By Felicia Pride, TheBackList.net

I didn't learn about Ida B. Wells until I was in college, which I now know is not only sad, but also tragic. It's true that Wells, who risked her life to fight lynching, hasn't truly gotten her due in history textbooks. But her remarkable life has recently been captured in the 765-page biography, Ida: A Sword Among Lions by award-winning author Paula Giddings.

Toni Morrison has called the book "brilliant." Maya Angelou declared, "Paula Giddings has brought another great American out of the midst of history. We are saddened that we did not know Ida B. Wells earlier, but happy to know that she was born here and worked here to make our country a better place for all Americans."Wells' story is as fascinating as it is inspiring and shows how an individual can stand up and fight for a cause. She was born to slaves and rose to lead our nation's first campaign against lynching. Although eventually exiled from the South, she continued to fight across the country before settling in Chicago to become a journalist, suffragist and political candidate.

But that short description of her life doesn't give her work justice. So I suggest you pick up a copy of Ida: A Sword Among Lions. It's one of those books that everyone should own and take the time to read.

We no longer have an excuse not to know the triumphs and struggles of Ida B. Wells.