“Toler blows past all expectations with this thoroughly delightful, personable, and crucially important history of women warriors. From the start she makes it clear that this will not be the sort of heroic hagiography that many collective biographies of women (especially those aimed in any way at teen readers) often become. Indeed, the women she writes about were not always heroic, and some were downright bloodthirsty and terrible, but there is no doubt that every single one of them was a warrior. Striking a blow against male historians who lazily dismiss female soldiers as “insignificant exceptions,” Toler sets out to uncover just how common women warriors were in history. Cutting a broad swath across continents and conflicts, she provides one story after another of women who fought hard for their people, their tribes, and their countries. Her captivating writing style, which is marked by disarmingly cheeky footnotes, makes this trip through so much forgotten history an exceedingly pleasurable reading experience, and her subjects, from the famous (Joan of Arc) to the criminally overlooked (Buffalo Calf Road Woman, who likely killed Custer) are a treat to learn about. An absolute research gem, Women Warriors is a historian’s roar all libraries should welcome.”
—Booklist

“Pamela Toler’s writing never fails to delight me. In Women Warriors, she is like that best friend who is just way smarter than you, whose witty and engaging explanations help you see the past in a brand-new light. Toler takes you on a whirlwind tour through history and around the world, sharing stories about the hidden history of women who have led in military battle, elucidating the reasons why women’s long history in combat has often been hidden. Toler is a first-rate scholar who truly knows her stuff, and yet she imparts her wisdom with a light and engaging touch.”
—Elizabeth Letts, author of the New York Times bestseller The Perfect Horse

"In Women Warriors: An Unexpected History, self-described 'academic renegade' Pamela D. Toler has crafted a smart and highly entertaining chronicle of female fighters. Working across centuries and continents, Toler introduces readers to a host of colorful, courageous women who proved themselves as formidable foes on the battlefield, outwitting and overpowering their male adversaries along the way. From Boudica, who led a rebellion against the Roman Empire, to Maria Bochkareva, who commanded Russia's first all-female battalion during World War II, we meet countless forgotten sister soldiers who acted with valor and verve.  Toler may call this history unexpected,  but readers will consider it a necessary and most welcome addition to the current literature about women and war."
—Paige Bowers, author of The General's Niece: The Little-Known de Gaulle Who Fought to Free Occupied France

“Pamela Toler’s exhilarating accounts of so many women who went to war, around the world, from antiquity to the present, and for so many different reasons, finally puts to rest the tired old arguments that only men are fit for combat.”
—Adrienne Mayor, author of The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World

“Lucid and lively, Pamela Toler’s delightfully complex history of women’s presence on the battlefield debunks the myth that women have not been and therefore cannot be warriors. It is a welcome contribution to the growing body of work that seeks to bring women out of the shadows of history, in this case the particularly male world of military history.”
—Anne Boyd Rioux, author of Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters

This entertaining and informative history of women warriors briskly covers huge swathes of time and place, arguing for the significance of a phenomenon as old as warfare itself.”
—Julia Kastner (librarian), Shelf Awareness