A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts Bestseller!
For fans of Hidden Figures, comes the incredible true story of the women heroes who were exposed to radium in factories across the U.S. in the early 20th century, and their brave and groundbreaking battle to strengthen workers’ rights, even as the fatal poison claimed their own lives…
In the dark years of the … claimed their own lives…
In the dark years of the First World War, radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright. Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these “shining girls” are the luckiest alive — until they begin to fall mysteriously ill. And, until they begin to come forward.
As the women start to speak out on the corruption, the factories that once offered golden opportunities ignore all claims of the gruesome side effects. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America’s early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers’ rights that will echo for centuries to come. A timely story of corporate greed and the brave figures that stood up to fight for their lives, these women and their voices will shine for years to come.
Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the “wonder” substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives…
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What happened to these young girls who worked to paint luminous dials on watches and the like is beyond tragic – it was and is criminal. Too bad this story was not told 50 years ago. This book is a must read.
We need to know about these historic events…especially at this time in women’s history! These ladies were leading the charge! Unfortunately, they had no choice but to lay down their lives for the cause. Very sad (and disgusting) what was done to them!
Perhaps too much detail, but interesting bit of history that isn’t well known. I’ll never look at any glowing clock dial without thinking of these women.
I could not put this book down. This is a page turner about a group of women who were sacrificed in several radium factories, how they coped, regrouped, and won rights for all workers today. Also interesting personal stories, social history of corporations, and labor laws. A conservative and not always pro-union, but you’ll be pro-Radium Girls. Nice history of 1915-1946.
Fantastic book, unbelievable story considering it was really not THAT long ago. Truly fascinating
This book was a really scary one It’s hard to believe all the cover-up and misery these ladies faced. Just showed that we have to make our own decisions. Money isn’t the only thing when it comes to working conditions. It’s to
bad in the end those who sold the story this is ok could not experience the pain and heartache that these ladies did. God bless these ladies and their families.
A well written account of heart breaking events. The personal accounts bring these women to life.
A sad and true story that was completely new to me. I had never heard of any part of this almost 100 yr. old story, but it should be shouted from the rooftops to prevent anything like this from ever happening again. (Sadly, I think similar travesties continue.) You won’t take workplace safety for granted ever again after reading this tragic story. I found the book to be repetitive in places, but the author does each girl justice by fully telling each individual’s story and how it fits into the big picture. The perseverance of these individuals amazes me. We owe each of them a big thanks for what they accomplished in light of all they endured. I want to believe I would have their strength and courage if faced with similar circumstances, but I am just not sure.
A hard book to read and impossible to forget. It’s heartbreaking. Anyone who believes we have too many restrictions and regulations had best read this totally preventable tragedy.
Fascinating and horrrifying that the women were unaware of the effects of working with radium.
One of the most thought provoking and haunting non-fiction books I have ever read.
I was shocked at what companies will do for money! So many young women died so young because the company they worked for saw them as opportunities to get rich and nothing more.
Wonderful story about a forgotten part of history. Sad that the same kind of industrial poisoning and injury still happens, and companies aren’t held liable.
This was an excellent read. Very eye opening.
Wonderful, factual, one of the best. Read it
This was such an interesting book due to it’s content. I had known or heard about these women before, but this brought them closer and made them so real; knowing their names, what they did, how they died. It was fascinating, as well as horrifying.
Very interesting tragic piece of history I’m sure most don’t know about. It is heavy reading but informative. I recommend it to anyone who likes history.
This is quite a story. In the 1920s radium was the element of the moment. Because it had been discovered to have tumor-shrinking properties, people assumed it would promote health. They drank irradiated water among other things. People also loved the iridescent, illuminating qualities of radium. They painted the numbers on watch dials with radium paint so that people could have luminescent watches. The watch dials were painted by armies of young female workers. While dial painting was a sought-after job, the women paid a high price. Radium got in their bones, and attacked them from the inside out. Their bones started disintegrating. They grew tumors. Their teeth started falling out, and their jawbones did too. For years their conditions befuddled doctors.
While part of the book is dedicated to describing the work and the workers’ ailments, much of it is devoted to recounting the workers’ search for justice. But justice would not be quick, or easy. Long before they informed the workers, executives at large radium companies were aware that radium was dangerous, and was killing workers. Instead of informing workers and taking precautions, the radium companies did everything they could to silence and discredit scientific information, and hide the results of medical examinations. The level of deceit was tremendous.
This is a story of corporate greed, worker abuse, and worker resistance. This is definitely a story that needs to be told. Moore has done a great deal of research, and she writes with tremendous sympathy for the workers. There are parts of this book that felt quite repetitive. I felt like I was reading some of the same material over and over. Some tightening could probably improve the book. That said, it is an important story and one that Moore tells with interest and sympathy.
This non-fiction account of radium poisoning in early 20th c. female factory workers suffers somewhat from the Truman Capote style of fact/fiction/making stuff up. The author helpfully provides stage directions for historical figures… he “sighed and turned back to his desk”, or she was “walking with a spring in her step”, when there is absolutely nothing to indicate these are historical facts. But the overall story is intriguing and little known, and the author’s focus on social history rather than clinical medical research or complex court cases makes it approachable for the average reader who isn’t much concerned with hard facts.