Books about “First Ladies”
In honor of Women’s History Month, we have compiled a list of books celebrating first achievements by women that broke gender barriers and have led to major cultural shifts. They are grouped for adults, teenagers/young adults, and children, and can be borrowed from the Roslindale Library!
Adults
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
By Margot Lee Shetterly
Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the civil rights movement, and the space race, this book follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances, and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country’s future.
The Age of Innocence
By Edith Wharton
Wharton became the first woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for this book. Newland Archer saw little to envy in the marriages of his friends, yet he prided himself that in May Welland he had found the companion of his needs–tender and impressionable, with equal purity of mind and manners. The engagement was announced discreetly, but all of New York society was soon privy to this most perfect match, a union of families and circumstances cemented by affection.
All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost
By Lan Samantha Chang
Chang is the first woman and first Asian-American to be the director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. At this fictionalized renowned writing school, every student is simultaneously terrified of and attracted to the charismatic poet and professor Miranda Sturgis, whose high standards for art are both intimidating and inspiring. As two students, Roman and Bernard, strive to win her admiration, the lines between mentorship, friendship, and love are blurred.
Fräulein Rabbiner Jonas: The Story of the First Woman Rabbi
By Elisa Klapheck
Fraulein Rabbiner Jonas tells the moving story of the woman who inspired a new kind of progressive female participation in the Jewish religion. Biographer Elisa Klapheck shows how Jonas overcame formidable resistance and obstacles from conventional orthodox Jewish institutions to become the first female rabbi.
My Beloved World
By Sonia Sotomayor
An instant American icon–the first Hispanic on the U.S. Supreme Court–tells the story of her life before becoming a judge in an inspiring, surprisingly personal memoir. With startling candor and intimacy, Sonia Sotomayor recounts her life from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench, a progress that is a testament to her extraordinary determination and the power of believing in oneself.
Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948
By Madeleine Albright
From the first female Secretary of State Madeleine Albright comes a moving and thoughtful memoir of her formative years in Czechoslovakia during the tumult of Nazi occupation, World War II, fascism, and the onset of the Cold War.
Can’t Is Not An Option
By Nikki Haley
The Indian-American governor of South Carolina relates the inspiring story of her life and rising career in politics. Haley is the first Asian-American woman governor in the United States.
Tough Choices: A Memoir
By Carly Fiorina
The first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Fiorina traces her educational upsets before entering the business world, her struggles as a businesswoman in a male-dominated arena, her role in HP’s controversial merger, and her public firing.
A Warrior of the People: How Susan La Flesche Overcame Racial and Gender Inequality to Become America’s First Indian Doctor
By Joe Starita
On March 14, 1889, Susan La Flesche received her medical degree becoming the first Native American doctor in U.S. history. She earned her degree thirty-one years before women could vote and thirty-five years before Indians could become citizens in their own country.
Teens/Young Adults
Fight Like A Girl: 50 Feminists Who Changed the World
By Laura Barcella
Nearly every day there’s another news story, think piece, or pop cultural anecdote related to feminism and women’s rights. Conversations around consent, equal pay, access to contraception, and a host of other issues are foremost topics of conversation in American media. And today’s teens are encountering these issues from a different perspective than any generation has before—but what’s often missing from the current discussion is an understanding of how we’ve gotten to this place. Fight Like a Girl introduces readers to the history of feminist activism in the U.S. in an effort to celebrate those who paved the way and draw attention to those who are working hard to further the feminist cause today.
Ellen Ochea: First Female Hispanic Astronaut
By John Wukovitz
The Twentieth Century’s Most Influential Hispanics examines the life and achievements of the named individual, beginning with the subject’s birth and young life. Emphasis is given to the events that made this person influential. Realistic portrayals of the subjects include discussion of opportunities and obstacles, missteps, and triumphs.
Shirley Chisholm
By Jill Pollack
The story of the extraordinary life of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress who later ran for President of the United States.
Hillary Rodham Clinton: A Woman Living History
By Karen Blumenthal
Presents the life and career of Hilary Clinton, discussing her childhood in Illinois, her college and law school years, her life as First Lady, her time as a New York Senator, and her achievements as Secretary of State.
Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone, the First Woman to Play Professional Baseball in the Negro League
By Martha Ackmann
Profiles the story of Marcenia Lyle “Toni” Stone, who became the first female to play professional baseball in the Negro Leagues in 1953 after other African-American male players followed Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron into the majors.
Jane Addams: Nobel Prize Winner and Founder of Hull House
By Bonnie Harvey
Describes the life of the woman whose devotion to social work led to her establishing Hull House in Chicago. She was the first woman awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
Sally Ride: First American Woman In Space
By Carol Ann Camp
A biography of Sally Ride, who in 1983 became the first American woman to travel in space.
Sula
By Toni Morrison
Morrison is the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. This book traces the lives of two African-American women who grew up together in a small Ohio town and chose different lifestyles as adults.
Children
Mae Jemison: The First African American Woman Astronaut
By Liza Burby
Briefly traces the life of the first African-American woman to go into space, from her childhood in Chicago through her education and work as a doctor to her historic flight.
Amelia Earhart
By Lola Schaefer
A brief biography of the first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean and to fly alone across the United States, as well as the first pilot to fly alone across the Pacific Ocean.
Wilman Rudolph
By Amy Ruth
A biography of the African-American woman who overcame crippling polio as a child to become the first woman to win three gold medals in track in a single Olympics.
Chico
By Sandra Day O’Connor
Sandra loves ranch life. Most of all, she loves riding her pony, Chico. But a ride to visit a new calf ends in a terrifying encounter with a rattlesnake. Sandra learns an important lesson about taking care of herself and her horse–and about overcoming her fears. In this story, based on a true-life incident, young Sandra demonstrates the forthright spirit that gave her the courage and confidence to become the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Her adventure with Chico in the desert landscape is breathtakingly rendered by celebrated painter Dan Andreasen.
Antonia Novello, Doctor
By Mayra Fernández
Novello is the first woman and first Hispanic Surgeon General. This biography of President Bush’s Surgeon General, focusing on her childhood in Puerto Rico, personal medical problems, training and practice as a pediatrician, and opinions on today’s health issues.
Wilma Mankiller
By Linda Lowery
Eleven-year-old Wilma Mankiller knew her parents had made a big mistake.They had moved the family from rural Oklahoma to a strange, new city.One day, Wilma knew, she would return to the Oklahoma hills and live near other Cherokee families again.But until then, she searched deep down for strength.Author Linda Lowery tells how Wilma found strength in her Cherokee heritage.She also shows how a young girl grew up to become Chief Mankiller, the first female leader of the Cherokee Nation from 1985 to 1995.
A Woman for President: The Story of Victoria Woodhull
By Kathleen Krull
Describes the life of Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president, have a seat on the stock exchange, own a newspaper, and speak before Congress.
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