This International Women’s Day, we’ve put together a list of audiobooks that celebrate the achievements of incredible women throughout history. From taking charge of women’s healthcare systems to becoming a spy in World War II, these women have reshaped history in their fight for equality.
Read on for a few of the top titles or click here to see the full list.
Vanguard by Martha S. Jones, narrated by Mela Lee
Publisher Summary:
In Vanguard, acclaimed historian Martha S. Jones offers a new history of African American women’s political lives in America. She recounts how they defied both racism and sexism to fight for the ballot, and how they wielded political power to secure the equality and dignity of all persons.
From the earliest days of the republic to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and beyond, Jones excavates the lives and work of black women — Maria Stewart, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Fannie Lou Hamer, and more — who were the vanguard of women’s rights, calling on America to realize its best ideals.
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Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbell, narrated by Jean Ann Douglass
Publisher Summary:
For fans of Hidden Figures and Radium Girls comes the remarkable story of three Victorian women who broke down barriers in the medical field to become the first women doctors, revolutionizing the way women receive health care.
Motivated by personal loss and frustration over inadequate medical care, Elizabeth Blackwell, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Sophia Jex-Blake fought for a woman’s place in the male-dominated medical field. For the first time ever, Women in White Coats tells the complete history of these three pioneering women who, despite countless obstacles, earned medical degrees and paved the way for other women to do the same.
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The Princess Spy by Larry Loftis, narrated by Kate Reading
Publisher Summary:
As the US enters the Second World War, a young college graduate by the name of Aline Griffith is desperate to aid in the war effort, but no one is interested in a bright-eyed young woman whose only career experience is modeling clothes.
With a code name and expert training under her belt, Aline is sent to Spain to be a coder but is soon given the additional assignment of infiltrating the upper echelons of society, mingling with high-ranking officials, diplomats, and titled Europeans, any of whom could be an enemy agent. Against this glamorous backdrop of galas and dinner parties, she recruits sub-agents and engages in deep-cover espionage to counter Nazi tactics in Madrid.
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With Her Fist Raised by Laura L. Lovett, narrated by Sandra Sims
Publisher Summary:
Dorothy Pitman Hughes was a transformative community organizer in New York City in the 1970s who shared the stage with Gloria Steinem for 5 years, captivating audiences around the country. After leaving rural Georgia in the 1950s, she moved to New York, determined to fight for civil rights and equality.
Historian Laura L. Lovett traces Hughes’s journey as she became a powerhouse activist, responding to the needs of her community and building a platform for its empowerment.
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The Lady From the Black Lagoon by Mallory O’Meara, narrated by Mallory O’Meara
Publisher Summary:
The Lady from the Black Lagoon uncovers the life and work of Milicent Patrick—one of Disney’s first female animators and the only woman in history to create one of Hollywood’s classic movie monsters.
A true-life detective story and a celebration of a forgotten feminist trailblazer, Mallory O’Meara’s The Lady from the Black Lagoon establishes Patrick in her rightful place in film history while calling out a Hollywood culture where little has changed since.
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A Black Women’s History of the United States by Kali Nicole Gross and Daina Ramey Berry, narrated by Janina Edwards
Publisher Summary:
A Black Women’s History of the United States reaches far beyond a single narrative to showcase Black women’s lives in all their fraught complexities. Berry and Gross prioritize many voices: enslaved women, freedwomen, religious leaders, artists, queer women, activists, and women who lived outside the law.
The result is a starting point for exploring Black women’s history and a testament to the beauty, richness, rhythm, tragedy, heartbreak, rage, and enduring love that abounds in the spirit of Black women in communities throughout the nation.
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The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates, narrated by Melinda Gates
Publisher Summary:
For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift society up, you need to stop keeping women down.
Writing with emotion, candor, and grace, Melinda introduces us to remarkable women and shows the power of connecting with one another.
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