"A couple of years ago, Ali Smith had an inspiration. She decided that the time had come to make an "intensely personal and sincere piece of art" that would honor the women whose work she respected and whose lives had had an impact on her as a woman and on the world as a whole. So, one by one, she began to contact each of these outrageous, courageous, and influential women and invite them to be part of her project.

She named it Laws of the Bandit Queens after Phoolan Devi, an Indian woman who rebelled from childhood against everything her culture demanded of her." "After two years of photography sessions and interviews in every thinkable location, from a rooftop in New York City to the women's ward of a prison, Ali's work is done. The result is a fun and inspiring collection of portraits - in words and pictures. Each of these incredible women offers a law for women and girls to live by."--BOOK JACKET.