Review of '17 Women Who Shook the World' by Preethi Burkholder

Description

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to achieve success effortlessly while others just don’t? In this motivational and historical book, discover how you, too, can master the inner abilities to become successful. Becoming informed about the thinking and behavioral patterns of 17 of modern history’s most amazing women will drive you, too, to take action to attract success into your life. Learn  a dynamic and attainable program for changing your inner model of achievement with a formula that supports your happiness. Read about accomplished women such as Shirley Chisholm, Esther Morris, Wilman Rudolph, Aung San Suu Kyi, Valentina Tereshkova, Harriet Tubman, Madam C.J. Walker, Meryl Streep, and Victoria Woodhull. Like the 17 women showcased here, build your own Global Positioning System (GPS) for success.

 Preethi Burkholder inspires women, men, and children to achieve their dreams, find success, and lead meaningful lives. Originally from Sri Lanka, she does humanitarian work there to improve the lives of underprivileged women and children.

**My thoughts**

When I agreed to review this book, I was under the impression that it was a book for kids, as it was listed under children's nonfiction. I was thrown off when I started reading it. The beginning is more of a self-help guide to empowering women. Preethi Burkholder has a list of 24 steps to "program into your internal GPS." All of these are great ideas to build a woman toward success. And most children will not understand this "program" as it is written.
 
The next part of the book gets into the history of women in society over the past few centuries. It shows the evolution of women's rights, ending with an argument for why a woman should be in the White House.

The third part of the book focuses on the biographies of women who were movers and shakers in their time. Some of them are expected to be on the list, such as Susan B. Anthony, who opens the section, and Amelia Earhart. Others are more contemporary and not ones I would have necessarily thought of, such as Suze Orman and Meryl Streep. Still others, such as Aung San Suu Kyi, help to represent the whole world.

The biographies in and of themselves are interesting. I was surprised that not all of them had an accompanying photograph. I appreciated the emphasis on certain quotes and the summary of each woman's specific strides made for women. This area felt more like it was written for the younger generation. It is definitely very researched. I just think it would have done better being separated into different works, or with a better wrap-around section.

I can understand what the author was trying to do with her book, but it felt more like I was reading three separate books put under one cover. The first part definitely felt more like it was meant for the adult or late teen audience. The second and third parts were more like a history section that could possibly appeal to middle school and up.

I received an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Buy links: Amazon \ Barnes & Noble