A review by i_will_papercut_a_bish
To Fly Among the Stars: The Hidden Story of the Fight for Women Astronauts by Rebecca Siegel
5.0
Rebecca Siegel's book on of the untold side of the space race is a brutally honest and thoughtful examination of the determination and hard work of thirteen qualified women who were turned away from participation in the space program due to backward thinking and gender discrimination, and the parallel (contrasting) journeys of the men of Mercury 7.
I read it in one sitting, pulled in by the personal stories and fascinating anecdotes collected by the author, detailing behind-the-scenes training, the pilot's life experiences, and the hearing where two pilots fought for the right to be fairly considered for the US space program.
As an aside, I appreciated the author's note at the beginning of the book that noted the racial privilege afforded even to the shunned women pilots, and the candy-coating of the racist behavior of several of the male pilots of Mercury 7 (as these are facts often omitted and overlooked in most history books).
This review is of an ARC given to me by the author, and I look forward to purchasing the book for my own daughters (who are long-time NASA fans). I recommend it highly to parents, educators, and librarians looking to round out their understanding of space race history, and to fans of books like CODE GIRLS.
I read it in one sitting, pulled in by the personal stories and fascinating anecdotes collected by the author, detailing behind-the-scenes training, the pilot's life experiences, and the hearing where two pilots fought for the right to be fairly considered for the US space program.
As an aside, I appreciated the author's note at the beginning of the book that noted the racial privilege afforded even to the shunned women pilots, and the candy-coating of the racist behavior of several of the male pilots of Mercury 7 (as these are facts often omitted and overlooked in most history books).
This review is of an ARC given to me by the author, and I look forward to purchasing the book for my own daughters (who are long-time NASA fans). I recommend it highly to parents, educators, and librarians looking to round out their understanding of space race history, and to fans of books like CODE GIRLS.