In this collection of essays and interviews, nine gifted composers openly discuss their work.

What do Oprah Winfrey, Sandra Day O'Connor, Margaret Thatcher, Marie Curie and Sojourner Truth have in common? Not only are they some of the world's most influential women, their life lessons are now revealed in the latest book by Pat Williams. Williams blends the personal accounts of each influential woman with the contemporary and historical insights of others, what emerges is an intimate portrait of each great person—her motivations, her aspirations, her personal challenges and the qualities that made her so successful at her calling. An added bonus is life lessons at the end of each chapter, which provide remarkable motivation for women who are blazing a new career trail, building a strong family or struggling to "have it all". This exceptional book highlights a diverse group of women, from activists, businesswomen and humanitarians to athletes, explorers and scientists—it will appeal to any reader regardless of age, occupation or creative pursuits. Profiles of women of influence include: Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Mary Kay Ash, Helen Keller, Anne Frank, Amelia Earhart and others. This is not a history book—it is a perfect blueprint for creating a successful life.

Reinvent yourself as a woman of influence—and become the leader you were meant to be Have you ever felt like your organization’s best-kept secret? Are you the go-to person for work that downplays your potential? Do you want to hone your leadership skills while still staying true to who you are? If you answered yes to any of these questions, or if your reputation as a standout contributor is not translating into career advancement, Woman of Influence is for you. With more than two decades of experience working with hundreds of thousands of women and clients including eBay, GM, Microsoft, and more, Be Leaderly CEO Jo Miller has the strategies, stories, and research to help women shift their focus from doing to leading. In Woman of Influence, she provides a practical, hands-on roadmap that walks you through 9 specific steps to build your brand, establish your legacy, and thrive. Each step is reinforced with self-assessments, inspiring exercises, and checklists that have been road-tested by tens of thousands of professional women.

Women write about their experiences of loving music that doesn’t love them back – a feminist 'guilty pleasures'.e - a kind of feminist guilty pleasures. In the majority of mainstream writing and discussions on music, women appear purely in relation to men as muses, groupies or fangirls, with our own experiences, ideas and arguments dismissed or ignored. But this hasn’t stopped generations of women from loving, being moved by and critically appreciating music, even – and sometimes especially – when we feel we shouldn’t. Under My Thumb: Songs that Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them is a study of misogyny in music through the eyes of women. It brings together stories from journalists, critics, musicians and fans about artists or songs we love (or used to love) despite their questionable or troubling gender politics, and looks at how these issues interact with race, class and sexuality. As much celebration as critique, this collection explores the joys, tensions, contradictions and complexities of women loving music – however that music may feel about them. Featuring: murder ballads, country, metal, hip hop, emo, indie, Phil Spector, David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses, 2Pac, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, AC/DC, Elvis Costello, Jarvis Cocker, Kanye West, Swans, Eminem, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Combichrist and many more.

Women hold over half of all professional jobs today, yet they represent just four percent of CEOs in the S&P 500. Even worse, that percentage has barely budged in a decade. That's where The Influence Effect comes in. Based on recent research by the authors of the New York Times bestseller Break Your Own Rules, this book begins with the premise that when it comes to political savvy, what works for men at work won't work for women. Packed with the authors' coaching insights and their “Big Five” strategies designed specifically for female executives, this book guides women to break past political barriers and get right to what they really want—influence. Authors Kathryn Heath, Jill Flynn, Mary Davis Holt, and Diana Faison make success far less complex, helping women overcome entrenched resistance to their ideas, create their own access points to power, and attract followers in a way that works for them. They present tools such as Influence Loops (to organically increase influence), Personal Scaffolding (to grow a groundswell of support), and Scenario Thinking (a savvy twist on strategic planning). These and other smart strategies finally allow women to succeed on their own terms. Illustrated with dozens of engaging, real stories culled from the authors' many years of coaching experience, The Influence Effect moves women past the politics problem and offers a new path to power. Actually, it's more than a path—it's a runway—it frees women to take off in their careers on their own terms. The Influence Effect will work for women, not because gender barriers will no longer exist, but because they will no longer hold women back.

A new perspective on leadership / In the spirit of the times : Three generation s of women leaders / Becoming leaders: Key influences and experiences / The com mon thread: a passion for justice and social change / Leadership for change: in itiatives and outcomes / Key skills and strategies of leaders / Strains and cos ts of leadership / Learning from the past and looking toward the future / A lea dership legacy, a leadership resource.

Photographed by Reed Krakoff, Women in Art: Figures of Influence features intimate black-and-white portraits of leading women in the contemporary art community. From Valentina Castellani, Almine Rech, and Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn to Dominique L�vy, Marianne Boesky, and Lucy Chadwick, each woman possesses undeniable talent, creativity, and intelligence--making them prominent figureheads of renowned galleries, museums, and institutions across the globe. Complementing each image is an art questionnaire--following in the spirit of Assouline’s bestselling Proust Questionnaire and Fashion Questionnaire--personally completed by each woman along with selected works of art. A true objet d’art, Women in Art: Figures of Influence offers a unique window into the feminine side of the art world.

African American women have played a pivotal part in rock and roll—from laying its foundations and singing chart-topping hits to influencing some of the genre's most iconic acts. Despite this, black women's importance to the music's history has been diminished by narratives of rock as a mostly white male enterprise. In Black Diamond Queens, Maureen Mahon draws on recordings, press coverage, archival materials, and interviews to document the history of African American women in rock and roll between the 1950s and the 1980s. Mahon details the musical contributions and cultural impact of Big Mama Thornton, LaVern Baker, Betty Davis, Tina Turner, Merry Clayton, Labelle, the Shirelles, and others, demonstrating how dominant views of gender, race, sexuality, and genre affected their careers. By uncovering this hidden history of black women in rock and roll, Mahon reveals a powerful sonic legacy that continues to reverberate into the twenty-first century.

In Leaders of the Pack: Girl Groups of the 1960s and their Influence on Popular Culture musician and music historian Sean MacLeod surveys the hundreds of girl groups that appeared not only in the United States but also in Great Britain during the early 1960s. This study corrects the neglect of their critical contribution of popular music history by exploring the social and political climate from which the girl groups emerged and their effect, in turn, on local and national music and culture. MacLeod organizes his argument around seven leading girl groups: The Shirelles, The Crystals, The Ronettes, The Marvelettes, The Vandellas, the Supremes and The Shangri-Las. These seven “sister” groups serve as the basis for a broader look at the many girl groups of the period, offering a roadmap through the work of the many stakeholder—the singers, songwriters, producers, and record labels—that the girl group phenomenon made possible. MacLeod also reviews the significant influence girl groups had on the many male bands of the 1960s, as well as their influence on the post-‘60s movements, from punk to new wave, ultimately serving as the template for the girl groups and all-girl bands that emerged in the 1980s. Finally, The Leaders of the Pack brings us to the present as MacLeod compares the original girl groups with female performers of today, drawing lines of connection and contrast between them. Leaders of the Pack is essential reading for students, scholars, and fans of 1960s music and culture. It will further interest anyone interested in women’s studies, modern American and British culture, and music history, with important forays into such topics as the Civil Rights Movement, second and third wave feminism, and post-war life.