Rise of the Rocket Girls, Nathalia Holt
Rise of the Rocket Girls, Nathalia Holt
9 Rating(s)
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
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Rise of the Rocket Girls
The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars

Author: Nathalia Holt

Narrator: Erin Bennett

Unabridged: 9 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/05/2016

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

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

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bethany

I wish I could give this 2.5 stars. While I enjoyed the author's intentions and much of the history, Holt is a lackluster storyteller at best with a tendency to portray her "rocket girls" as giddy, impressionable preteens who are more concerned with "correcting their wind-blown girlish hair" than th......more

Goodreads review by Heather

This is a fascinating look into the lives of the women who have worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from its inception in the 1940s until today. Despite my interest in NASA and the history of space program, I didn't know much about JPL and was blown away by the stories of the women who were doin......more

Goodreads review by aPriL does feral sometimes

'Rise of the Rocket Girls' is an excellent read, as well as a well-researched and organized history of the involvement of women 'computers' working for the Jet Propulsion Lab. Nathalia Holt's book left me feeling happy. World War II ushered in a new desire from all combatants for improved weapons of......more

Quotes

A New York Times bestseller
A Los Angeles Times bestseller
An Amazon Best Book of 2016
An Entertainment Weekly "10 Books You Have to Read in April"
An Elle "8 Books by Women for Bill Gates to Read This Summer"
Goodreads Choice Awards finalist

"Illuminating...these women are vividly depicted at work, at play, in and out of love, raising children--and making history. What a team--and what a story!"
—Gene Seymour, USA Today (3.5 stars/4)

"The women's stories are fun, intense, and endearing, and they give a new perspective on the rise of the space age."—Popular Science

"A marvelous book.... When Neil Armstrong made his 'giant leap for mankind,' there was womankind in the control room."
—Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

"Immersive, evocative.... Superbly readable.... Holt's poignant narrative should be required reading."
—Maya Gittelman, Bookreporter

"Holt investigates the fascinating lives and important contributions of these women, who defied the sexist stereotypes of their times to play pivotal roles in sending the first rockets beyond Earth."
—Scientific American

"An intriguing account of the young, female 'human computers' who worked at Caltech's JPL. Be inspired by their work on America's first satellite and other groundbreaking projects, against the social backdrop of the Space Age, slowly changing gender norms, and the dawn of computers."—Estelle Tang, Elle, "5 Books That You Can Read With Your Mom"

"Holt argues that these women's calculations played an under-appreciated part in NASA's towering achievements.... Here, math is dramatic, not mundane. Calculating is a physical, even athletic, act.... Holt depicts the human computers' life stories vividly."
—Jennifer Light, Nature

"Women were obviously just as vital to innovation and progress. Rise of the Rocket Girls proves that by reexamining the space age-specifically, the group of women who redesigned rocket science in the '40s and '50s and made that 'one small step for man' possible in the first place."
—Isabella Biedenharn, Christian Holub, Dana Getz, Entertainment Weekly

"NASA's 'Rocket Girls' are no longer forgotten history. Thanks to a new book, these female pioneers who helped the U.S. win the space race are finally getting their due... Holt documents the lives of these women, who were not only pioneers in their profession, but also in their personal lives."
—Naomi Shavin, Smithsonian

"A must read for any women in tech or interested in technology!"—Girls Who Code

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