Soh Kam Yung reviewed Tough mothers by Jason Porath
On historical mothers who changed their cultures and societies.
3 stars
An entertaining read, highlighting women (who were mothers) doing things not expected by the culture or society of the time, resulting in change, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. Some mothers became rulers, others martyrs; some are mostly forgotten, while others are celebrated. But they all show the determination that only motherhood can sometimes provide.
As with his previous book, Rejected Princesses, a few pages are devoted to each of them, starting with his own illustration and followed by a write-up written by him. He tries to keep to the documented facts as much as possible but notes that history is written by the winning side: some women didn't end up winning, so the stories written about them may not be true and embellished to either praise them or (more often) to denigrate them.
Still, the book contains lots of interesting stories about women (who were mothers). …
An entertaining read, highlighting women (who were mothers) doing things not expected by the culture or society of the time, resulting in change, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. Some mothers became rulers, others martyrs; some are mostly forgotten, while others are celebrated. But they all show the determination that only motherhood can sometimes provide.
As with his previous book, Rejected Princesses, a few pages are devoted to each of them, starting with his own illustration and followed by a write-up written by him. He tries to keep to the documented facts as much as possible but notes that history is written by the winning side: some women didn't end up winning, so the stories written about them may not be true and embellished to either praise them or (more often) to denigrate them.
Still, the book contains lots of interesting stories about women (who were mothers). He prefaces each story with a key indicating the maturity and violence featured in each story so that you can avoid those if you wish.