Customer Reviews

Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars (Discovering Women in Science)

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It's really a shame that in this day and age a book like this should be necessary, but even a quick glance through the contents will open readers' eyes to just how many female astronomers have been neglected by standard history. The book is well-written and interesting, as well as inspiring, with numerous sidebars explaining various scientific and historical concepts and offering many brief bios of women astronomers who aren't given a full chapter. Highly recommended.

In this comprehensive study of the life and contributions of women astronomers throughout the ages, author Mabel Armstrong shows that she has truly done her research. Filled with great photographs, interesting sidebars, and fun timelines, WOMEN ASTRONOMERS: REACHING FOR THE STARS gives information on twenty-one influential female astronomers.

Included are:

EnHeduanna: Chief Astronomer of the Moon Goddess of the City
Hypatia of Alexandria: Astronomer, Engineer, Physicist, Inventor
Hildegard of Bingen: Heard the music of the spheres
Caroline Herschel: She and her brother revolutionized the study of astronomy
Marla Mitchell: The most famous American astronomer of her time
Williamina Stevens Fleming: Founding mother of the Harvard women astronomers
Annie Jump Cannon: Built a star catalog of more than 350,000 stars
Henrietta Swan Leavitt: Discovered a way to measure distances between stars
Antonia Caetana Maury: Developed a new system for classifying stars
Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin: Called the most brilliant astronomer of her generation
Helen Sawyer Hogg: Canada's favorite astronomer for fifty years
Margaret Burbidge: Described the way chemical elements form in stars
Nancy Roman: Pioneered radio astronomy and orbiting observatories
Beatrice Tinsley: A brilliant career cut tragically short
Jocelyn Bell Burnell: Discovered quasars
Margaret Geller: Found structure in the Universe
Carolyn Shoemaker: Looks for comets that threaten Earth
Sally Ride: Astrophysicist and first U.S. woman in space
Jill Tartar: Searches for extra-terrestrial life
Wendy Freedman: Builds big telescopes and settles Hubble Constant

Spanning in time from around 2350 BCE to the present, this is a book that's perfect for anyone interested in astronomy, but especially young girls. They'll be sure to find plenty of wonderful information and inspiration within the pages of this book, which can only be a good thing.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars is a wonderful book, providing interesting and illuminating bios of women astronomers throughout history. The book starts with ancient times, tracing the evolution of our understanding of the heavens, as well as our technology. Women have always been a big part of these discoveries. Women Astronomers goes further, by highlighting up-and-coming "rising stars" - women who will make an impact on astronomy in the future. A terrific, enaging read for young people - and us older "young people"! Lots of side-bars explainging key concepts, so you won't get lost.

You wouldn't think, in the 21st century, that we would still have problems getting girls to consider careers in the sciences, but we do. By age 14, studies show that young women's science test scores fall off the map. Maybe it's something to do with discovering boys, or harder math, or society discouraging women from sciences (still) - I don't know. But books like this make a difference. If you have a girl interested in astronomy, you must buy this book!

Also, please make note of the fake "hardback" offerings of this book. Women Astronomers has never been offered in hardback. These are paperback books that have been laminated and either have been sold-off by libraries or anticipated sales were not made. Please do not buy these - or patronize the sellers of - these modified books.

[Disclosure: I am the distributor for this book - but also a real fan!]

Over five thousand years ago, ancient Babylonian priestesses correctly anticipated solar eclipses and arrivals of comets. "Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars" is a part of Stone Pine Presses' Discovering Women in Science Series, and outlines how the fairer sex has made significant contributions to the science of astronomy, focusing on the past hundred years with references to such ancient contributions such as the Babylonian priestesses above. Author Mabel Armstrong, a teacher of science for over a quarter of a century, speaks of her own obstacles in the field and gives advice to other aspiring female astronomers. "Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars" is highly recommended for women's studies and science shelves everywhere and for any girl astronomer-to-be.