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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
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
informative
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
A nice review of women working in rockets through the years. Not dry.
An early Christmas present. An engrossing, easy to read, detail rich look at an interesting piece of space history; the women computers of the Cal Tech's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL). The history is written thru the trials, tribulations and accomplishments of these women. With literally no work options open to women interested in math and science, the JPL went out of it's way to hire women to crunch the numbers. Initially solving trajectory calcs with pencils and graph paper; evolving thru slide rules, log tables, mechanical calculators, into room size IBMs and to laptops and super computers. The women computers transformed from numbers crunchers into mission managers and systems engineers. All the while working around the endemic sexism found in STEM related industries. Back in the 40's/50's/60's, there was no maternity leave. A pregnant working woman ran the very real chance of being fired by her employer due to the "liability" of being pregnant. These women were the vanguard of two career families, and juggling work life balance. Something that we still struggle with today. Along with following the careers of these determined women, the book also provides a good history of unmanned space exploration, from Vanguard thru Juno. Good stuff. Some interesting discussion on Werner Von Braun, the father of American rocketry (not Goddard) and Hsue-Shen Tsien, the father of Chinese rocketry. "V'once the rockets go up, who cares where they come down. That's not not my department says Werner Von Braun."
I think I liked [b:Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space|30840370|Hidden Figures The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space|Margot Lee Shetterly|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474752658s/30840370.jpg|55627110] a bit better, but they are great companion works. Hidden figures tells the story of the women in NASA in Virginia, and this book tells the story of the women at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California. This book brought the story all the way to current day and the Mars missions, which felt more complete. Definitely worth the read. Decent audio version.
I really enjoyed this book, and didn’t read it as a sexist portrayal of the women, though there was a lot of emphasis placed on the women and marriage and children.
Not perfect, but an enjoyable tale of the women, known as "computers," who ran calculations for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, later NASA.
From a computer science perspective, they first used graph paper and slide rules. Then a typewriter-like contraption for basic calculations. Then supercomputers with punch cards, then personal computers.
From the perspective of women in the workforce, this delves into the challenges women faced. They were expected by society to have babies and stay home. On the other hand, employers expected that hiring women would be a mistake, as they would quit and stay home. They were so biased against pregnancy that one woman found herself fired for being pregnant. But over time, the women earned more professional respect.
This also provides glances into the lives of multiple women. Their professional triumphs and defeats, their personal loves and losses.
And through it all, the space race. The culture and politics, the rapidly improving technology.
This is a worthwhile listen.
From a computer science perspective, they first used graph paper and slide rules. Then a typewriter-like contraption for basic calculations. Then supercomputers with punch cards, then personal computers.
From the perspective of women in the workforce, this delves into the challenges women faced. They were expected by society to have babies and stay home. On the other hand, employers expected that hiring women would be a mistake, as they would quit and stay home. They were so biased against pregnancy that one woman found herself fired for being pregnant. But over time, the women earned more professional respect.
This also provides glances into the lives of multiple women. Their professional triumphs and defeats, their personal loves and losses.
And through it all, the space race. The culture and politics, the rapidly improving technology.
This is a worthwhile listen.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced