Women Who Changed America

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published May 29, 2008 at 8:54 AM PDT

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

Have you ever wondered what the paper bag, the Underground Railroad, and Kevlar have in common? They were all invented, founded, or championed by an American woman. In the book Her Story: A Timeline

Tom Fudge: History is past and some people say it can't be rewritten. But, of course, it is very often rewritten. Changes in the way we see our history reflects today's values and opinions about what really mattered in our past. One school of revisionist history is written by feminists, who believe conventional history has glossed over the accomplishments of women. You've probably heard the old punning joke that male dominated history is his-story. We should tell her-story too.

Well, Her Story is the name of a new book about American female history, written by Charlotte Waisman and Jill Tietjen. And if you think this is a dense academic tome, you'd be way off the mark. It is a heavily illustrated book whose pages display a chronology of American history, featuring photos or paintings of accomplished women. The pictures are accompanied by a short description of who the woman was and what she did.

Become a KPBS sponsor

Guest

Jill Tietjen , author, speaker and electrical engineer. Her latest book is called Her Story: A Timeline of Women Who Changed America .