Review by Booklist Review
The land of the Amazons has been shrouded in mystery for thousands of years. Who were these women, rumored to live in a land with no men, who so terrorized the imaginations of the ancients? In this exceptional book, Man uncovers the hidden history of women warriors, citing evidence of skilled horsewomen from tribes in the grasslands of central Asia that shows there's more to the Amazon legend than myth alone. Crucially, he outlines why the tales of Amazons were so important to the Greeks, and sets the record straight when it comes to the more outlandish accounts (no, they did not cut off their breasts so they could shoot better from a bow). His book offers a fascinating, rich look at real-life Amazons and warrior women throughout history, from the time of the Greeks to the creation of Wonder Woman, ranging from Asia to Africa to America. Man is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide, and he's not afraid to have a little fun at the ancients' expense while still maintaining scholarly standards.--Thoreson, Bridget Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this work, inspired by the superhero Wonder Woman, historian and travel writer Man (Saladin) delves into the rich historical foundations undergirding the myth of the Amazons. The result is a quirky if uneven book. Man wonders, "What on earth was so appealing about the Amazons that Greeks should have been obsessed by them?" Why has that obsession endured to this day? To answer, Man explores fashion, symbolism, and the factual history of the Amazons. In the first part of the book, he recounts archeological excavations with the zeal of a field researcher, discussing the discovery of remains of warrior women from Scythia in the late 19th century and other significant finds that followed in the 20th century. Man then shows how the Amazon myth seeped into the art, literature, and popular culture of the Greeks and subsequent Western societies over hundreds of years. The chapters on female warriors in West Africa and female Soviet pilots in WWII are presented as examples of Amazonian symbolism, though exactly how they fit isn't explained. After a brief history of Wonder Woman, Man concludes with an account of an online search for modern Amazons, discovering the revolutionary Kurdish Women's Defense Units in Rojava, Syria. Man's breezy style is engaging, but it's no substitute for a deeper engagement with the subject. Illus. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Man (Saladin: The Life, The Legend and the Islamic Empire, 2015, etc.) debunks the ancient myths and legendary nonsense surrounding a race of women warriors.The so-called Amazons left no pottery or jewelry and certainly no settlement that could be excavated. However, there are tombs yielding immense treasures and information, particularly in Tuva, now a semi-autonomous region of Russian. This was the heartland of the Scythians, the people most likely to have produced the Amazons. The region boasts a wide assortment of burial mounds, and the kurgans, or tombs, are evidence of the violent lives lived by the womenand the menover some 1,500 years (roughly 1000 B.C.E. to 500 C.E.). There absolutely were women warriors who rode horses and fought like men, but the author smoothly and efficiently debunks the many myths associated with theme.g., the killing of male children or the removal of a girl's right breast to facilitate the shooting of a bow. It was mainly the Greeks who proliferated the myths about this fierce race of women; in fact, they were obsessed with them. It was a fashion in art to follow mythology, and the Amazons served as a cautionary tale, the symbol of a danger to family and state. Add in xenophobia, and they were the ultimate threat. As the Greeks saw it, it took real heroes, like Achilles, and help from the gods to defeat these warriors, adding to Greek glory. Due to Greek influence, the Amazons were lodged in Europe's consciousness, advanced by exploration in the new world of South America (a tribe just over the next mountain), and set in place by novels, Wonder Woman, and other elements of pop culture. "Wonder Woman is even more Amazonian that the Amazons of Greek legend," writes the author. "[She] is not about to be defeated or bedded, even by superheroes."A great historical resource about a mysterious people that also shows how women, through the ages, have gathered strength from each other and continue to do so today. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
