About the Author

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION is the largest museum complex in the world. Smithsonian American Women is part of the The Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative which illuminates women's pivotal roles in building and sustaining our country. The book features objects from 16 Smithsonian museums and archives and text by 95 curators with expertise in a variety of fields.

Reviews

BOOKLIST
Smithsonian American Women is the rare reference book that is also unputdownable. Stemming from the American Women’s History Initiative and tied to the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, the volume is a demonstration of what there is to mine from the Smithsonian’s collections that reflects the lives of women. It covers women famous and obscure, historical and modern. Two-hundred-eighty artifacts, from Seneca women’s clothing to the pussy hat, are presented chronologically, most with explanatory essays by museum staffers or researchers. This is a well-put together, well-designed book, so stuffed with information that readers will be tempted to consume it, all at once or in chunks, rather than in the usual, hunt-and-peck way most reference books are read. Introductory essays, color photos and pictures, and
some data were not available for review. Nonetheless, the book's widespread and timely appeal encourages any public, school, or academic library to add it to an American history collections.
— Danise Hoover YA/C: An appealing resource that can act as a springboard for further research. DH