Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

Margot Lee Shetterly · 312 pages

"Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of the

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream

Tanya Lee Stone · 139 pages

They had the right stuff. They defied the prejudices of the time. And they blazed a trail for generations of women to follow. What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape — any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale

The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight

Martha Ackmann · 280 pages

In 1961, just as NASA launched its first man into space, a group of women underwent secret testing in the hopes of becoming America's first female astronauts. They passed the same battery of tests at the legendary Lovelace Foundation as did the Mercury 7 astronauts, but they were summarily dismissed by the boys' club at NASA and on Capitol Hill. The USSR sent its first woman into space in 1963; th

The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars

Dava Sobel · 324 pages

The little-known true story of the unexpected and remarkable contributions to astronomy made by a group of women working in the Harvard College Observatory from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s.-- "In the late nineteenth century, the Harvard College Observatory began employing women as calculators, or "human computers," to interpret the observations their male counterparts made via telescope

Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America's First Female Rocket Scientist

George D. Morgan · 325 pages

"Blending a fascinating personal history with dramatic historical events, this book brings long-overdue attention to a brilliant woman whose work proved essential for America's early space program. This is the extraordinary true story of America's first female rocket scientist. Told by her son, it describes Mary Sherman Morgan's crucial contribution to launching America's first satellite and the a

Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space

Lynn Sherr · 374 pages

The definitive biography of Sally Ride, America's first woman in space, with exclusive insights from Ride's family and partner, by the ABC reporter who covered NASA during its transformation from a test-pilot boys' club to a more inclusive elite. This book is a biography of Sally Ride, America's first woman in space, with exclusive insights from her family and partner, and by the ABC reporter who

Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History

Sam Maggs · 238 pages

The best-selling author of The Fangirls Guide to the Galaxy presents a fun and feminist look at the brilliant, brainy and totally rad women in history who broke barriers as scientists, engineers, mathematicians, adventurers and inventors, along with interviews with real-life women in STEM careers.

The Astronaut Wives Club

Lily Koppel · 311 pages

"THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB is spectacular, both in its intimacy and its reach. Lily Koppel pulls out delicious behind-the-scenes details of the stresses, formalities, pleasures, and travails of being the women behind the men on the moon." --KAREN ABBOTT, AUTHOR OF *AMERICAN ROSE* AND *SIN IN THE SECOND CITY* **THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB** As America's Mercury Seven astronauts were launched on

Queens of Code

Eileen Buckholtz; foreword by Mar Hicks

A Man on the Moon

Andrew Chaikin, Michael Kramer · 688 pages

 For the 25th anniversary of the first moon landing, a winning and detailed account of the Apollo astronauts, a dozen of whom were the first human beings to walk on the face of the moon. The strength of the book lies in Chaikin's exhaustive research, including interviews with all 24 Apollo astronauts. Chaikin, an editor of Sky and Telescope, draws on the wealth of material from NASA's files--incl

Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World

Rachel Swaby · 273 pages

"Covering Nobel Prize winners and major innovators, as well as lesser-known but hugely significant scientists who influence our every day, Rachel Swaby's ... profiles span centuries of courageous thinkers and illustrate how each one's ideas developed, from their first moment of scientific engagement through the research and discovery for which they're best known"--Page 4 of cover.

Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine

Laurie Wallmark · 38 pages

Offers an illustrated telling of the story of Ada Byron Lovelace, from her early creative fascination with mathematics and science and her devastating bout with measles, to the ground-breaking algorithm she wrote for Charles Babbage's analytical engine.

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution

Walter Isaacson · 560 pages

Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, The Innovators is Walter Isaacson’s revealing story of the people who created the computer and the Internet. It is destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution and an indispensable guide to how innovation really happens. What were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into di

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World

Rachel Ignotofsky · 113 pages

A collection of artworks inspired by the lives and achievements of fifty famous women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, from the ancient world to the present, profiles each notable individual.

Spitfires

Becky Aikman · 369 pages

The heart-pounding true story of the daring American women who piloted the most dangerous aircraft of World War II through the treacherous skies of Britain.

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II

Denise Kiernan · 373 pages

In this book the author traces the story of the unsung World War II workers in Oak Ridge, Tennessee through interviews with dozens of surviving women and other Oak Ridge residents. This is the story of the young women of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who unwittingly played a crucial role in one of the most significant moments in U.S. history. The Tennessee town of Oak Ridge was created from scratch in 194

Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change

Cady Coleman · 272 pages

Passionate Minds

David Bodanis · 373 pages

"It was 1733 when the poet and philosopher Voltaire met Emilie du Chatelet, a beguiling - and married - aristocrat who would one day popularize Newton's arcane ideas and pave the way for Einstein's theories. In an era when women were rarely permitted any serious schooling, this twenty-seven-year-old's nimble conversation and unusual brilliance led Voltaire, then in his late thirties, to wonder, "W

Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA

Brenda Maddox · 380 pages

"In March 1953 Maurice Wilkins of King's College London announced the departure of his obstructive colleague, Rosalind Franklin to rival Cavendish Laboratory scientist, Francis Crick." "But it was too late. Franklin's unpublished data and crucial photograph of DNA had already been seen by her competitors at the Cambridge University lab. With the aid of these, plus their own knowledge, Watson and C

The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code

Margalit Fox · 363 pages

In the tradition of Simon Winchester and Dava Sobel, *The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code* tells one of the most intriguing stories in the history of language, masterfully blending history, linguistics, and cryptology with an elegantly wrought narrative. When famed archaeologist Arthur Evans unearthed the ruins of a sophisticated Bronze Age civilization that flowered on

Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout

Lauren Redniss · 205 pages

Presents the professional and private lives of Marie and Pierre Curie, examining their personal struggles, the advancements they made in the world of science, and the issue of radiation in the modern world.

Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women

Catherine Thimmesh · 57 pages

Tells the story of how women throughout the ages have responded to situations confronting them in daily life by inventing such items as correction fluid, space helmets, and disposable diapers.

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Alfred Lansing · 282 pages

Bound for Antarctica, where polar explorer Ernest Shackleton planned to cross on foot the last uncharted continent, the Endurance set sail from England, in August 1914. The ship became locked inside an island of ice, and was later crushed. This tale of survival by Shackleton and all 27 of his men for over a year on the ice-bound Antarctice seas defined heroism.

Apollo 8

Jeffrey Kluger · 320 pages

Recounts the bold but dangerous mission to secure America's position as the first nation to reach the moon, revealing the dangers endured by its crew and the ways the mission brought renewal to a country ravaged by assassinations and war.