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ForeWord Reviews Mother's Day Staff Pick: "Books Mom Will Love"

"A valuable historical reference guide." --Publishers Weekly

"This is a very ambitious and timely book, a book that many historians, literary theorists and story tellers who care about China and its "Other Half of the Sky" want to write, but Brian Griffith did it first, with such scope, ease and fun." --WANG PING, author of The Last Communist Virgin and Aching for Beauty: Footbinding in China

"This book is a most engaging and entertaining read, and the depth of its scholarship is astounding. Griffith vividly describes the counterculture of Chinese goddesses, shows that their fascinating stories are alive and active today, and points us toward a more inclusive and caring partnership future." --RIANE EISLER, author of The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics and The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future

Touching on the whole story of China--from Neolithic villages to a globalized Shanghai--this book ties mythology, archaeology, history, religion, folklore, literature, and journalism into a millennia-spanning story about how Chinese women--and their goddess traditions--fostered a counterculture that flourishes and grows stronger every day.

As Brian Griffith charts the stories of China's founding mothers, shamanesses, goddesses, and ordinary heroines, he also explores the largely untold story of women's contributions to cultural life in the world's biggest society and provides inspiration for all global citizens.

Brian Griffith grew up in Texas, studied history at the University of Alberta, and now lives just outside of Toronto, Ontario. He is an independent historian who examines how cultural history influences our lives, and how collective experience offers insights for our future.