katie0528's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.75

This story follows the lives, careers, court battles, and deaths of "the Radium Girls," women who used radium to paint watches, clocks, and equipment starting just before World War I, and moving into World War II. Constantly lied to about the dangers of radium by the companies they worked for, countless women were poisoned by the radioactive material. A tragic tale of young women fighting for answers and justice, this book focuses on the women themselves, not just their battles in court, but the personal hardships so many of them had to endure.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

leweylibrary's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

5.0

This was a reread because IDK this book has just been on my mind a lot lately? Idk why not it was just as good as I remember. I still can't believe--but also very much can believe--the absolute HELL  that these women went through all in the name of capitalism and all while the people who made them suffer so much did their damnedest to obfuscate and deny everything about it. And how the law was just absolutely against them for so much of the way just because this was a novel type of poisoning and it happened to women. The research on this book is so thorough, but the author also does a great job of letting you get to know these women, the lives they led, and their personalities. It makes it all that much more real and gutting to read their stories. Fuck capitalism. That's all.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tea_at_mole_end's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark inspiring sad slow-paced

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

punk_flower_child's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nrogers_1030's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative inspiring sad tense slow-paced

5.0

It's appalling what happened to these poor women. I felt the book could have been shorter & the narration a bit less monotone, but I still enjoyed the book. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

aahrobot's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

I know others have said they don’t like how dramatic the author can be, but I think it makes it more interesting. I enjoy the facts, statistics, and quotes, but I really loved how Kate Moore showed us more of these women. Their lives, families, hobbies. I got to know each one of them, just as she had, and I think it adds more to the story. It makes this nonfiction story read like fiction. I learned things, felt things, and ultimately enjoyed the book. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lark1010's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

charlottejones952's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

aly_anne's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

This was a tough book to read, but so very informative. These women in Ottawa, IL and in Orange, NJ paved the way for the protections we have today (re: workplace hazards and compensation), and we it is incumbent on us to remember them and their families sacrifices and hardships. Highly recommend for anyone interested in women’s history, industrial history, and the impact of capitalism on worker’s health and safety. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

o_watson's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings