Take a photo of a barcode or cover
392 reviews for:
Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars
Nathalia Holt
3.8 AVERAGE
392 reviews for:
Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars
Nathalia Holt
3.8 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed hearing about these interesting women and the contributions they made; unfortunately, the organization of the book nagged at me. This is more of a personal preference than an over all critique of the book. At times, the author jumped between the subjects of her book and I found myself getting lost as to who was who at some points. As other reviewers have said, I felt as if sometimes the author's focus on what they picked out to wear on a day or their family was more of a distraction to the overall message of the book. In addition, I also found myself irritated that the female 'computers' were dropped from the writing at times in order to explain what was going on and the men who were contributing to the projects. I realize that it was necessary, but I felt it the transitions could have been smoother. Other than that, I did enjoy the book and reading about the lives of these remarkable women. It's worth a read and certainly a gateway book into additional research about these women in history.
This wasn't just a historical account of remarkable women, it was also an account of the changes to science and society. At times the narrative was a bit technical but not so much to where it could be considered overwhelming. The author did a wonderful job of keeping even the most scientific explanation simplistic. The women the author chose to highlight were extraordinary! They were pioneers both in and out of the home. The complexity of their mathematical calculations and their contributions to modern computer programming is staggering. The book is largely chronological but does have moments where it deviates from that and highlights an event from an already covered year/decade. There was a massive amount of data that had to be condensed in order to make this book a reality. It read largely like a fictional tale so I believe most anyone could pick this up and enjoy it. This is not a book to be overlooked but one to be embraced with an appreciation of all the women who came before us.
I asked for and got this book for Christmas a couple years ago, and it sat in my TBR pile since then. I should love this book, it's women pioneering space science, but I don't.
The rhythm felt off. In my opinion there was a disproportionate focus on the women's personal lives. The whole first third to half of the book was all about "the girls" and how they dressed up for work and their dating lives. And I get that the personal relationships they formed is important for the story, but I would've liked more about the work and the science. In the last third of the book the story finally takes off. We see more and more about the space projects and the long lasting impact these women have had on space exploration.
Until this book I didn't know that all the pictures we saw of the planets when we were in elementary school were from space craft these women programmed. The Mars rover that just went silent last year was programmed by these women. Space craft they programmed in the late 80s are still heading deeper into outer space. It's incredible! And that's why I thought this book would be more interesting. I feel like this is an okay book, but if you want to learn the history of JPL and different NASA programs there are probably more interesting and better written options out there.
The rhythm felt off. In my opinion there was a disproportionate focus on the women's personal lives. The whole first third to half of the book was all about "the girls" and how they dressed up for work and their dating lives. And I get that the personal relationships they formed is important for the story, but I would've liked more about the work and the science. In the last third of the book the story finally takes off. We see more and more about the space projects and the long lasting impact these women have had on space exploration.
Until this book I didn't know that all the pictures we saw of the planets when we were in elementary school were from space craft these women programmed. The Mars rover that just went silent last year was programmed by these women. Space craft they programmed in the late 80s are still heading deeper into outer space. It's incredible! And that's why I thought this book would be more interesting. I feel like this is an okay book, but if you want to learn the history of JPL and different NASA programs there are probably more interesting and better written options out there.
I really really loved this book. It was fascinating, I learned so so much, and it made me want to go into rocket science, even though I would never. The women's stories described were incredible, inspiring, and interesting. I would highly recommend this as an very good non fiction.
Overall I found this book interesting and enlightening. I appreciated getting to know more about JPL at the start and how they hired women computers basically from the get-go, at a time when that was extremely uncommon.
Also, unlike others, I didn't mind learning about the women's personal lives and other challenges, which I felt helped highlight the time period and the struggles they had to contend with. However, I think either this book tried to cover too many of the women, or Holt's writing just didn't quite bring it to life for me, or the structure of the book just didn't quite work. The book dragged for me even though I found it interesting, and I had trouble keeping all the names of the women straight. I almost wish it had been more of a narrow focus on maybe three or four of the women rather than the entire team over several decades; it just made it too hard to follow but also too scattered for me to get invested in the story of any of the particular women.
It's a hard call to make, though, because I certainly see the benefit of making sure all these women are mentioned and included. Each of them made a crucial contribution to JPL and the space program as we know it today. I respect and value that, so focusing on just a handful of them would in some ways have been unfair. But the way the book is now, it also rushes through some of those important contributions and moments because it tries to cover so much in such a relatively short book.
Also, unlike others, I didn't mind learning about the women's personal lives and other challenges, which I felt helped highlight the time period and the struggles they had to contend with. However, I think either this book tried to cover too many of the women, or Holt's writing just didn't quite bring it to life for me, or the structure of the book just didn't quite work. The book dragged for me even though I found it interesting, and I had trouble keeping all the names of the women straight. I almost wish it had been more of a narrow focus on maybe three or four of the women rather than the entire team over several decades; it just made it too hard to follow but also too scattered for me to get invested in the story of any of the particular women.
It's a hard call to make, though, because I certainly see the benefit of making sure all these women are mentioned and included. Each of them made a crucial contribution to JPL and the space program as we know it today. I respect and value that, so focusing on just a handful of them would in some ways have been unfair. But the way the book is now, it also rushes through some of those important contributions and moments because it tries to cover so much in such a relatively short book.
Fantastic book. This is an important part of our history that should be remembered. I loved it and hope everyone reads it.
Having consumed [b:The Calculating Stars|33080122|The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut, #1)|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1539850192s/33080122.jpg|53735352] and [b:The Fated Sky|33081262|The Fated Sky (Lady Astronaut, #2)|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1539850563s/33081262.jpg|53736197] by [a: Mary Robinette Kowal|2868678|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1365253716p2/2868678.jpg], my appetite was whetted to learn more about the history of the women of our countries space endeavors. I believe she'd even recommended this book.
It is both an emotional and informative story, the author detailing both the rise of the human computers and the women's lives through the decades working for JPL. It is fascinating to hear about how these women lived, both as professionals and as women of their times. This moved me to tears more than once, sometimes of frustration, and oft times of joy.
Great slice of history here which I'd recommend.
It is both an emotional and informative story, the author detailing both the rise of the human computers and the women's lives through the decades working for JPL. It is fascinating to hear about how these women lived, both as professionals and as women of their times. This moved me to tears more than once, sometimes of frustration, and oft times of joy.
Great slice of history here which I'd recommend.
I enjoyed this book, but was distracted by the narrative style, which seemed to bounce around a lot, and not always in a logical way. While I certainly appreciated learning about the personal and professional challenges these women faced, the writing surrounding the women's family lives and bodies was sometimes awkward. There were a lot of descriptions of dresses clinging to curves and fingers running along pantyhose, for example. I think this was done to highlight the fact they were still feminine (a common stereotype about women in the sciences is that we aren't feminine and don't take care of our looks), which I appreciate in theory. In execution, however, it just came across as unnecessary. I would have rather read more about the science, their friendships, or how they actually navigated what we now call "work life balance" than what lipstick color someone wore or how their diet made them gain weight.
All in all, worth the read, but don't expect it to be life changing. Consider it an introduction to the lives of the women who changed our universe and the way we see it for the better.
All in all, worth the read, but don't expect it to be life changing. Consider it an introduction to the lives of the women who changed our universe and the way we see it for the better.