Publisher: Transaction Publishers - £25

This is an excellent book. It is a collection of essays on several astounding black women in history. Most of the women are drawn from ancient egypt, and include women who ruled Egypt either as regents or as actual Pharoahs. These include well known figures like Hatshepsut, Nerfetiti and less well known women like Queen Tiye and Ahmose.

Other great women leaders are drawn from places like Ethiopia, Meroe (the Candaces), Angola (Queen Nzingha), Ghana (Yaa Asantewa) and Mauritania (Queen Kahina). Apart from describing the political, economic and military leadership of women in ancient Africa, the book also describes the contributions of women in (social and religious) areas, a great deal of material is devoted to detailing the influence of the black woman on religion and religious art especially.

The impact of black women on European culture and society, as well as the advanced nature of the rights of women in ancient Egyptian society are topics that are also covered. Many of the articles are short and easy to read. I thoroughly recommend this book.