Women's football is the fastest growing international sport for women and Women on the Ball is the first book to give a comprehensive account of the women's game. It details the pioneering players and clubs, and includes many interviews

A New York Times best historical novel of the year, adapted as a major film for Amazon Prime, this feminist literary thriller is set in Paris's infamous Salpêtrière asylum—now in paperback The Salpêtrière Asylum: Paris, 1885. Dr. Charcot holds all of Paris in thrall with his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad and cast out from society. But the truth is much more complicated—these women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives, those who have lost something precious, wayward daughters, or girls born from adulterous relationships. For Parisian society, the highlight of the year is the Lenten ball—the Mad Women’s Ball—when the great and good come to gawk at the patients of the Salpêtrière dressed up in their finery for one night only. For the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope. Genevieve is a senior nurse. After the childhood death of her sister Blandine, she shunned religion and placed her faith in both the celebrated psychiatrist Dr. Charcot and science. But everything begins to change when she meets Eugénie, the 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family that has locked her away in the asylum. Because Eugénie has a secret: she sees spirits. Inspired by the scandalous, banned work that all of Paris is talking about, The Book of Spirits, Eugénie is determined to escape from the asylum—and the bonds of her gender—and seek out those who will believe in her. And for that she will need Genevieve's help . . .

The use of female sideline reporters is the fastest-growing new aspect of televised broadcasts of professional and college football. Names like Suzy Kolber, Erin Andrews, and Andrea Kremer are now as well known as any of the men in the booth. In recent years women have been sports columnists and reporters, talk-show hosts, even coaches and team administrators. And yet there has never been a book about this phenomenon. Former ESPN news anchor Betsy Ross fills this void with Playing Ball with the Boys, a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the emerging role that women play in sports broadcasting and reporting as well as in the business of sports. Ross interviews a number of the biggest names--from Kolber and Kremer to USA Today columnist Christine Brennan and Lesley Visser and many others--who offer first-hand accounts of the struggles and the triumphs of women playing what has always been a man's game. She provides a history of this unique facet of the sports world, from pioneering female newspaper sports reporters to the celebrated breakthrough into televised sports by former Miss America Phyllis George, who is interviewed in the book. Ross covers the controversial moments, from locker room confrontations between players and female reporters to the infamous sideline interview in which Joe Namath attempted to kiss Suzy Kolber during a live broadcast. Readers also learn of women who played pro sports on male teams or coached men's teams. They meet a woman who runs a professional baseball team and another who is a team doctor. Through this tale, Ross weaves her own story, recalling how she went from a small town in Indiana to the anchor's chair at the largest sports network in the world, ESPN. She explains what it's like for a woman to succeed in the male-dominated world of sports broadcasting.

An inspirational and insightful guide for women who want to get it all by doing less. For women, a glass ceiling at work is not the only barrier to success - it's also the increasingly heavy obligations at home that weigh them down. Women have become accustomed to delegating, advocating and negotiating for themselves at the office, but when it comes to managing households, they still bear the brunt on their own shoulders. A simple solution is staring them in the face: negotiate with the men in their personal lives. In Drop The Ball, Tiffany Dufu explains how women can create all-in domestic partnerships that protect them against professional burn-out.

A Guardian Best Graphic Book of 2015 Iris (or balletgirl-42 as she's known on the internet dating circuit) is a zookeeper looking for love when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Overnight, her life becomes populated with a carnival of daunting hospital characters. Despite the attempts of her friends – Maud, Granma Suggs, Larry the Monkey and a group of singing penguins – to comfort her, Iris's fears begin to encircle her until all she has to cling to is the attention of a lighthouse keeper called sailor_buoy_39. The Inflatable Woman combines magic realism with the grit of everyday life to create a poignant and surreal journey inside the human psyche.

"An interesting and informative look at the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that operated from 1945–1954.... A significant title." --School Library Journal, starred review

THE STORY: During an ostentatious wedding reception at a Knoxville, Tennessee, estate, five reluctant, identically clad bridesmaids hide out in an upstairs bedroom, each with her own reason to avoid the proceedings below. They are Frances, a painfu

Whenever a young child is asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" the answer will undoubtedly include childlike wonder, optimism, and unbridled imagination. A future-traveling astronaut, a fashion designing veterinarian, a doctor for stuffed animals, and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, as we age and settle firmly into adulthood, that wonder dissipates and we swap our childhood dreams for life's demands. Our days feel prescribed and responsibilities rule our minutes and how we prioritize what matters. As adults, we are taught to believe the question is somehow invalid because we are functioning as a "grown-up." Even though Melissa M. Proctor did not play basketball or have extensive knowledge of the game, her dream as a child was to be the first female coach in the NBA. Instead, her unconventional path has taken a number of twists and turns, starting with being the first ball girl for the Miami Heat and ultimately, earning the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena. However, some would be surprised to learn that even at this stage of her career, Melissa still doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up?and she's okay with it. From Ball Girl to CMO includes relevant themes of hope, persistence, empowerment, and courage to help readers navigate everything from the personal to the professional. Throughout the pages, Melissa shares lessons learned, guiding principles, and a means of comfort for those not quite sure what to do next. With her laid-back style and down to earth attitude, she offers acceptance at a time when many are confused and hope when uncertainty distorts the light at the end of the tunnel. From Ball Girl to CMO urges us to consider if we have in fact been asking ourselves the right question, or if perhaps, we've been expecting an answer from the wrong version of ourselves.

How does a sheet of plastic become a soccer ball? Follow each step in the process—from strengthening the plastic to boxing up a brand new ball—in this fascinating book!