A review by chezler24
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

I was finally able to re-read this book again after several years. I really enjoyed how care was put into showing the personalities and lives behind "The Radium Girls." Too often with historical accounts, individuals can be reduced to lifeless facts and statistics, but this author went out and sought to shed light on the humanity of the girls as they faced what occurred. The reader gets to experience the awe and joy of landing a coveted job as a dial painter, the confusion when multiple painters were failing mysteriously ill, the anger and determination of the court cases, and the triumph and drive in the court's final decisions combined with the girl's opportunities to help the scientific world that once threatened to bury them (literally and figuratively). This group of workers which could have been relegated to a simple footnote in history has a legacy that saved others regarding understanding the effects of radiation on the body, improving workplace environments, and creating legal precedents to help others get the justice they deserved. 
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