Cathryn J. Prince

First of all -- thank you to the publisher for the free audio.

This was a fascinating story and made me utter on more than one occasion, "Why have I never heard about these women?" Which, of course, is part of the answer -- they are women. It would be nice to make them easily accessible to girls today. I believe they would enjoy hearing about their adventures!

I think it's important to note that there is almost as much information in this book about Annie Peck as there is Fanny Workman. Both women accomplished extraordinary feats in their lifetimes and I believe the author does a good job of relating their stories fairly and in an unbiased manner.

I did fell there was a bit of repetition in spots and the story seemed to jump around at times - but this could be because I was listening to it rather than reading it.

It was so interesting to learn of the notoriety Annie and Fanny received, not solely because of their amazing mountaineering and exploration adventures but also because of the outfits they chose to wore. Climbing 22,000 feet, exploring glaciers that had never been explored, teetering on the brink of injury or death, and other astonishing adventures paled in comparison to Annie wearing pants to climb and Fanny wearing a skirt. Annie shouldn't wear pants because only men should wear pants; Fanny shouldn't wear a skirt because isn't that too dangerous? Rather than saying what they really felt - which was that women had no business climbing mountains and biking through southeast Asia.... And fast forward to today when the American Women's Soccer team was chastised for too much celebration during their record breaking win over Thailand during the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Rather than cheer them on for breaking records, the media focused on too much celebrating. While we all know if it had been the men celebrating 13 goals, no one would have mentioned it. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

This is well worth a read or a listen. Grab a world map. Familiarize yourself with the territory these women explored and their truly mind-boggling accomplishments. It will leave you amazed and plotting your own next adventure.
… (mehr)

I just read through the other EArly Reviewers reviews and I am wondering what I missed. I listened to 30 minutes in my car and was just bored beyond belief. I expected something...better. This seemed like an audio book made for people in the 1950's. I might try it again sometime but if the rest of the 7.5 hours are as daunting, I don't feel like I can expend the time.

Suggestion for future writers~~get to the stuff. I don't need to hear about her marriage or other such trivia. I want to know what made Fanny amazing and innovative. We all know that the times were oppressive for women and there many women who fought the status quo so tell us about Fanny's uniqueness during the same time period. My interest was captured by the title but I felt let down during the first 30 minutes. Invigorate your audience, don't drown them.… (mehr)

From Wikipedia: “Fanny Bullock Workman (January 8, 1859 – January 22, 1925) was an American geographer, cartographer, explorer, travel writer, and mountaineer, notably in the Himalayas. She was one of the first female professional mountaineers; she not only explored but also wrote about her adventures. She set several women’s altitude records, , published eight travel books with her husband, and championed women's rights and women’s suffrage.”

From an early age, Fanny Bullock considered herself a 'new woman'. She was born in 1859 to a wealthy New England family. Nevertheless, she had to campaign hard to convince her parents that she should attend college.

But after she married William Workman her sense of adventure was able to shine. They began by climbing mountains in New England. This was followed by expeditions by bicycle (using the new safety bicycle where front and back wheels were the same size to make one easily able to set both feet on the ground when stopped).

They bicycled throughout Europe and eventually began cycling in Algeria and India. They wrote books and lectured about their experiences.

They soon moved onward to high mountaineering, climbing first in Switzerland and then the Himalayas. There they found their passion. They became the first to summit many Himalayan peaks. Fanny Hunter achieved many summits and records for women climbers ( a rarity in a male dominated sport). The Workmans continued to write books and lecture about their expeditions.

I enjoyed the fun details about the times. For instance, Fanny suggested that women wear their long woolen skirt until they were sufficiently remote to avoid causing offense, and then discarding the skirt under a large rock where it could be retrieved on the return trip.

Recommended for people who enjoy outdoor adventure stories or women’s history.… (mehr)