With the aid of women's studies professors, Deborah G. Felder has ranked social reformers, women's rights activists, scientists, educators, labour leaders, artists, performers and sports figures - women who have inspired, inflamed, changed attitudes, and changed the world. Many have passed into history as the first, the finest, or the most prominent women in their fields. Others are less known but equally significant achievers, receiving the recognition they deserve. Biographical essays detail struggles and triumphs, lives and accomplishments.