The Encyclopedia of Amazons: Women Warriors from Antiquity to the Modern Era [Hardcover]

Jessica Amanda Salmonson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazons, gladiators, martial nuns, maenads, warrior queens, pirates, guerrillas, furies, and avenging goddesses -- the fighting women who populate the pages of this fabulous encyclopedia marched boldly through the ages armed with swords, axes, bows, and most importantly, their uniquely feminine fortitude.

Here is the first work to gather and detail these tales of womanly valor and derring-do. Drawing from a cross-cultural perspective, the book ranges through mythology, religion, history, and literature, from ancient to modern times. Contains more than 1,000 entries!

From Library Journal

While the words "amazon" and "women warriors" conjure up images of 1950s B-movies, this is an excellent piece of scholarly detective work. Salmonson defines the term "amazon" through Greek mythology and includes only those women who actually participate in direct combat. She excludes from the encyclopedia women who were spies, assassins, famous murderesses or criminals, orators, or hunters. Salmonson provides biographical information on female figures from all time periods, including antiquity, the Middle Ages, and World War II, and from many different parts of the world, including Japan, Asia, Africa, Western Europe, and the United States. Included are real individuals, mythological and fictional characters, goddesses, and archetypes. Based upon primary and secondary works listed in the bibliography, this volume offers information not found in other reference sources and is recommended for all medium-to-large public, university, and college libraries.
- Jenny Presnell, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, Ohio
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 290 pages
• Publisher: Universal Sales & Marketing; 1st edition (July 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557784205
• ISBN-13: 978-1557784209
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,374,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warning: This Book Can Rearrange Your World View, May 27, 1998

By 

Holly Ingraham "ailurophile" (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Amazons, The (Paperback)

Discounting the entries for fictional woman warriors or even a few misplaced aggressive sorceresses, after reading through this you will realise that women have never acquiesced entirely to being penned inside the role of nurturer and care-giver. If anything, in ancient days they may have been just as aggressive and destructive as men, because they were just as powerful. Certainly, this book made me realise that at any time in history, in almost any culture, there are women who take up arms, whether in wars or barfights, and if a minority, they are not a myth or "a twisted male fantasy." This would have been stronger as a history, or at least an encyclopedia arranged by dates rather than alphabet (it has been done). It would benefit from the addition of an index by time and place. It's excellent to carry with you to browse in traffic jams, waiting rooms, and other bits of time, since you can read it one or two articles at a time.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great read but some historical flaws, December 3, 1999

By 

The Werewolf (Black Forest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Amazons, The (Paperback)

As a student of medieval history, I found the book to be valuable in acquainting me with histories of women warriors in early European history. However, I can't forgive Ms. Salmonson for her gross error in the death of Aethelflaed, warrior daughter of Alfred the Great. While Aethelflaed did help her brother drive the Vikings out of England, she most certainly didn't die in combat as alleged by the author. Please read the excellent biograghy, "The Lady Who Fought the Vikings," by Don Stansbury. She did lead her forces but was more known as a peace and treaty maker, and she never fought in combat.

I feel that Ms. Salmonson may have taken literary license with other historical figures so please investigate further any women warriors that interest you. I have my own copy of this book but believe it may have other flaws. Nevertheless, it still is an excellent compendium of women warriors and makes great reading for historians and lovers of fantasy fiction.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Herstory kicks down the door!, August 20, 2003

By 

Duke Marine (Newbury Park, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Amazons: Women Warriors from Antiquity to the Modern Era (Hardcover)

A true unveiling of the Herstory that needs to be told! This book is really an encyclopedia with entry upon entry of strong, brave, and heroic women! The author uses various sources, historical and mythological to tell the stories of these women who you'll never hear about in any other accounting of history! A pretty exhaustive source for heroines I only wish she could write an entire book about every one of the entries!!!