i really enjoyed getting to know Mary Edwards Walker, I had never heard of her before so it was great getting to read about her.

I found this book fascinating. I had never heard of Dr. Edwards, and her story is certainly a compelling one. This book gives a pretty balanced overview of Dr. Walker's life and careers. It is not, thank the Ghods, hagiographic; Dr. Walker's character was sometimes her best ally and sometimes her biggest obstacle, and this book author Habib shows both aspects.

It's not always a pleasant read - Dr. Walker was a surgeon during the Civil War, and the medical treatments of the time were pretty brutal. However, I think it's well worth the effort to read through, because Dr. Walker was clearly a woman who followed her own star and lived to her own values, even when it cost her dearly.

Still, it is not a particularly difficult read, and it covers someone I had never heard of before. It's clearly not for everyone, but if you are interested in the Civil War, women's suffrage and rights, and the story of a remarkable women, I believe you will enjoy this book.

By anyone’s standards, Mary Walker was a remarkable woman and one ahead of her time. The only woman to be awarded America’s Medal of Honour, she was the first female surgeon, during the Civil War, in the US Army, a committed suffragist, a passionate defender of the rights of women and an advocate of women's dress reform, something she put into practice by wearing trousers herself – however much trouble it got her into. And Mary got into plenty of trouble throughout her turbulent life. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about her. However I didn’t find the book a wholly satisfactory read and am surprised by the almost unanimous 5* reviews. The research is impeccable, I admit, but author Ammar Habib is far too partisan in his approach. May Walker alienated nearly everyone she came across. I find it hard to believe this was solely due to prejudice, or, in the case of other suffragists, simply jealousy. Jealousy of what? Yes, Mary Walker is admirable in her unwillingness (inability?) to compromise but sometimes compromise is a necessary part of enabling change. I didn’t gain any real insight into Mary’s inner feelings and thoughts – admittedly there are few primary sources in her own voice – but for someone so ostensibly admirable to have so many enemies needs further investigation, which I felt Ammar Habib didn’t attempt. The book also read very much like a school essay, with far too many explanations of obvious points and a few egregious errors. The author states at one point that Mary insisted on riding astride like a man, in other words bareback. No, she refused to ride side-saddle. Mistakes like this should have been picked up by a more diligent editor. However, the fact remains that this is a woman whose life deserves to be documented and I for one am very glad it has been.

Mary Edwards Walker by Ammar Habib

What a dynamic WOMAN! What I took away from this book was to be myself and not let anyone take my identity away from ME! My daughter just became a new mother and she is a working mother outside of the home as well. I told her about this book and the sacrifices that so many women had to endure to be recognized as individuals and who could be counted as a person. That we were somebody and not just a sexual object or housekeeper, or baby maker.
Mary Edwards Walker was an amazing woman who fought for the rights of women, but it’s so sad that she had not ever found her soul mate other than that loser she was first married to that cheated on her and truly destroyed her dream of trust and love in a person that she wanted to build a life with. I think that she was caught up with becoming a doctor and learning about women’s rights and issues that she thought she was in love and he ticked off some of her ideals and he presented what she wanted her to see. He was a slickster! He was riding on her coattails because she was going places and he wanted a free ride, but he couldn’t keep it in his pants and got caught. Unfortunately, her ideals were shattered and then she focused on nothing, but women’s suffrage. She was not going to stop till she made a difference somewhere and then before you know it she was the first women doctor in the Army(contracted) during the Civil War. She received a Medal of Honor and was primarily responsible for women wearing pants with suspenders! How spectacular is it that we have her forwardness and out of the box thinking to guide our lives to exceptional things. Her father was instrumental in being a guiding force to help create such a phenomenal woman! This author did a brilliant book in showing gratitude and having appreciation for Mary Edwards Walker’s major achievements and Historic Events!
I received a advanced copy from NetGalley and I am willingly giving my thoughts and opinions.