells a familiar story - one of women fighting to be recognised in their field (whether that’s piracy or tennis) and supporting each other through thick and thin. One thing I loved about Girl Squads was the emphasis on how revolutionary and enduring female friendships can be. The media may like to perpetuate the idea that all women are secretly catty and jealous of each others’ success, but history tells a different story.
The best part about Girl Squads is that each story can be read in whatever order you chose. I started off reading about the Haenyeo (fearless free-diving women from Korea) then skipped to the chapter on the Edinburgh Seven, then flipped back again to learn about the Patriotic Women’s League of Iran. I pride myself on my knowledge of history, but the majority of the women mentioned in this book were people I’d never heard of, and discovering them for the first time in a book that prioritised their achievements (rather than just mentioned them in passing while focusing on their male colleagues) was a blessing.
With such a diverse range of stories packed into one book, you’d be forgiven for thinking that some of these ladies had absolutely nothing in common with each other; it was lovely to see that despite their different cultures, beliefs and strengths the same themes of justice, talent and women lifting each other up kept cropping up over and over again.
Many thanks to Quirk Books for providing a copy of Girl Squads. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publisher: Quirk Books
Rating: 5 stars | ★★★ ★★
Review cross-posted to Paperback'd Reviews
Written in a colloquial, accessible tone, each chapter of Girl Squads tells a familiar story - one of women fighting to be recognised in their field (whether that’s piracy or tennis) and supporting each other through thick and thin. One thing I loved about Girl Squads was the emphasis on how revolutionary and enduring female friendships can be. The media may like to perpetuate the idea that all women are secretly catty and jealous of each others’ success, but history tells a different story.
The best part about Girl Squads is that each story can be read in whatever order you chose. I started off reading about the Haenyeo (fearless free-diving women from Korea) then skipped to the chapter on the Edinburgh Seven, then flipped back again to learn about the Patriotic Women’s League of Iran. I pride myself on my knowledge of history, but the majority of the women mentioned in this book were people I’d never heard of, and discovering them for the first time in a book that prioritised their achievements (rather than just mentioned them in passing while focusing on their male colleagues) was a blessing.
With such a diverse range of stories packed into one book, you’d be forgiven for thinking that some of these ladies had absolutely nothing in common with each other; it was lovely to see that despite their different cultures, beliefs and strengths the same themes of justice, talent and women lifting each other up kept cropping up over and over again.
Many thanks to Quirk Books for providing a copy of Girl Squads. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Publisher: Quirk Books
Rating: 5 stars | ★★★ ★★
Review cross-posted to Paperback'd Reviews