Draws on a range of disciplines in an introduction to ancient-world science, mechanical engineering, and superstitions, from Aristotle's political views to Archimedes's "Eureka" moment and the Egyptian practice of embalming.

Recounts the stories of bold, notorious, or successful women in such early cultures as ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, and China.

"In this book of astonishing true tales of love and sex in long-ago Greece, Rome, and other cultures around the Mediterranean, Vicki Léon opens the doors to shadowy rooms and parts the curtains of decorum. Léon goes far beyond what we think we know about sex in ancient times, taking readers on a randy tour of aphrodisiacs and anti-aphrodisiacs, contraception, nymphomania, bisexuality, cross-dressing, and gender-bending. She explains citizens' fear...

Biographies of some outspoken and influential women who lived in Europe, Africa, and the Far East during the Middle Ages.

A collection of biographical sketches on fifteen women of the Renaissance who forged their own paths, made their own rules, and in a way changed the world.