Books like The Mercury 13 by Martha Ackmann

In Tehran, Azar Nafisi secretly hires seven female students each week to read banned Western classics, revealing the personal and political struggles of women under Iran’s revolutionary regime.

Jennifer Worth, a young midwife in post‑war London, shares the intimate moments of childbirth and community in impoverished East End neighborhoods, revealing hope and resilience.

Blithely flinging aside the Victorian manners that kept her disapproving mother corseted, the New Woman of the 1920s puffed cigarettes, snuck gin, hiked her hemlines, danced the Charleston, and necked in roadsters. More important, she earned her own keep, controlled her own destiny, and secured liberties that modern women take for granted. Her newfound freedom heralded a radical change in American culture.Whisking us from the Alabama country club where Zelda Sayre first caught the eye of F. Scott Fitzgerald to Muncie, Indiana, where would-be flappers begged their mothers for silk stockings, to the Manhattan speakeasies where patrons partied till daybreak, historian Joshua Zeitz brings the era to exhilarating life. This is the story of America's first sexual revolution, its first merchants of cool, its first celebrities, and its most sparkling advertisement for the right to pursue happiness.The men and women who made the flapper were a diverse lot. There was Coco Chanel, the French orphan who redefined the feminine form and silhouette, helping to free women from the torturous corsets and crinolines that had served as tools of social control. Three thousand miles away, Lois Long, the daughter of a Connecticut clergyman, christened herself "Lipstick" and gave New Yorker readers a thrilling entree into Manhattan's extravagant Jazz Age nightlife.In California, where orange groves gave way to studio lots and fairytale mansions, three of America's first celebrities--Clara Bow, Colleen Moore, and Louise Brooks, Hollywood's great flapper triumvirate--fired the imaginations of millions of filmgoers.Dallas-born fashion artist Gordon Conway and Utah-born cartoonist John Held crafted magazine covers that captured the electricity of the social revolution sweeping the United States.Bruce Barton and Edward Bernays, pioneers of advertising and public relations, taught big business how to harness the dreams and anxieties of a newly industrial America--and a nation of consumers was born.Towering above all were Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, whose swift ascent and spectacular fall embodied the glamour and excess of the era that would come to an abrupt end on Black Tuesday, when the stock market collapsed and rendered the age of abundance and frivolity instantly obsolete.With its heady cocktail of storytelling and big ideas, Flapper is a dazzling look at the women who launched the first truly modern decade.From the Hardcover edition.

A compelling tale of one Muslim's journey from fundamentalism to returning to his roots, exploring the appeal of Islamic extremism to young Muslims in the West.

Socio‑researcher Sudhir Venkatesh infiltrates a Chicago crack‑dealing gang, documenting urban poverty and crime from within.

They had the right stuff. They defied the prejudices of the time. And they blazed a trail for generations of women to follow. What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape — any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale of thirteen women who proved that they were not only as tough as the toughest man but also brave enough to challenge the government. They were blocked by prejudice, jealousy, and the scrawled note of one of the most powerful men in Washington. But even though the Mercury 13 women did not make it into space, they did not lose, for their example empowered young women to take their place in the sky, piloting jets and commanding space capsules. ALMOST ASTRONAUTS is the story of thirteen true pioneers of the space age.

Beverly Lowry’s biography brings Harriet Tubman, the famed "Moses of Her People," to vivid life, detailing her journey from escaped slave to Underground Railroad organizer, nurse, and Civil War contributor.

An authoritative guide to women who mastered seduction and regained power over men, inspired by The New York Times reviewer's statement about the book being a 'road map to restoring feminine sexual power' with a 'glossy, steam-heated analysis' and 'smarts, imagination, courage, and killer charm'.

Richard Rodriguez’s memoir "Brown" examines the complex role of Hispanic identity in America’s history, exploring race, culture, and psychological dimensions of belonging across generations.

Isabella L. Bird chronicles her Himalayan journey on horseback, living with Tibetans for four months and detailing their rituals, villages, monasteries, and culture.