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librarydancer's review against another edition
5.0
Great book!
I was sold after reading the Introduction. It's a wonderful entry into the sexism that was (and sometimes still is) prevalent in the sciences.
The book spends about 5 pages or so on each of the 52 women featured. It is not really a book meant to be read cover-to-cover, as there are just too many women mentioned.
This is a great book to get & keep especially for teenage girls who are in the sciences. It covers a wide range of topics, and these profiles cover a wide range of topics including leprosy, water contamination, and programming.
I was sold after reading the Introduction. It's a wonderful entry into the sexism that was (and sometimes still is) prevalent in the sciences.
The book spends about 5 pages or so on each of the 52 women featured. It is not really a book meant to be read cover-to-cover, as there are just too many women mentioned.
This is a great book to get & keep especially for teenage girls who are in the sciences. It covers a wide range of topics, and these profiles cover a wide range of topics including leprosy, water contamination, and programming.
snailslowreader's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
3.5
Book 3 of 2024
I've had this book for many years and finally decided to read it, and it's exactly what it bills itself as: short profiles on 52 women in STEM fields. For that reason, I don't have many complaints. The book was well-organized and I appreciate that Swaby tried to balance out the number of women in each field, and that she made a conscious effort to avoid some of the most famous ones (ex: Marie Curie). I think it might've been a more enjoyable reading experience had I read one profile a week—which probably would've also helped my long-term memory. Swaby did her best to incorporate some style in the 2-3 pages that each scientist got, and she usually writes in short, pithy sentences well-suited for a popular science book. For obvious reasons, she wasn't able to incorporate too much depth about her subjects, and I realized that I don't feel super engaged with this style of nonfiction since it was difficult for me to feel any connection to the subjects. However, I did really like the quotes included in the profiles that were usually from the women themselves, whether they were spoken aloud or written in letters and reports.
I've had this book for many years and finally decided to read it, and it's exactly what it bills itself as: short profiles on 52 women in STEM fields. For that reason, I don't have many complaints. The book was well-organized and I appreciate that Swaby tried to balance out the number of women in each field, and that she made a conscious effort to avoid some of the most famous ones (ex: Marie Curie). I think it might've been a more enjoyable reading experience had I read one profile a week—which probably would've also helped my long-term memory. Swaby did her best to incorporate some style in the 2-3 pages that each scientist got, and she usually writes in short, pithy sentences well-suited for a popular science book. For obvious reasons, she wasn't able to incorporate too much depth about her subjects, and I realized that I don't feel super engaged with this style of nonfiction since it was difficult for me to feel any connection to the subjects. However, I did really like the quotes included in the profiles that were usually from the women themselves, whether they were spoken aloud or written in letters and reports.
tpatti's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Quite interesting, conversational tone kept you from being bogged down by dry nonfiction.
plotsandpotions's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent, easy to read, and full of wonderful information I can't wait to use in the class room!!
berenikeasteria's review
5.0
What a great read. I tore through this in under a day, and science isn't even an area of particular interest for me. The book illuminates many female scientists of history that I must shamefully admit I had never heard of (along with a decent scattering I recognised), going into their background, work, and what their contribution meant as part of the bigger picture. More than that, the book is eminently readable; each scientist gets a handful of pages, meaning it's easy to pick up, read a few pages and come to a point and then decide you probably have enough time to read the next entry, and the next...
oxnard_montalvo's review against another edition
3.0
Fine as an introduction to names I'd not heard of, and for a brief overview of their accomplishments, but the writing was at times rather slight and lazy. While I had never heard of many of these women, the majority I found had won Nobel prizes or achieved recognition during their lifetime, even if it took far, far longer than their male counterparts.
Best used as a quick reference, or to scout out people to read about in more depth.
Best used as a quick reference, or to scout out people to read about in more depth.
matildamundy's review against another edition
I had to return to the library, but it's so good!!
r0b3rta's review against another edition
5.0
March is Women's History Month and in honor of it here is one of my picks to read this month.
[b:Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World|22856166|Headstrong 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World|Rachel Swaby|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1416500509s/22856166.jpg|42422189] has 7 Sections :
Medicine
Biology and Environment
Genetics and Development
Physics
Earth and Stars
Math and technology
Invention
I jumped around when reading. I did not read all the bios and feel that with what I read I can still give it 5 stars. I will say many of the women I read about I had never heard of before but had heard of the inventions, products, etc.
More well known women Ada Lovelace and Hedy Lemarr are featured along with lesser known women - Hertha Ayrton, Ruth Benerito and Stephanie Kwolek.
I feel the book would be a great addition to any school's curriculum.
[b:Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World|22856166|Headstrong 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World|Rachel Swaby|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1416500509s/22856166.jpg|42422189] has 7 Sections :
Medicine
Biology and Environment
Genetics and Development
Physics
Earth and Stars
Math and technology
Invention
I jumped around when reading. I did not read all the bios and feel that with what I read I can still give it 5 stars. I will say many of the women I read about I had never heard of before but had heard of the inventions, products, etc.
More well known women Ada Lovelace and Hedy Lemarr are featured along with lesser known women - Hertha Ayrton, Ruth Benerito and Stephanie Kwolek.
I feel the book would be a great addition to any school's curriculum.