"History's killer queens come in all colors, ages, and leadership styles. Elizabeth Tudor and Golda Meir played the roles of high-stakes gamblers who studied maps with an unblinking, calculating eye. Angola's Queen Njinga was willing to shed (and occasionally drink) blood to establish a stable kingdom in an Africa ravaged by the slave trade. Caterina Sforza defended her Italian holdings with cannon and scimitar, and Indira Gandhi launched a war to solve a refugee crisis. From ancient Persia to modern-day Britain, the daunting thresholds these exceptional women had to cross--and the clever, sometimes violent ways in which they smashed obstacles in their paths--are evoked in vivid detail. The narrative sidles up to these war queens in the most dire, tumultuous moments of their reigns and examines the brilliant methods and maneuvers they each used to defend themselves and their people from enemy forces." -- Provided by publisher.

Introduction : Women waging war -- The mighty arms of Atlas : "More blood than you can drink" -- "My women have become men" -- The last pharaoh -- A thirst for blood -- Women of a certain age : Lion of the Caucasus -- Year of the tiger -- Viper and rose -- Empire and rebels : Heart of a king -- Baptized in blood -- Philosophe warlord -- Maps and legends : Red Durga -- Babushka -- Crossfire hurricane -- Epilogue : The final argument of queens.