Review: When Women Ruled The World by Kara Cooney

Hey everyone!
Today, and I am excited to be sharing my review of When Women Ruled The World by Kara Cooney with you all.

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GoodReads Synopsis:

This riveting narrative explores the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs, from Hatshepsut to Cleopatra–women who ruled with real power–and shines a piercing light on our own perceptions of women in power today.

Female rulers are a rare phenomenon–but thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt, women reigned supreme. Regularly, repeatedly, and with impunity, queens like Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra controlled the totalitarian state as power-brokers and rulers. But throughout human history, women in positions of power were more often used as political pawns in a male-dominated society. What was so special about ancient Egypt that provided women this kind of access to the highest political office? What was it about these women that allowed them to transcend patriarchal obstacles? What did Egypt gain from its liberal reliance on female leadership, and could today’s world learn from its example?

Celebrated Egyptologist Kara Cooney delivers a fascinating tale of female power, exploring the reasons why it has seldom been allowed through the ages, and why we should care.

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My Review:

Ancient Egypt is an era of time that has fascinated me since I was a child. This time period has so many interesting aspects to it, and the queens are a particular point of interest to me, so I was so excited to read this.

With a separate section for each of the six Egyptian queens, When Women Ruled The World follows their full stories. Their rise, their fall, and the struggles they faced along the way. I already knew a little about each queen (some more than others), but this book taught me so much. Despite each queen’s story being unique, it was interesting to see how each of them seemed to take notes from those who came before her, to build on their achievements, and gain more power than her predecessors. These women were fierce, brave, and undeniably clever, doing whatever they had to to get to where they wanted to be.

A fantastic story of feminism in the Ancient Egyptian era, which gives an in depth look into the workings of Egyptian female rule, and the obstacles they had to overcome to get there. This book was everything I had hoped it would be. I highly recommend this to everyone, but especially to anyone with an interest in Ancient Egypt, feminism, or female power.

I give When Women Ruled The World a 5 star rating!

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