If someone asked you to name significant women from the pages of history, who could you list? Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, Sacagawea… who else? Sam Maggs is here to help you list of dozens of names with her new book Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History.

The title published by Quirk Books isn’t about shaming readers for not being aware of the multitude of ladies who have shaped our world for the better; it’s about education and awareness. The book is written in a tone that makes each woman’s story engaging. You won’t find monotonous encyclopedia-like entries here. Yes, the biographies are thorough and well-researched, but the tone is peppy and lady-empowering—as it frakking should be.

Wonder Women features women who have worked in the fields of science, medicine, espionage, innovation, and adventure. Maggs looked into the past and uncovered information on women who defied the confines of their cultures to do great things, who pursued education to help other women, and on and on. You’ll feel more and more inspired as you turn the pages, especially when you read Maggs’ interviews with women currently working in STEM careers.

You can certainly read Wonder Women from cover to cover, but its format also means you can pick it up and bounce around. Feel like reading about women in the spy game? Skip to that section and choose a name. Want to focus on women in medical science? Use the table of contents and jump to a spot. I was excited to learn about lady adventurers, so I started there and worked through the other bios in the book in a haphazard fashion that suited me just fine.

I admire Maggs for making Wonder Women both thorough and easy to digest. When it comes to historical material like this, presentation matters. I could be reading about the most fascinating, kick-ass person in the world, but if the text reads like my high school history books, I’m out. Maggs writes the descriptions of the women and their achievements in such a way that you’re inspired to take the ball and keep running. Go ahead, get out there and learn more about the women Maggs includes in the book and/or find your own wonder women.

Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History is on shelves on October 4. Will you be picking it up? Have you studied any wonder women you wish the world gave more recognition? Let me know in the comments.

Images: Quirk Books
This review was completed using a copy of Wonder Women provided by Quirk Books.