The second in a four volume series, this book features notable women from the slavery era, including Aqualtune, a Congolese princess who was sold in Brazil in 1665 and also led an Army of 10,000 warriors, Zabeth, a woman who died at age 20 in present day Haiti, and Sojourner Truth, American-born slave and famous orator. The volume delves deeply into the women's lives and cultures to celebrate black women who are often times left out of our history. $49.95 cloth. (The University of Wisconsin Press, 773-568-1550, www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress)

In the 1960s, Dayton, Ohio was breaking loose from its history of conservatism and political repression. Feminism in the Heartland charts Midwestern second-wave feminism in this unexplored city. The book traces the lives of women activists who urgently fought for women's rights in the city and in the nation. Ezekiel weaves the life stories of 85 feminists, giving voice to the subjects themselves. She discusses in detail the four main organizations that structured the women's movement in Dayton: the Dayton Women's Liberation; the Dayton Women's Center; Dayton Women Working; and the reproductive rights coalition. $24.95, paper (Ohio State University Press, 773-568-1550, www.ohiostatepress.org)

Working from the idea that the body is both a site of oppression and a location for resistance and agency, Gimlin investigates the limitations of ideal beauty imposed by cultural and social structures. Her book describes and analyzes institutions and practices such as the hair salon, aerobics, cosmetic surgery, and the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. With countless self-improvement methods becoming more and more available, Body Work is timely and challenging to today's dominant beauty ideologies. $16.95, paper. (University of California Press, 1-800-777-4726; www.ucpress.edu)