"In Her Footsteps: Where Trailblazing Women Changed the World"

This new travel guide from Lonely Planet doesn't focus on a single destination. Instead, the short pieces — by a variety of authors — describe landmarks around the globe that are connected to trailblazing women past and present, from Rosa Parks' bus stop in Alabama to the Egyptian temple of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut.

"The history of the world is filled with the names of men, and their stories are easy to find, adorning countless monuments," the book's introduction reads. The same is often not true of renowned women, so this "alternative travel guide to the world" aims to provide a key.

The book's four sections (on activists, artists, pathbreakers and icons) provide plenty to discover, making it a great reference to check before any trip. It's also fascinating to page through and learn about places and people, like the record store in Reykjavik, Iceland, that was once Björk's home base, the Brontë sisters' family home in Haworth, England, and Honolulu's Iolani Palace, where Hawaii's last monarch, Queen Lili'uokalani, once lived.

Closer to home, Coya Knutson, Minnesota's first female member of Congress, gets a mention. At the Minnesota History Center, you can see the accordion she played to accompany her own campaign songs.

ERICA PEARSON