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Interviews with
200 women from a variety of backgrounds provide a snapshot of female life around the globe.
Interviewees include:
- Jane Goodall, conservation and animal welfare activist.
- Margaret Atwood, author and winner of The Booker Prize.
- Roxane Gay, author and feminist.
- Renée Montagne, former host of NPR's Morning Edition.
- Alicia Garza, activist and co-founder of Black Lives Matter.
- Alfre Woodard, award-winning actor and activist.
- Marian Wright Edelman, head of the Children's Defense Fund.
- Lydia Ko, professional golfer and Olympian.
- Dolores Huerta, labor activist, community organizer, and co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association.
- Alice Waters, chef, author, and food rights advocate.
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author and Macarthur Foundation fellow.
Each woman shares her unique reply to the same five questions: What really matters to you?, What brings you happiness?, What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?, What would you change if you could?, and Which single word do you most identify with?
With responses ranging from uplifting to heartbreaking, these women offer gifts of empowerment and strength-inviting us to bring positive change at a time when so many are fighting for basic freedom and equality.
Each interview is accompanied by a photographic portrait, resulting in a volume that is compelling in word and image and global in its scope and resonance. This landmark book is published to coincide with an interactive website, building on this remarkable, ever-evolving project.
About the Author
Kieran Scott is a photographer whose work has appeared in magazines, books, and campaigns. He is based in New Zealand.
Ruth Hobday and Geoff Blackwell are the creative team behind such bestselling projects as Nelson Mandela's Conversations with Myself. Worldwide travelers, they are based in New Zealand.
Sharon Gelman is an award-winning human rights activist, writer, and media producer, who lives in Washington, D.C.
Marianne Lassandro, based in France, has edited bestselling photography books, including works by Avedon and Annie Leibovitz.
Industry Reviews
"This meticulously curated book is filled with interviews from women who've made their mark on the world in some way and asks them five crucial questions about happiness, sorrow and meaning. Quizzing the likes of Gillian Anderson, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Whoopi Goldberg, Jane Goodall, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Roxane Gay (just to name a few), it's an inspiring book that'll change the way you see the world. Plus, the best part is that a fraction of the proceeds go towards organisations that empower women around the world." --Marie Claire
"Eminently Instagrammable, this book features women you might recognise - Margaret Atwood, Bobbi Brown - plus some you might not, but should." Red Magazine
"captures different female perspectives and proves that female beauty comes in many, many different forms." Elle
"The coffee table book that will change your life. [...] Surprising, relatable and warmly funny, it's a book that deserves a place at the centre of your very finest table." --Stylist Magazine
"WHAT WOMEN WANT. From Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova to sexual-abuse activist Ashley Judd and athlete Caster Semenya, 200 Women is a portfolio of interviews and photographs of influential women. For their book, Geoff Blackwell and Ruth Hobday asked each subject the same questions to create this vivid portrait of lives around the world." --The Observer Magazine
"Wisdom from inspirational women including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Margaret Atwood and Gillian Anderson." Harper's Bazaar
"A collection of interviews and photographs with women from different backgrounds, answering the same big questions about life. This lavish coffee-table book is both beautiful and inspiring." Best Magazine
