Hypatia's Heritage: A History of Women in Science from Antiquity to the Late Nineteenth Century

The author has put together a comprehensive review of women, more or less lost from history, who participated in the sciences. The book is loosely structured around time periods, covering antiquity through the 18th century. The book contains many references and she clearly states her sources. Some of the more questionable (rabbinical tradition) were probably better left out. In any case, since she states the source, the reader can decide for herself.

If you are a woman with any interest at all in the sciences (mathematics and philosophy included), then please read this book. I expected a strongly feministic "the man is holding me down" revision of history. I found a well-balanced and well-documented account of the content and context of the science and scientific lives of women who history has forgotten. I am a 36 year old female scientist, who for the first time has found a source of inspirational female role models in this book. Look, things weren't so good in the past for women. But let's not remain in denial and let's not rewrite the past. Let's read even-handed historical accounts, such as the one presented in this book, and then let's make healthy, well-balanced decisions about how society should best move forward.