Black women have an extraordinary impact on the world, and Crystal McCrary is capturing all of those modern-day successes and triumphs in one book. Through written word and photo essays, Inspiration: Profiles of Black Women Changing Our World, tells the unique stories of 30 black women who are current game changers.

From entertainers to athletes, politicians, and business owners, this book covers black women from all social, cultural, and political walks of life, such as Betye Saar, Majora Carter, Thelma Golden, and Bethann Hardison. Well-known figures such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Ruby Dee, Patti Labelle, Shonda Rhimes, and Venus Williams are also featured.

Wesley Royce, assistant editor for ABRAMS, the publisher of the book, said throughout the book there were a few common threads woven throughout each woman’s story of success.

“These women put in an immense amount of hard work into developing their skills and they didn’t just believe in themselves— they believed in sharing their talents with the world,” he said.

Wesley also noted that no woman said they achieved their success on their own.

“They also all spoke about the importance of other strong women in their lives— whether it was their mothers or own children or friends— and the strength they drew from their support was crucial to their success.”

The book is currently available as a hardcover and for e-readers. For more information visit the ABRAMs blog. Will you check out this book?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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(Inc.) — Majora Carter rose to national prominence in 2006 with a poignant TED talk on environmental justice. She called it Greening the Ghetto. Listen to the talk and you’ll hear her voice falter briefly as she describes growing up in the South Bronx and how her brother survived theVietnam War only to be gunned down near his home, located across the street from a crack house. Carter, a 2005 MacArthur fellow, says she saw how economic, social, and environmental inequalities interconnected. Better urban planning and development became her lever.  The nonprofit Carter founded in 2001, Sustainable South Bronx, turned $10,000 in seed grant money into a $3 million waterfront park that rehabilitated the environment and reunited residents with their waterway for the first time in more than 60 years. The New York Times called Carter “the green power broker.” In 2008, she left Sustainable South Bronx to start a new consulting firm called the Majora Carter Group. She spoke to Inc.com about that transition, finding sustainable investment models, growing urban agribusiness, and the green jobs myth.

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