I wanted to love this book. But this is not a history of amazons/ warrior women in the ancient world. Of course the cover drew me in but I was disappointed. While the books covers great detail it is perhaps unnecessary, and not the Greek-myth orientated book I was led to believe it was. This is especially for the first half. I did however enjoy Man's chapters on Night Witches, Wonder Woman and Kurdish fighters.

Man described the Amazons and their influence on Western culture from the Ancient Greeks to the present day. He recounts the evidence for warrior women in the Scythian cultures of Siberia, explains how the river 'Amazon' got its name and provides several examples of more recent female soldiers, such as a group of Soviet pilots during World War 2. These modern groups are interesting in themselves, but not really relevant to 'the warrior women of the ancient world'. I would have preferred a more detailed analysis of the ancient myths and more information on how women fitted into Scythian culture. The style of the first chapter of this book was quite off putting, as it is full of unnecessary details. Luckily the rest of the book is more readable. As a general summary it covers a lot of ground, but for specific information on the ancient world go elsewhere.