Conversations With Uncommon Women: Insights From Women Who've Risen Above Life's Challenges to Achieve Extraordinary Success [Hardcover]

Ellie Wymard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 23, 1999

Women have come a long way -- most of it in the last 75 years. But let's face it, it's still a world where men hold the vast majority of leadership positions -- in politics, business, the legal system, the arts, and most other fields. Not surprisingly, in this male-dominated world, female role models often don't receive the attention they deserve.

Conversations With Uncommon Women is here to change that. This much-needed book celebrates the success of 100 outstanding women in a variety of professions -- women who rose to their current heights from decidedly different backgrounds, having overcome myriad personal challenges. Based on candid interviews with 100 women of achievement, it provides resounding inspiration and guidance for all women who are hungry for real-world role models.

One of the women found here transformed a 60-seat steak house into an $80-million franchise with more than 44 restaurants worldwide. Another created a multi-million dollar business from a quilt! Yet another is the governor of New Jersey. But whatever their positions or accomplishments, all these women have one thing in common -- they all want to support other women, and to offer practical guidance and realistic examples for those coming behind them who want to accomplish more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ellie Wymard (Pittsburgh, PA) is a professor of English at Carlow College, where she developed one of the first Women's Studies curricula in the country. She speaks frequently before professional groups and is the producer of "Women on Women," a popular lecture series featuring such prominent women as Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrisson, and Jane Brody. Her previous books include Divorced Women, New Lives and Men on Divorce.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; 1 Ed edition (November 23, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814405207
• ISBN-13: 978-0814405208
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,628,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Pleasure of Their Company, January 20, 2000

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Conversations With Uncommon Women: Insights From Women Who've Risen Above Life's Challenges to Achieve Extraordinary Success (Hardcover)

Conversations with Uncommon Women

"You are cordially invited to meet one hundred women of achievement who will tell you how they got where they are today." Thus does Wymard begin her Introduction to an uncommonly thoughtful, uncommonly well-written book. The reader is provided with an abundance of insights from women who have "risen above life's challenges to achieve extraordinary success."

Wymard has a two-fold strategy: to present within each of six chapters the experiences and insights of women involved in a specific category (politics, policy, law, journalism, business, and arts management); also, to correlate those experiences and insights which are common to all of the categories. She succeeds brilliantly.

Who will derive the greatest benefit from this book? First, younger women who are encountering various barriers which are gender-specific. (These barriers may be illegal but we all know that they remain.) When my daughter entered the business world after graduating from college, I wish I could have presented this book to her and said "Here is an opportunity to eavesdrop on Ellie Wymard's conversations with 100 different successful women. Listen very carefully. You'll learn a great deal from what they have to say about themselves and their careers."

Also, I think this book will be of great value to other women, well into a career, who have become discouraged by these same barriers. Perhaps motivation must come from within but I know from personal experience that others can inspire us. After reading this book, many women professionals will be inspired (in Tennyson's words) "to strive, to seek, to find...and not to yield."

Finally, I highly recommend this book to other men who (a) share my contempt for the aforementioned barriers and are determined to eliminate them completely, and/or (b) who are eager to learn as much as they can from others who have "risen above life's challenges to achieve extraordinary success."

Thank you, Ellie Wymard, for the pleasure of such uncommon company.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Filled with wisdom and flows easily - a great read!, November 6, 1999

By 

Elizabeth (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conversations With Uncommon Women: Insights From Women Who've Risen Above Life's Challenges to Achieve Extraordinary Success (Hardcover)

Ellie Wymard has compiled the stories of many diverse women of different backgrounds and accomplishments. Each woman has met and overcome challenges, and each story I read allowed me to obtain some wisdom of those who have gone before me. This book flowed very easily, and is appropriately named "conversations...". I felt as though I were listening in on old friends discussing their truly interesting lives with each other.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conversations with Uncommon Women, December 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Conversations With Uncommon Women: Insights From Women Who've Risen Above Life's Challenges to Achieve Extraordinary Success (Hardcover)

This is a splendidly organized book that contains a multitude of inspirational stories of admirable women. A great gift for the holidays!