Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars
The riveting true story of the women who launched America into space. In the 1940s and 50s, when the newly minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-thinking mathematicians to calculate velocities and plot trajectories, they didn't turn to male graduates. Rather, they recruited an elite group of young women who, with only pencil, paper, and mathematical prowess, transformed rocket design, helped bring about the first American satellites, and made the exploration of the solar system possible. For the first time, Rise of the Rocket Girls tells the stories of these women -- known as human computers -- who broke the boundaries of both gender and science. Based on extensive research and interviews with all the living members of the team, Rise of the Rocket Girls offers a unique perspective on the role of women in science: both where we've been, and the far reaches of space to which we're heading. If Hidden Figures has you itching to learn more about the women who worked in the space program, pick up Nathalia Holt's lively, immensely readable history, Rise of the Rocket Girls. -- Entertainment Weekly
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Community Reviews
This was really a biography, with a ‘this happened, then this happened, then she did this, she did that’ linear approach. Lots of science. Did not particularly care for the mispronunciation of real people names by the narrator. Sometimes was read very rote-like or robotic. I may have enjoyed this better reading vs. listening. But the history of the start of the Jet Propulsion Lab and the key role of female ‘computers’ was interesting. A good glimpse into history-making women working outside of traditional roles. And how their careers were either supported by their partners, or they were left holding the majority of responsibilities at home, and on the job. Not all that different from today. Really think those women did a much-better job of championing each other, than most work environments I’ve experienced. And for this reason, the example set, with clear goals to attain or from which to pivot, is a standard we should all try to emulate.