Informative? Absolutely!
Engaging, vivid writing? Undoubtedly!
However, the writer's tone was simply unacceptable and her errors are many. How can you place Alexander the Great in the same sentence as Napoleon and Hitler? 50% of your credibility has been lost right there and then. Alexander may have been a 'megalomaniac' for the writer but who are you? A nobody-knows-your name- ''author''.

Idiotic, uniformed feminism? Oh, yes, please!

We are reminded of the writer's ego every other sentence. We are told that Tacitus did not approve of women leaders 20 times as if we are stupid. We 'learn' that Ragnar Lothbrok was the father of Halfdan the Black. Excuse me? Do you know of a certain king named Gudrød the Hunter? HE was Halfdan's father.

I don't mean to burst the lovely bubble you have obviously created, but the Romas 'borrowed' the Greek gods to a percentage of 90%. The Etruscan pantheon was Italy's 'initial' religion. The Roman pantheon is not 'equated' to the Greek one. It is the result of a very sophisticated and effective copy-paste.

Are you ACTUALLY a historian?

I doubt it.

War has always been thought to be solely men's business but in mythology, legend and reality, many women fought in combat, as well as organised and commanded battles.The role that women have played in wartime throughout History is something that cannot be understated because it was impactful and influential.Despite facing significant societal and cultural barriers, many women have made remarkable contributions to their countries during war.
A war god or goddess in mythology is associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in polytheistic religions.In Africa,Europe,Asia,Oceania and the America,there are plenty of renowned women warriors.War goddesses Anat,Bast,Neith,Menhit,Pakhet,Kara Māte,Junda,Zorya Utrennyaya,Argrona,Alaisiagae,Andarta,Andraste,
Anann,Badb,Catubodua,Macha,The Morrigan,Nemain,Baduhenna,Sandraudiga,Freyja,Valkyries,Athena,Aphrodite Areia,Eris,Hera in the Iliad,Bellona,Nerio,Juno,Victoria,Menrva,Lieu Hanh,Nirrti,Parvati and her forms of Durga and Kali,Panthoibi,Korravai,Anahit,Astarte,Tanit,Shaushka,Inanna,Pele,Qamaits etc.
In folklore,however, to be considered a warrior, the woman in question must have belonged to some sort of military, be it recognised, like an organized army, or unrecognized, like revolutionaries,such as Joan of Arc, Boudicca,Blenda, pirates and seafarers such as Anne Bonny and Mary Read,Ching Shih,Grainne O'Malley,Jeanne de Clisson,Rachel Wall,Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba,Dahomey Amazons,Kahina,Yennenga,Nefertiti,Sekhmet,Cleopatra VII,Aqualtune,Arawelo,Gudit,Colestah,Lozen,Iara,Frances Clayton,Sarah Pritchard,Harriet Tubman,Calamity Jane,Deborah Sampson,Molly Pitchers, La Adelita etc.
In post-classical warfare, women were active in direct warfare, such as warriors, spies, and women who actively led armies such as Matilda of Tuscany,Florine of Burgundy,Rudrama Devi,Joan I of Navarre,Isabella of France,Jadwiga of Poland,Margaret of Anjou,Jeanne Hachette,Caterina Sforza,Adela of Hamaland,Akkadevi,Eleanor of Aquitaine,Maud de Braose,Magistra Hersend,Ats Bonninga,Margareta of Celje,Pomellina Fregoso,Brita Tott,Mercadera,Razia Sultana,Yesui,Hangaku Gozen etc.

Whilst extensively researched, the first part of the book is mainly on the earliest aspects of women and war which tend to be more mythological and refer to goddesses or legendary women. Having said that, the use of mythological references sets the cultural stage for an acceptance of the role of women in warfare, showing that ancient cultures were "... quite adept at envisioning women as warriors ..." - I would hesitate to say,even more so than in our own modern times.

Jones-Bley then discusses archaeological evidence and a more modern re-assessment of both ancient graves and grave goods, before launching into the historical sphere from the classical ancient world to the late 15th century. Jones-Bley concludes that whilst "... power was a factor in women's fighting, women, in general, have more often fought in defence ..." - usually of their own rights or those of their families and children - or husbands!

Points off for repeating a very basic research error when dealing with Eleanor of Aquitaine on Crusade (unfortunately, this author is not alone in this as I have found this same error repeated in other tomes - a little due diligence next time rather than repeating the same old tropes).

This book is a wonderfully comprehensive women-in-warfare-epedia, reading as interestingly, as an old fashioned type of encyclopedia. Therefore it will be useful for those carrying out further academic research in this area, with the proviso of the book in the main, being western "civilisation" centric. Also the book lacks any societal analysis on why there were not more women warriors or what types of circumstances allowed women to be exceptions to the rules of the times.

Thanks NetGalley for the reading arc.

Dr. Karlene Jones-Bley certainly doesn’t start slowly. Her familiarity with writing for academic audiences shows through in the introduction to Women and Warfare in the Ancient World. This book certainly isn’t for the casual reader, but for more serious readers of history and mythology, it is a wonderful survey of the relationship between women and warfare.

Jones-Bley begins by talking about the Near Eastern goddesses who are associated with war, stretching all the way back in time to Akkadian Inanna-Ishtar and the Ugartic war goddesses Anat and Astarte. These goddesses and their stories serve as a backdrop for Jones-Bley to discuss the later deities from Indo-European cultures. In this way, Jones-Bley touches on many cultures in short succession: Hittite, Iranian, Greek, Armenian, Roman, Celtic, Brittonic, Germanic, Slavic, and Indic.

Jones-Bley has written a wonderful monograph on the study of war and defensive goddesses, women from myth and legend. The prose may be too dense for a casual reader or to be called popular history, but for those who have a deeper interest or greater experience, the book is a wonderful resource with an incredible number of citations and footnotes to guide the reader to more information.

What a fun and educational read!

Using ancient poetry, archaeological evidence, and folktales, dozens of Indo-European war goddesses are explained to the best of factual evidence.
My initial takeaway:
No wonder female gods were replaced by male deities; if women were instilled with their Ancient World skills and powers today, earth would be a radically different place. And some of these women were arguably historical figures.
The similarities and differences of each cultural goddess is examined.
The ancient goddesses generally were “virginal” by the old definition of virgin—-quite the surprising definition in many cultures. Depicted in art and literature wearing armor, carrying battle axes, and aggressive demeanor, it was good to have a goddess on your side.
The Near East goddesses were particularly aggressive, and European goddesses had some quirky battle skills. Using trickery, gruesome war mutilations and politically motivated sex, the goddesses myths make for fun historical reading.
No wonder warrior women, human or mythical, have been consigned to oblivion (except possibly for Helen of Troy, Amazons, Hatshepsut, Elizabeth I, to name but a few). This nonfiction book also dispels some myths and supports others.
Though useful for that age, their stories are awesome to me today. Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and Pen and Sword Limited for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Women and Warfare in the Ancient World is a vast expanse of knowledge put together in a well researched and chronologically catergorised book which was incredibly fascinating.

As a general reader it took me a little while to get through this piece of work but as I have a love of history and Greek Mythology this was a no brainer to request.

The author Karlene Jones-Bley has crafted an extraordinary insight into the cultural aspects of women and their participation in Warfare. From well known Greeks and Romans to lesser known Celts and Indo-European Goddesses this book was full of inciteful information, loads of historical references and contributions from scholars.

I loved this book and will definitely be putting it on my bookshelf.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting my wish for this ARC.

The extensive research that went into this collection is very evident. Learning about the various cultures, myths, and historical details of women and war was extremely informative. There were several that I was previously unfamiliar with and greatly enjoyed learning more. I may even do some more digging to learn more about some of these women. Great reference book!

What a wonderful book, it was interesting and immediately engaging. I loved reading it and learning about theses women and their storys.

I found this book to be a fantastic starter for understanding where women and female figures appear in Mythology, legend and the historical record.

I was impressed at the scope looked at in this book, it went beyond the common known figures like Athena and Greek mythology, but looked at feminine divine beings and real people from around the world. I particularly liked learning about Near Eastern goddesses. It was interesting to learn about corresponding iconographies (birds, horses, water ect.) and the overlap of figures.

When reading about real women from history, I was torn. For those who were new to me, I found the length of entries were well sized and informative, but for those I knew more about, particularly my pharaonic Egyptians (Ahhotep and Hatshepsut) frustratingly brief and recount like in nature. The book is incredibly well researched and successfully weaves a variety of ancient evidence and modern commentary from experts throughout the text.

I really enjoyed reading Women and Warfare in the Ancient World and think it is a great starting point for any young historians, particularly those with interest in feminine figures and experiences in the scope of warfare, which feminine experiences are often left out of. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Pen & Sword who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

As a self confessed history and mythology lover, I was really looking forward to reading this book.

The comparison between the various war goddesses around the world was interesting and I did actually educate myself on some of the more obscure goddesses. However, I was really hoping for more on the non-mythological females contribution to defence of their homes, lands and culture.

I fully accept that many cultures female contributions for warfare and defence was tied to caring and defending their homes and lands when the menfolk were off at war. But I would have loved to have read more about any new findings about actual female warriors, possibly misgendered previously.

The examples given tended to be very heavily based in Europe and the Middle East. I would have loved to see more from examples from China, the Far East, Maori and Samoan cultures - many of which I'm sure have at least one if not many warrior goddesses.

There was some discussion of historical females from the Roman to the medieval and renaissance period but It would have been great to see more of these figures fleshed out a bit more. I know that sometimes this is a challenge as women very rarely got to have a voice or leave records of their achievements but I feel this would really have balanced out the book.

A worthy read for those with a burgeoning interest in mythology but perhaps not suitable for those of us with a more advanced knowledge of the subject.

I devoured this book. I love reading history, especially about women. This was a gem to read about forgotten women and how they dealt with war in the past. It's a lot of information, but if you loved books like Women Warriors by Pamela D Toler, you'll love this as well.

Another gap in traditional history has been ably filled by this carefully researched and wide ranging book. It shines a light on the role and contribution of women and expands the scope to include behind the scenes perspectives and functions. Really, really interesting and written in such a way as to invite more interest. I hope we will see more.

There is an interesting presumption about the participation of women in warfare, which is arguably an activity largely restricted to men; so I was very much interested in the potential for this book, especially given the fairly recent news of DNA results reclassifying some “warrior” burials (bodies interred with weapons) as female instead of their original classification of male. This had given me the impression that the historical record might be incorrectly over looking the contribution of woman warriors. Unfortunately, this book does very little to change what is arguably a consensus that actually taking up arms and fighting in the rank and file is a predominantly male activity. The focus here appears to be more on myth (gods and legends) and power (queens and commanders) which are more an exception to the rule than anything else and are not really anything new. That is not to say I didn’t enjoy reading about these famous and powerful women, I did … but I was looking for something different here … evidence about what the “average” woman did in war … and as might be expected (although only hinted at here) is that this was primarily restricted to a defense of home and hearth (under or alongside the husband unless they were away) … with the potential exception of Scythian horse archers, the presumed inspiration for the amazon legends (which absolutely makes sense). In addition, the area of investigation was restricted to what is largely considered to be the western world (and immediate influence such as Persia). So while the information was interesting, it remains a disappointedly incomplete treatment of the subject.

This compendium provides a thorough, detailed, cross-cultural analysis of the role of women in warfare in the ancient world. Because it’s descriptive, rather than advancing theories or using storytelling techniques, it reads like a reference work or textbook. Unfortunately for listeners using text-to-speech, the inline citations (instead of endnotes) make the book almost unreadable, continually interrupting the flow of the prose. This is more of a scholarly work than a book for a lay audience.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Women and Warfare in the Ancient World - Myth, Legend and Reality by Karlene Jones-Bley is a deeply immersive exploration of Women through all aspects of warfare since recording began and beyond

Throughout history, the recording of women's involvement in matters outside of the home went largely unrecorded, but more and more contemporary research is showing just how misleading this was

Women and Warfare in the Ancient World exceeded my expectations, because not only did the author explore the mythical representation of women in battle as Goddesses and Valkyries for example, but on to strategy, generals and the polarity between the effects of war on men and on women (ie, women being perceived as objects and pizes, open to brutality, ownership and SA for example, whereas men are more likely to be brutalised as prisoners, however, there are always exceptions to the rule and this is not a definitive interpretation)

Jones-Bley writes in a thoughtful, insightful way whilst being directly focussed on the evidence at hand. Women and Warfare in the Ancient World is a fascinating record of representation and misrepresentation throughout time, geography and culture. As research and archaeological methods become more refined, more and more is being discovered about the true role of women throughout historical warfare

An absolutely fascinating book and highly recommended

Thank you to Netgalley, Pen & Sword | Pen & Sword History and the incredible author Karlene Jones-Bley for this fantastic ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own