Women move mountains

Women move mountains

This magnificent new book by Pepita Sandwich covers the lives of fifteen women who moved mountains: explorers, astronauts, scientists, and climbers. Women who made their own journeys and paths, some traveled around the globe, some had to lie about their gender, and others crossed unknown lands. They climbed mountains, reached skies and stars to get to where they wanted, and if there wasn’t an already existing map, they helped to draw it.

In 1895, New York newspapers called attention to a woman who traveled the country pedaling. Annie “Londonderry” left her husband and children and left to take on, and win, a bet: to travel around the world by bicycle in exchange for five thousand dollars. But that challenge meant much more than just a physical and geographical feat: she was challenging her gender and the times, moving above the norms and expectations drawn up for women. And although the media was more interested in pointing out that she wore pants instead of skirts, Annie kept pedaling and overcoming what the world expected of her.

Among the women portrayed here we find Eva Dickson, the first woman to cross the Sahara by car; Valentina Tereshkova, the first who flew into space; and Mary Anning, known for her numerous findings of the Jurassic period. There are also explorers, scientists, climbers, but above all, each of them is an inspiring woman.