Are women really better at wielding power? Twenty essential profiles of female leaders from around the world.

All over the world, in every era, women have been kept at arm's length from seats of power. And yet a few exceptional leaders have enriched the history of politics. Under the editorship of Anne Fulda, historians and journalists recount the lives of these exceptional exceptions, not only painting a portrait of their public politics and private selves, but also, and perhaps most importantly, probing for the first time how these women wielded power on a daily basis and during the major crises they often so masterfully handled. An unprecedented work that demolishes, once and for all, the myth that men are predisposed to managing public affairs.