Mainon, Dominique, and James Ursini. The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women On-Screen. Pompton Plains, NJ: Limelight Editions, 2006. 400 pp.

by Kathleen Hunzer

Initially a reader may wonder what images of a sword-wielding Uma Thurman, a dagger-thrusting Angelina Jolie, and a gun-toting Pamela Anderson have in common. Reading The Modern Amazons, one quickly learns that these figures are the primary subjects in a book that provides a serious and extensive analysis of images of "warrior women" in our popular culture. Covering movies from all decades and a few recent television shows, Mainon and Ursini's work is a compendium of images and analyses that addresses all major examples of "women warriors": cave women, historical women, vampires, spies, superheroes, science fiction characters, martial arts specialists, and Wild West women. All receive attention in this detailed address of a dominant theme in Western popular culture.