For most, the image of the American West has been male dominated, focusing on characters ranging from Jesse James to John Wayne. In the hardscrabble West of the nineteenth century, however, women played prominent and influential roles, helping to shape the evolution of not only the region but the nation as a whole.

In this lively and informative book, ten noted historians explore the lives of eleven women, from the "Wild West" performer Annie Oakley and the notorious Calamity Jane to the entrepreneur Mary Ellen Pleasant and the reformer Abigail Scott Dunaway. By telling the fascinating tales of these women, this accessible and thoroughly researched collection not only enlightens us but also serves to secure a place in history for these remarkable women.