Laws of the Bandit Queens: Words to Live by from 35 of Today's Most Revolutionary Women

This book was a gift from a friend who I truly admire and it is one of the most meaningful gifts I have ever recieved. Law of the Bandit Queens is one of those rare creations that not only was able to inspire me to try harder to acheive my goals, it also made me very proud to be a woman. It is a wonderful gift for all the women who have ever inspired you in your life. The book includes women from many walks of life. Ali Smith has chosen an incredible mix of women who each have something very different, yet equally as important to teach us all.

This is one of the most expressive collections of photos I've ever enjoyed! Ali Smith seems to really be able to communicate the intentions of these women through her images. I think she may be one of the most undernoticed photographers in New York City at the moment. You can really sink your teeth into the colors and textures of her work...Bravo!

I am sitting at a coffee shop and had to reluctantly tear myself away from Ali Smith"s LAws of BAndit Queens. At first I just opened the book and looked at the pictures. I felt a strange sense of reverence in front of the array of fiercely modern and independent women portrayed there. The pictures caught them in action .The photographs seemed to have captured the essence of each and every women . Nothing glamorous there. Just incredibly truthful. All the women seemed colorful to me, caught mid -sentence. Arrested between a defiant laugh and a provocative gesture. Some of them exuded a sense of radiant peace. Confidence. Clearly Ali Smith has no interest whatsoever in making her photography anything but honest. She captures a moment and that's that.It's not a platform to stardom or celebrity. Just her take in color on what makes a great woman worth looking at.Yet the photography is incredibly beautiful, something you might almost forget when looking at the book. Because the laws of the bandit queens will make you first and foremost think. About them. About yourself. About what it means to be a woman. Ali is so self effacing in her commentary that you might even forget she took the pictures and interviewd each woman. A nonobstrusive witness, Ali is noneteless the eye behind the lense, and the intelligent artist who is merely offering her unique take on the modern woman. By authoring the book, she too joins the legacy of all the bandit queens. And mostly establishes herself as a great woman photographer.

This book makes me want to laugh, cry, scream, jump up and down...all at once. I am a Bandit Queen...I am the mother of a Bandit Queen. This book speaks to me...resonates through my core. It's the PERFECT gift to give my 'Graduating from High School' daughter. The 'Laws' listed in this book summarize everything I've been trying to teach my daughters since the day they were born. The photographs are beautiful and capture the essence of these revolutionary women. I want to buy a copy for every woman I know. Don't miss this book...

Ali's photography is amazing as is the stories behind each woman. I have bought myself a copy and several more for all of my girlfriends. I hope to see more stuff from Ali in the near future. Keep up the great and inspiring work! Here's to the artist and bandit queen in all of us!