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A review by jhbandcats
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I really, really, really liked this till I got to the third and final section, Justice. Before that, the book was a remarkably fast read, absolutely compelling in the story it was telling. It's solidly researched with copious contemporary information (journals, letters, court transcripts, etc.) plus interviews with the women's descendants. It also includes a large section of photos.
Reading the first section, Knowledge, was like watching an accident in slow motion: you know what's going to happen, you're horrified, and you can do nothing to stop it. Reading the second section, Power, was an exercise in frustration: the medical, legal, and corporate powers were arrayed against those suffering from radium poisoning. The author really brings their struggle to life, showing the seemingly endless obstacles facing them.
The section on Justice describes the women's efforts to fight the corporations. Some of the women were literally dying as they testified. However, the writing is increasingly histrionic and hagiographic, making the women out to be a combination of martyrs and gods. At one point it's speculated that the spirit of one of the dead women embodies a wild bird that visits her friend. I grew tired of that quickly.
All in all, though, I'm really glad I read this and I definitely recommend it. This story of the cavalier corporate despoiling of employees is one that needed to be told. Because of these women, employee safeguards were adopted that live on today in OSHA.
Reading the first section, Knowledge, was like watching an accident in slow motion: you know what's going to happen, you're horrified, and you can do nothing to stop it. Reading the second section, Power, was an exercise in frustration: the medical, legal, and corporate powers were arrayed against those suffering from radium poisoning. The author really brings their struggle to life, showing the seemingly endless obstacles facing them.
The section on Justice describes the women's efforts to fight the corporations. Some of the women were literally dying as they testified. However, the writing is increasingly histrionic and hagiographic, making the women out to be a combination of martyrs and gods. At one point it's speculated that the spirit of one of the dead women embodies a wild bird that visits her friend. I grew tired of that quickly.
All in all, though, I'm really glad I read this and I definitely recommend it. This story of the cavalier corporate despoiling of employees is one that needed to be told. Because of these women, employee safeguards were adopted that live on today in OSHA.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, and Miscarriage