Saturday, May 27, 2017

BOOK: The Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt

The Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, From Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt (9 h 38 min) read by Erin Bennett

I haven't seen Hidden Figures or read that book, but I would imagine the same basic information is covered. I'll have to try Hidden Figures to compare. 

Starting in the 1930s and the rise of rocket technology, The Rise of the Rocket Girls follows the roles that women played in JPL (Jet Propulsion Labs) as they develop rockets for NASA. Women who were strong in math (yay for women in math!) were hired as computers, to do the calculations.

Holt examines the role of many women as they were hired, as they dealt with getting married, working with children, and providing the expertise needed. I couldn't always keep all the women straight, and sometimes Holt goes into way too much detail (the ball game were the last couple outs of the game on television were described. Really?)

Overall, this was a decent read and showing the contribution of women to science in space technology. 

Comments (5)

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This sounds interesting despite the excess detail. I do wish authors wouldn't do that as the really interesting stuff frequently gets lost in what people had for breakfast or a decades old baseball game in a book not about baseball!
1 reply · active 411 weeks ago
I listened to the Rocket Girls so every now and then these crazy details would jump out at me. Reading, i might have just skimmed right over.
I read Hidden Figures after this one and it was the book that I had been hoping to find in this one. Although perhaps this one bears some responsibility for sparking an interest in the topic that I might not have recognised without some encouragement?
2 replies · active 411 weeks ago
I'm glad I read Rocket Girls first so I can enjoy Hidden Figures later. And yes, if this one was first, it certainly deserves some recognition for telling the story first.
I think it's only that I read it first; I don't have the publication date handy, but I think Hidden Figures was published some time ago, but then reissued with the movie-tie-in cover for a paperback edition. I remember feeling that Rise of the Rocket Girls glossed over some of the uncomfortable politics of the time/place and Hidden Figures casts a light on them. Hope you enjoy the next as much as this one!

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