1001 Everyone Should Know About Womens History - Constance Jones.

This is a powerful addition to any females library. Full of mini-biographies and analysis, anecdotes, humorous and wise quotes, and excerpts from historical sources, this book celebrates women and all of our many talents. Doubleday

Mother Nature

Written by female anthropologist Sarah Hrdy, this books challenges our concepts of motherhood, nurturing and child rearing.

Mother Nature:

Examines motherhood from the perspective of evolutionary biology.

Takes an unbiased, non-sentimental look at mothers across cultures, time and species.

Tries to explain why giving birth does not automatically guarantee that a mother will love each baby she bears, and how a woman predisposed to be a mother can learn to love any baby.

Cuts deeply beneath the myth of the self-sacrificing mother, but also to explain what maternal instincts really mean, and why they are so important.

Pantheon Books

The Talent and Success of Writer Fannie Hurst by Brooke Kroeger

Fannie is the story of an almost forgotten pop-culture icon. The only child of comfortable, conservative German-Jewish parents fannie left home and pursued her writers dream in New York. Fannie was constant newspaper fodder, and by the time she died of cancer in 1968, her name had appeared in The New York Times more than two hundred times.  These mentions included her obituary, which was frontpage news, reviews of her twentysix books, reports of her controversial statements ranging from womens rights to communism, tales of her travels, her marriage (which she kept secret for the first five years), her vanity and her diet. Her friends included Eleanor Roosevelt, Lana Turner and Marlon Brando.

She wrote about working women, immigrants, shopgirls and love, murder and despair, and in no time was earning an extraordinary $4000 per story - before the Great Depression. Hollywood based thirty one films on her work. Times Books, August 7 1999 $30

A very original, frank book written by an extraordinary young woman. Caitlin Irwin was 13 when she became increasingly depressed and eventually suicidal. This book, Conquering the Beast Within, chronicles her journey and battle against depression, Caits expressive artwork and her eloquence combines to make a fantastic, personal and powerful book that should be highly recommended to anyone battling depression, or supprting someone who is. This book gives hope to many that the 'beast of depression' can be beaten. Buy for anyone struggling with mental illness, Inspirational.

The interesting history of the Wellesley class of 60. this book follows the fortunes of Hillary Rodman Clintons classmates, and chronicles their journey from young womanhood to adulthood, and the struggle to break out of their 'white gloved' roles.

First Sex : The Natural Talents of Women and How They Are Changing the World Helen Fisher.

Hmm...  this book is meant to be about womens increasingly active role in the economic and job marketplace. Unfortunately she seems to concentrate on the differences between men and women from an extremely traditional and often old-fashioned viewpoint. The effect of society and family socialisation on womens behaviour is largely ignored in favour of a 'biological' point of view of why us chicks act how we do. All conclusions are based on the premise that women and men think in different ways. Well written, of course, but I didn't agree with her conclusions and found her basic ideas too simplistic.

Books recommended by Ele

Science Fiction:

Lise Leroux - One hand clapping ... This is one of the weirdest love stories I've ever read it's about a woman who falls in love with a hand she has implanted on her body.

Nancy Kress - Beggars Trilogy ...Beggars in Spain, Beggars and Choosers and Beggars Ride. Excellent storytelling, excellent female characters, I love these books.

Joe Haldeman - Worlds Trilogy...Another really good trilogy (Worlds,Worlds Apart, Worlds Enough and Time). It's so well imagined and described that for me the scenes out these books really stick in your mind long after you have read them. The Long Habit of Living is another Haldeman book I like.

Stephen Bury - Interface... This is more political thriller than SF, and I don't usually like that sort of thing but I really couldn't put this book down. It's completely gripping.

Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash...Fast paced and funny and if you've got eco worries Zodiac is definitely worth reading too.

Non Science Fiction;

Marele Day - Lambs of God... I bought this cos I liked the front cover, I wasn't really sure if I would like a book about nuns but I think it's excellent cos it's so weird and sensual and if you get absorbed pretty difficult to put down.

Karin Cook- What Girls Learn. This to me brings back memories of being a teenager and any book that makes me cry has to be worth a mention.