For centuries, women have not received the recognition they deserve from history. This guide from Britannica attempts to correct that situation with engrossing articles about 100 fascinating women. The book is arranged in chronological order beginning with Hatshepsut (15th century BCE) and ending with Diana, Princess of Wales (20th century). Women of all walks of life are included: political figures, authors, royalty, celebrities, social activists, and more. Length and depth of articles varies widely. Some are more detailed; for example, Jane Austen's entry of nine pages includes information about her life, an accounting of her novels, and an assessment of her work. Coco Chanel's biography is only two pages, just briefly mentioning her life and contributions. An extensive introduction provides a good overview of the coverage of outstanding women in this volume. The brief bibliography includes only books published since 2001, but provides a good beginning to further research. A table of contents, glossary, and index make the book easy to navigate. This volume is part of a series based on Encyclopaedia Britannica content; see also The 100 Most Influential Scientists of All Time, ed. by Kara Rogers (CH, Jul'10, 47-6210). Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; undergraduates researching influential women in world history. D. Seaman Baylor University

Gr 9 Up-This ambitious series corrals world history's major doers and thinkers whose work challenges and inspires people consistently, or incites change or reform on a large scale. People of many races and nationalities are represented. Careful wording bridges one chronologically arranged article to the next, enhancing the idea that one person's work builds on an earlier individual's accomplishments. The style of writing varies some from article to article. Some pieces are written in an accessible, straightforward style, while others are convoluted. Painters and Sculptors states, for example, that ".the complex culture of late Medicean Florence, which was simultaneously infused with the romantic sentiment of courtly love and with the humanist interest for Classical antiquity and its vanished artistic traditions, employed these mythological figures more fully and in more correctly antiquarian fashion." That aside, this series is a goldmine. A few black-and-white illustrations appear throughout. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Rosen has partnered with Britannica Educational Publishing to produce several series of what is called circulating reference. The title reviewed here is part of the Britannica Guide to the World's Most Influential People series. Other titles in the series are The 100 Most Influential Inventors of All Time, The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time, The 100 Most Influential Painters & Sculptors of the Renaissance, The 100 Most Influential Philosophers of All Time, The 100 Most Influential Scientists of All Time, The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time,and The 100 Most Influential Writers of All Time. The editors are Britannica contributors or editors. The intended audience is grades 9-12. The titles in the Britannica Guide to the World's Most Influential People series are arranged chronologically. For example, The 100 Most Influential Women of All Time begins with Hatshepsut and ends with Diana, Princess of Wales. Overall, the selections offer a good balance of gender, nationality, and ethnicity. Articles, a mix of new content and content drawn from Britannica's repository, generally range from two to five pages and are headed with date and place of birth and, where applicable, death. There are no article-specific bibliographies or references. Each volume concludes with a glossary, a brief further-reading list, and an index. Although not visually enticing, these volumes offer trustworthy information in convenient packages and would be useful in high-school and public libraries. Other series resulting from the Rosen-Britannica partnership include America at War, An Explorer's Guide to the Universe, Islamic History, Turning Points in History, and U. S. Government: The Separation of Powers, with more to come.--Quinn, Mary Ellen Copyright 2010 Booklist