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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
Absolutely fascinating about the women who made it happen at the JPL. You go, girl!
Super fascinating topic to highlight these amazing women; unfortunately I didn't super love the writing style and slogged through this.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. I thought it was well written and super well researched and I was BLOWN AWAY by the scope of the book — from the 1940s to the present!! Super cool. I love how this book came into being, too, with the author googling her child’s baby name and then finding an Eleanor Francis who worked at NASA back in the day. I love that so much.
A couple of the passages and anecdotes really stuck out to me and I’m going to nerd out about them here lol
“The engineers marveled at Helen’s ability. She worked quickly and accurately. Her knowledge of mathematics was exceptional, and if she had been a man applying for the job, she likely would have been hired as an engineer. This was true for many of the computers, whose education, frequently consisting of a bachelor of science degree, was identical to that of the young men being hired in engineering.” Page 118 — THAT. LAST. SENTENCE. THOUGH. GAAAAHHHHH. I feel like I’m that Anger gif from Inside Out, like for real. So many things in this book made me MAD, all of the goddamn sexism and firing a woman because she was pregnant/might get pregnant, and just...all of the bullshit that women still have to deal with in 2019. It makes me tired. We’ve come a long way but DAMN
A couple of the passages and anecdotes really stuck out to me and I’m going to nerd out about them here lol
“The engineers marveled at Helen’s ability. She worked quickly and accurately. Her knowledge of mathematics was exceptional, and if she had been a man applying for the job, she likely would have been hired as an engineer. This was true for many of the computers, whose education, frequently consisting of a bachelor of science degree, was identical to that of the young men being hired in engineering.” Page 118 — THAT. LAST. SENTENCE. THOUGH. GAAAAHHHHH. I feel like I’m that Anger gif from Inside Out, like for real. So many things in this book made me MAD, all of the goddamn sexism and firing a woman because she was pregnant/might get pregnant, and just...all of the bullshit that women still have to deal with in 2019. It makes me tired. We’ve come a long way but DAMN
This COULD be an important book. The ambition is there, as well as the passion for the subject. And I think the research, too. But the execution is lacking. The language is too simple and the chapters wander without real structure or purpose. It was frustrating to me that this book about pioneering women of STEM read like an elementary school teacher or stay-at-home mom talking to kids on a very superficial level.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A wonderful look at the pivotal role women played at JPL and the dawn of the aerospace industry.
I love reading stories about female pioneers in engineering and science because they paved the way for me to become an aerospace engineer. The stories are full of excellent details and interesting facts about the work of the women at JPL, which wasn't necessarily recognized in a male dominated industry. For those looking for a book about women in STEM, these stories will inspire and awe you. Everything the men did, the women did it in heels. Truly a masterpiece.
This quote - the very last paragraph in the book - made me actually tear up. It was an unexpected and beautiful moment that tied together the journey the book took me on and truly made me appreciate and love these women and the work they did.
"On February 14, 1990, Voyager 1 looked over its shoulder to take some final pictures, now known as the family portrait. Taken at the suggestion of Carl Sagan, it is a series of photos that show our sun and six planets of our solar system. Pale blue dot, one of these photos, a composite of three images, became famous because when viewed at a distance of 4 billion miles, earth is less than a pixel in size, a small speck of blue surrounded by the vastness of the universe, yet within that tiny dot swirling in a ray of sunlight lies all known life. With one last look at its home, the little probe left the solar system and entered interstellar space. It is traveling farther than any man made object ever has, but it wasn’t just made by men. Enclosed in aluminum, a treasure lies within Voyager’s memory banks. Written on only 40 kilobytes of memory, a thousand times less than what an iPhone holds, are programs first hand written with pencil and paper by an extraordinary group of women. The programs represent only a slice of their work, but were constructed at the pinnacle of their careers. Those programs are remnants soaring amid the space dust. They are the legacy of women, written in the stars."
This story of the women behind so many of our technological advances is inspiring and truly beautiful. It's also infuriating to think about how these amazing female pioneers accomplished so much and then became a footnote as men became more prominent in science and math fields and women were pushed aside. Reading stories about the women who defied the social norms and made names for themselves in fields that are male-dominated during a time when women were expected to be homemakers and mothers is, I believe, essential for all people. This is important.
What I Liked:
Girl Power! Literally. These women made the calculations that made rockets fly. That's amazing! They were the first "computers" before IBM made an appearance on the scene. The stories of these women are detailed and intimate. It is clear that Holt spent time with them and became close with them to tell their stories. You could really get into their heads and know how they felt about things, which is pretty awesome. I wonder how much of that was given to Holt during the interviews and how much she added in, but it hardly mattered while I was reading the book because I was captivated.
So many details about the science and math! I'm not a math or science person, generally. But I love space and the space program. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all the advances these women helped push through and all the innovations they created.
What I Didn't Like:
Occasionally, it seemed to jump from one thing to the next kind of abruptly. It was a little jarring, but not so much that it ruined the book for me.
Final Thoughts:
Everyone should read this book and/or one of the others written about these women who were innovators and pioneers in a field where women are still scarce. It's a great book and I enjoyed it very much.
"On February 14, 1990, Voyager 1 looked over its shoulder to take some final pictures, now known as the family portrait. Taken at the suggestion of Carl Sagan, it is a series of photos that show our sun and six planets of our solar system. Pale blue dot, one of these photos, a composite of three images, became famous because when viewed at a distance of 4 billion miles, earth is less than a pixel in size, a small speck of blue surrounded by the vastness of the universe, yet within that tiny dot swirling in a ray of sunlight lies all known life. With one last look at its home, the little probe left the solar system and entered interstellar space. It is traveling farther than any man made object ever has, but it wasn’t just made by men. Enclosed in aluminum, a treasure lies within Voyager’s memory banks. Written on only 40 kilobytes of memory, a thousand times less than what an iPhone holds, are programs first hand written with pencil and paper by an extraordinary group of women. The programs represent only a slice of their work, but were constructed at the pinnacle of their careers. Those programs are remnants soaring amid the space dust. They are the legacy of women, written in the stars."
This story of the women behind so many of our technological advances is inspiring and truly beautiful. It's also infuriating to think about how these amazing female pioneers accomplished so much and then became a footnote as men became more prominent in science and math fields and women were pushed aside. Reading stories about the women who defied the social norms and made names for themselves in fields that are male-dominated during a time when women were expected to be homemakers and mothers is, I believe, essential for all people. This is important.
What I Liked:
Girl Power! Literally. These women made the calculations that made rockets fly. That's amazing! They were the first "computers" before IBM made an appearance on the scene. The stories of these women are detailed and intimate. It is clear that Holt spent time with them and became close with them to tell their stories. You could really get into their heads and know how they felt about things, which is pretty awesome. I wonder how much of that was given to Holt during the interviews and how much she added in, but it hardly mattered while I was reading the book because I was captivated.
So many details about the science and math! I'm not a math or science person, generally. But I love space and the space program. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all the advances these women helped push through and all the innovations they created.
What I Didn't Like:
Occasionally, it seemed to jump from one thing to the next kind of abruptly. It was a little jarring, but not so much that it ruined the book for me.
Final Thoughts:
Everyone should read this book and/or one of the others written about these women who were innovators and pioneers in a field where women are still scarce. It's a great book and I enjoyed it very much.
Disappointing. Much more of an overview of the history of JPL/NASA than a thoughtful look at the women who were a part of both. It can get bogged down with details about the missions but then is incredibly superficial when it comes to the women's lives. There's little to no analysis about what it was actually like for them working in that environment at the time, or how it felt to be expected to give up the jobs they loved to have a family etc. Hearing their own voices would have been nice but you seldom get that. Instead there are many instances where their outfits and hairdos are described and a random aside about the invention of pantyhose. It's also hard to keep straight who is who as there are so many women over so many years, so you don't really connect with any of them. All in all, a let down.
Loved listening to the audiobook. I had no idea women were this involved in space exploration since the beginning.