Book excerpt: This engaging and insightful book is the first historical study in English portraying the lives and fates of Slovak women. The seven life stories, ranging from the late 19th century to the present day, expose the often cruel political history of Slovakia through the eyes of prominent women whose acts and deeds on behalf of their fellow citizens remain unforgotten in the Slovak collective mind. The four chapters and three oral history interviews offer a captivating insight into how the situation of Slovak women in society has changed during a most eventful period of history. This book will be complemented by a second volume on Czech women whose lives have been of the same singular importance for the Czech lands as their Slovak counterparts were for their country (ISBN 978383827100, coming out in fall 2015). The two volumes are separate entities in their own right, but together provide the reader with a comprehensive picture of womens lives in the Czech lands and Slovakia, stressing the distinct political circumstances Czech and Slovak women have faced in recent history.