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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 387.54044082
EAN num: 9780684856919
ISBN number: 0684856913
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 304
Printing Date: March 06, 2001
Publishing house: Simon & Schuster
Sale Popularity Level: 876938
Studio: Simon & Schuster
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Long before women had the right to vote, earn money, or have lives of their own, 'she captains' -- bold women distinguished for courageous enterprise on the high seas -- thrilled and terrorized their shipmates, performed acts of valor, and pirated with the best of their male counterparts. From the warrior queens of the sixth century b.c. to the female shipowners influential in opening the Northwest Passage, She Captains brings together a real-life cast of characters whose audacity and bravado will capture the imagination. In her inimitable style, Joan Druett paints a vivid portrait of real women who were drawn to the ocean's beauty -- and danger -- and dared to captain ships of their own.
Amazon.com Review:
Mention the word 'pirate,' and you'll likely conjure up an image, courtesy of Robert Newton's scenery-chewing performance in the 1950 film adaptation of Treasure Island, that features a peg-leg, a parrot, and a mighty 'arrrgh.'
New Zealand-based maritime historian Joan Druett amends that image to include voices in a higher register, adding She Captains to other works (Hen Frigates, 'She Was a Sister Sailor') that address women's roles in the passage and exploration of the high seas. Druett reaches far back in history, opening her lively book with an account of the water-coursing Massegetae queen Tomyris, who bested the Persian king Cyrus on the shores of the Volga River. Druett enlists dozens of other militarily, criminally, and commercially extraordinary women in her dramatis personae, including the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra, whose name is synonymous with mysterious beauty but who also commanded a mighty navy; Cheng I Sao, the 18th-century terror of the South China Sea; and Lucy Brewer, who, disguised as a man, served as a common sailour aboard the U.S.S. Constitution. Along the way Druett considers the role of New England women as financial mainstays of the whaling trade, stops at Spanish ports of call controlled by powerful (and sometimes bloodthirsty) women, and generally has a fine time exploring waters that history has little charted. --Gregory McNamee
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Rated by buyers 
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"She Captains" is a historical survey of women who have sailed, rescued sailors, or had significant influence on sailing endeavors. Episodes range from Queen Artemisia who contributed 5 ships to battle Xerxes at Salamis in 480 BC to
Beatie Fry's running a training ship for future sailors until her death in 1946. Author Joan Druett presents women sea warriors Atwilda "the Danish Female Pirate" and the Danish raider Alfhild who "exchanged woman's for man's attire, and, no longer the most modest of maidens, began the life of a warlike rover." Included are Mary Read who went to sea dressed as a man and with Anne Bonny had a successful pirate career until her capture in 1720. Druett tells of women went to sea dressed as men out of economic necessity such as Elizabeth Stephens and some to accompany lovers like Jeanne Bare, probably the very first woman to complete a world circumnavigation in 1769.
The book provides opens doors into a fascinating aspect of nautical history and includes comprehensive source information on each chapter. Illustrations by Ron Druett throughout add to visualization of the adventures of sea-fairing women.
Rated by buyers 
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This book did not get off to a good start, given that it was supposed to be about great female sailors. In the introduction, the author mentions Tomyris, who killed Cyrus the Great in a (land) battle. Also, Hero (of Hero and Leander) who drowned herself, which is sort of like sailing, only without the floating. There were also Chinese Fox Fairies (not so much with the swimming foxes), Valkyries, Amazons, and a missionary princess who sailed to Ceylon to spread Buddhism. So at least that last one rode in a boat once.
The book gets slightly more on-topic after the introduction is over, mentioning famous female pirates like Anne Bonney, Mary Reed, Cheng I Sao, and Grace O'Malley. However, I got the impression that the author didn't really have enough information to write an entire book, and had to fill it out with quite a few stories of women married to or involved with sailors, but who were not in fact sailors themselves. Still, some of the stories were engaging, if thinly researched, and there was some interesting information about women in the whaling industry. This book is of more use as a starting point for research than a reference in and of itself.
Rated by buyers -
I'm still in the middle of this book. The subject matter is interesting, but it skims over the tales too quickly (e.g., how and when were Rackham et al captured?). Druett also jumps around too much - mixing the tales of more than one woman who were unrelated in terms of place and time.
In addition, the book really bothered me for its lack of quality research. The author relied too much upon myths and stereotypes to embellish her story. In particular, the chapter about the Vikings contained a lot of misinformation, most from romanticized tales from the Victorian era. A 30-second web search would have told her that the Vikings didn't wear horned helmets, that they ate a lot more than plain, boiled meat (as traders and farmers, they had acess to a variety of fruit, vegetables, herbs, and spices), etc. They were a lot more sophisticated than Druett made out.
It's fine as light reading and a quick overview of the topic, but the devil's in the details.
Rated by buyers -
In general this is a collection of stories of women associated with seafaring. Not all were 'captains', but that's not really material to the focus of the book, which is to provide the reader with ample examples of women who worked in the maritime trade (in one way or another).
The topics range from royalty and psuedo-royalty, to pirates, to wives. For the most part the women are of strong character and know what they want. Druett, writes well and the stories are entertaining and well researched.
Rated by buyers -
People may think that the womens' movement began in the 1960s or '70s, but the ladies whose stories are told in this book prove that female empowerment was alive and kicking on-board clipper ships and at the helm of pirate cutters long before Gloria Steinem was a gleam in her mother's eye. This book tells the stories of numerous fascinating female buccaneers who could be just as ruthless as their male counterparts and hold sway over crews of male sailors. Even if you're familiar with Anne Bonny and Mary Read, you will learn about many of their lesser-known compatriots and their world. This is an intriguing study of women in a career that has been generally relegated to the male realm in popular thought.
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