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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My eyes were opened by this book. It is hard to believe that something so horrific could happen in this country.
I really am glad I read this book. I had to give it at three instead of a four or five only because of the content. It was very difficult to read about these true stories of women in the 1930s. I believe everyone should read this book. It is amazing what our society does when they believe something is harmless when it is not harmless at all.
Loved it
Uplifting and beautifully written, The Radium Girls is a tribute to the strength of women everywhere.
Amazing story. Even back in the 1900s, companies were not going to take responsibility. These women laid the ground work for OSHA laws. Their story should be taught in public schools.
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore is a story that I am positive I will never forget. It is about the young ladies (some just in their early teens) that painted radium on watch and clock faces so they would be illuminated for pilots during wartime and for people that wanted to see their watch faces in the dark. The use of radium is a very dangerous task, yet these girls were told it was perfectly safe and that if the company ever found otherwise, they would immediately halt operations. Unfortunately, this was all a big, huge lie and the consequences were devastating and disastrous for the girls. For most of them, they developed radium poisoning and all of the horrific side effects that go along with it. And let me tell you, they are indeed ghastly. I can not even imagine living with the intense pain these girls did and knowing that for most of them, death was just around the corner. But, this is also a story of intense bravery, these girls fought all the way to the Supreme Court for the rights of future employees. Laws that were put into place because of them protect us still today. The author did amazing research and a lot of interviews to write this book, there are tons of pages at the end with notes and explanations. This was not a fast read for me, I had to put it down often to process the atrocities, but I would still highly recommend it. There are quite a few photographs as well that I enjoyed seeing, it is always nice to put faces to names. I own both the paperback and ebook versions of this book and the photos are included in both.
A well-written, well-researched novel about a grim point in our Nation’s history – one I admit I knew nothing about. Girls using radium to make the faces on dial watches glow in the dark. The radium is deadly, a secret held by those profiting from it and at the cost of the girls’ lives. It is a tragic story of how quickly this poisoned eroded these young women’s bodies and how little compensation their families were given. A tragic story.
While many rave about the book, and the movie, I found both difficult – not because they were poorly written, but perhaps that it moved too slow for my taste.
This is a very good book for its content and story, perhaps just not my cup of tea.
Very informative, shocking and thought provoking.
It’s been awhile since I have read a book that has left me with tears streaming down my face, my stomach in knots, and my mind unable to wrap itself around what I’ve just read. There is no way this could’ve really happened, right? These were human beings! Women just trying to help out their families and their country in times of war and uncertainty and what did they get in return? Death. Sickness. Ailments so unimaginable that you think as you’re reading the symptoms that you’re actually reading a horror novel from Steven King instead of a true story. This is real. It really happened, in our country, and it happened to the Radium Girls.
During World War I, many women across the United States were called to work various jobs to aid in the war effort. One of the most coveted jobs of the time was dial painters. Women pained clock faces with a new and amazing substance called radium. These women were paid top dollar compared to other working women during that time so this job was highly coveted.
Radium at the time was all the rage with numerous health claims, including being a cure for cancer! Companies were putting it in everything from medicine to cosmetics and everything in between. It was a wonder substance that could do anything! It could cure your sickness and make you shine!
Radium has a luminescent quality which was perfect for watches being used during the war because the soldiers would be able to see the time at night which was invaluable at the time.
To put the paint onto the dials of the clocks, the girls used a technique called lip pointing. They would put the paint brushes in their mouths and twirl it with their tongue to create a fine point. Then they would dip it in the radium paint and paint the dials.
Over and over, sometimes hundreds of times a day, day by day these girls were ingesting more and more radium. Not to mention the fine powder that covered the girls and the entire factory that gave off this eerie, luminescent glow. The girls lived in a radium world that stayed with them even after they left work. They would paint themselves with the radium and walk around town almost ghost-like. It was fun and many were envied by their friends.
The girls were told that there were such minute traces of radium in the paint that it was harmless, so the girls worked away, day after day, blissfully unaware of what they were actually doing. They were ingesting and inhaling poison, little by little, and before long a few of the women started getting sick. That’s when the fun stopped and the nightmare began.
Kate Moore is the director of These Shining Lives which depicts the lives of the women in the radium dial factories. Kate is actually from the United Kingdom, but after hearing the stories of the radium girls, she decided to write a story that was different than any other that has been written about the radium dial workers. She wanted to give these victims a voice. One that they did not have during their brief lives. And she did.
As you read about each of the girls, and what was going on in their lives, you start to think of them as sisters. When you read about the girls getting sick and the unimaginable things that happened to their bodies and you read about the doctor’s being baffled at what’s happening to them you cringe. You know what’s wrong with them, and you want to shout it out through the pages yet you can’t.
Your anger flares as you read about the radium dial companies and their denial about radium being the reason for these girls getting sick. These girls are dying and they don’t care! They knew it was harmful and yet they continued their practices anyway for profit, putting the mighty dollar ahead of a person’s life. Sickening.
The one girl that I identified most with was Catherine Donahue. Her and her husband had only been married for a few years, just like me and my husband. They had two children, just like me, and Catherine fought for justice for the “ghost girls” to the end. I hope that if I were ever in that situation I would do the same.
As I read the depiction of her taking her last breaths, tears were streaming down my face. My heart ached for this woman that lived so long ago. Having fought so hard, then to die like this. I think she really hoped she would overcome this poisoning but in the end the radium won, and she left this world literally screaming. Tears spring to my eyes even writing this now. It’s unfathomable. No one should ever have to go through such torture. Now Catherine no longer is in pain and the fight that she started has had a major impact on our world today, including the creation of the EPA.
To this day, the EPA continues to clean the sites of where the radium dial factories both in New York and Illinois once stood. The radium still lingers just like the memories of these women.
I have never felt so connected to a true life story like I did with the Radium Girls. This story could’ve happened to any of us. It hit so close to home. I HIGHLY recommend this book! It’s a hard story to hear but one we should all listen to.
*I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through NetGalley. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own.
The subject matter was depressing; therefore, I found the book depressing. I almost needed a flow chart to keep up with the people affected by radium as there were so many. It was very informative. I had not realized that this had happened. I also remember my parents had a clock with luminescent numbers and hands.
Quite disturbing to see what unsafe working conditions caused. The girls were dying snd they did nothing.
Unbelievable. I am surprised that I’ve never heard about the radium girls. Did I just have really crappy history classes growing up??? Everything they went through, both physically and mentally, along with the injustice and neglect by their employers had me listening to almost the ENTIRE audiobook with my jaw dropped. It was on the long side but very well written. She focused on the girls and their journey/lives which made for a more personable read. Highly recommend for fans of non-fiction or anyone unknowledgeable on the topic of radium poisoning.
I love this type of books that bring forth those unsung heroes of human progress (sadly, so many times these heroes are actually heroines). In this case it is the story of how a brave group of women put forth a valiant fight against the economic power and the lobbying muscle of the radium industry. While not compensated during their lifetime, their legacy should live on and be remembered.
This is such an important book documenting the pain and tragedy that so many young women encountered after taking jobs painting watch dials with radium. How they had to struggle and fight to get their voices heard while sick and dying will make you weep and clench your fists in anger at the same time.
Did not like how the author made up how she thought the women would have felt. A nonfiction book is supposed to be fact not the author’s opinion. Interesting story though.
I was struck by the resilience of these women and their families as they navigated their illnesses. Would the men of today be so supportive? I hope so.
Interesting, but very sad
Never knew the story of outcomes of radium poison and the poor victims that fell through the cracks of big business. Read like a novel. Haunting and extremely captivating. Highly recommend it.
Interesting topic but long drawn-out book with too many unimportant details. Felt like I was reading someone’s research paper.
Great history. I remember having a ‘see in the dark’ watch when I was a kid. I had no idea the deaths and suffering that had caused many years earlier. Amazing stuff.