Details the lives of 260 women of historical importance arranged by their contributions to religion, science, politics, journalism, the performing arts, education, the visual arts, and women's rights. A specialist in women's history, Kuhlman (western civilization, Washington State Univ.) offers general readers profiles of extraordinary women throughout human history. The entries themselves are alphabetical, but within topical sections that are also alphabetical. Among them are adventurers and athletes, performers, political activists, science and health practitioners, and writers. Appendices list entries by country and century; names are included in the index. This single volume encyclopedia of important women throughout history and from all parts of the world groups lively, engrossing biographies, according to their subjects' major claims to fame. Chapters on women adventurers and athletes (Mata Hari, Babe Didrikson), religious figures (Hildegard von Bingen, Mirabai), scientists (Agnodike, Rosalind Franklin), artists (Artemisia Gentileschi, Maya Lin), journalists (Nellie Bly, Elizabeth Mallet), fashion figures (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Madame de Pompadour), and more focus readers' attention on the women themselves and their accomplishments. The entries range deep into their subjects' lives, linking their formative experiences with their later achievements. The biographies' depth and detail set the book apart from its competitors.--Publisher description.