Seventeen essays direct attention to the lives and achievements of outstanding women in Nebraska history. Most of the women described in the essays did their major work in literature, the arts, education, or some other related human service. Only two essays are not focused on specific women--"Union Maids in Omaha Labor History, 1887-1945," which depicts the role of Nebraska women in the labor movement, and "The Community Builder: Architects of Nebraska," which emphasizes the role that women played in establishing social and civic order, education, and artistic endeavors in their communities. Two essays focus on Native Americans Angel DeCora Dietz (a Winnebago artist and teacher) and the LaFlesche sisters (activists for Indian rights). Remaining essays focus on the lives of other outstanding women, including Dorothy Creigh, writer and authority on the human drama of Nebraska; Leta S. Hollingworth, internationally known psychologist; Virginia Faulker and Bernice Slote, scholars of Willa Cather; Tillie Olsen, author, organizer, and feminist; Sirilda Belva Spicer, black educator and minister; Willa Cather, renowned novelist; Doris Stevens, social activist; Bess Streeter Aldrich, celebrant of the "traditional" woman; Louise Pound, scholar and author; Rose Rosicky, newspaper woman; Elizabeth Honor Dolan, international muralist; Mari Sandoz, historian, biographer, and novelist; and Bess Furman Armstrong, political journalist and press secretary for Eleanor Roosevelt. (LH)