A New York Times bestseller
An Amazon Best Book of April 2016
An Entertainment Weekly "10 Books You Have to Read in April"
An Elle "8 Books by Women for Bill Gates to Read This Summer"
"Holt's accessible and heartfelt narrative celebrates the women whose crucial roles in American space science often go unrecognized."―Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Wow! Talk about forgotten history! Those interested in space history will find much to enjoy here, but it is the stories of the women involved, highlighted in sections by decade, that commands attention....and her stellar research is evident on every page. This is an excellent contribution to American history, valuable not only for what it reveals about the space program and gender equality but even more as great reading. Book clubs will be lining up."
―Colleen Mondor, Booklist (Starred Review)
"Engaging history....a fresh contribution to women's history."
―Kirkus
"Illuminating...these women are vividly depicted at work, at play, in and out of love, raising children--and making history. What a team--and what a story!"
―Gene Seymour, USA Today (3.5 stars/4)
"Rise of the Rocket Girls reveals the fascinating untold story of the heroic women who made America's space program possible. We owe much to these brilliant female pioneers in science-and to Nathalia Holt for reminding us of their extraordinary contributions."
―Cate Lineberry, author of The Secret Rescue: An Untold Story of American Nurses and Medics Behind Nazi Lines
"I stole sleep to finish this book and was happy to do so. I admire how Holt gives voice to a group of important (and lesser-known) female scientists who have in the past
been overshadowed by their male counterparts. The domestic and the scientific are elegantly rendered--it is an impressive contribution to American history and I was sad to turn the last page."
―TaraShea Nesbit, bestselling author of The Wives of Los Alamos
"These women helped change the course of American history. Nathalia Holt tells their remarkable story with heart and verve."
―Martha Ackmann, author of The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight
"An inspiring, beautiful book. Nathalia Holt has a gift for capturing the joys and fears of scientists working at the edge of possibility. By profiling the women who learned to keep American rockets flying true, she paints the dawn of the space age with new and vivid colors."―Jason Fagone, author of Ingenious: A True Story of Invention, Automotive Daring, and the Race to Revive America
"Nathalia Holt has written a gorgeously exciting book about an overlooked group of American women who deserve to have their story known. Inspiring and elegantly-told, this fresh slice of history was impossible to put down."―Claire Bidwell Smith, author of The Rules of Inheritance
"This highly readable, entertaining and informative book tells the story of JPL's 'computers,' the young women who did the calculations now handled by bits of silicon. Holt brings her characters to life, tracing them from their hiring as JPL began its career with the Army developing missiles for the Cold War through its conversion to NASA's lead center for planetary exploration. She celebrates their lives, achievements, and service to the nation, as well as their excitement at having front row seats to the earliest voyages of solar system exploration. It's a story whose telling is long overdue. We can be grateful for this enjoyable read."
―Dr. Charles Elachi, Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Vice President of the California Institute of Technology, and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Planetary Science
"Holt gives voice to the seldom-recognized female mathematicians and scientists who shaped NASA in its earliest years and beyond."―ALA Magazine
"Non-fiction tends to be a good reading slump buster for me, and this one seems perfect."
―Andi Miller, Book Riot
"Holt seamlessly blends the technical aspects of rocket science and mathematics with an engaging narrative, making for an imminently readable and well-researched work."―Crystal Goldman, Library Journal (Starred Review, Editors' Choice Pick)
"Most of our time in history class is spent learning about men, but women were obviously just as vital to innovation and progress. Rise of the Rocket Girls proves that by reexamining the space age--specifically, the group of women who redesigned rocket science...and made that 'one small step for man' possible in the first place."
―Isabella Biedenharn, Christian Holub, Dana Getz, Entertainment Weekly
"Here, math is dramatic, not mundane. Calculating is a physical, even athletic, act....Personal anecdotes...will fascinate general readers and provide valuable primary source materials for future academics."―Jennifer Light, Nature
"Holt does a fine job balancing the personal stories of these women with the technical discussions of their work ....Rise of the Rocket Girls tells a fascinating story of the women who made largely unseen yet essential contributions to the early history of spaceflight."
―Jeff Foust, The Space Review
"These female pioneers who helped the U.S. win the space race are finally getting their due....The book acts as a fascinating time capsule, capturing what it was like to be a working woman at a time when only 20 percent of women worked outside the home, or when a woman could be fired simply for being pregnant."
―Naomi Shavin, Smithosonian
"The women's stories are fun, intense, and endearing, and they give a new perspective on the rise of the space age."―Popular Science
"Marvelous....Thoroughly wonderful....Nathalia Holt reclaims the role of these unheralded women scientists in the field that has enchanted humanity's collective imagination more powerfully than any other: space exploration....Their untold story illuminates the broader cultural context of changes that are still ripening today."―Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
"Holt deserves credit for bringing this story to light....she is able to offer a backstage view of the bumpy start of the Space Age."―Julia M. Klein, Boston Globe
"A must read for any women in tech or interested in technology!"―Girls Who Code
"We hope the renewed history of the rocket girls continues to inspire more girls and women to pursue STEM fields so the gender gap is sealed once and for all."
―Makers
"Holt's book shines portraying the mathematical and engineering process behind JPL's many iconic spaceflight missions--including America's first satellite, Explorer 1, and the Voyager probes that explored the solar system--as well as the women's personal lives and the evolution of their unusual roles inside the male-dominated workplace."
―Space.com
"Holt investigates the fascinating lives and important contributions of these women, who defied the sexist stereotypes of their times to play pivotal roles in sending the first rockets beyond Earth."―Scientific American
"Nathalia Holt's Rise of the Rocket Girls is an immersive, evocative narrative that effectively brings an all-too-forgotten history to life.... Deeply researched... skillfully written... superbly readable.... Holt's poignant narrative should be required reading for anyone who studies aeronautics, history or women's rights."
―Maya Gittelman, Bookreporter
"An intriguing account of the young, female 'human computers' who worked at Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Be inspired by their work on America's first satellite and other groundbreaking projects, against the social backdrop of the Space Age, slowly changing gender norms, and the dawn of computers."―Estelle Tang, Elle, "5 Books That You Can Read With Your Mom"
"Rocket science has long been associated with men...but in Rise of the Rocket Girls, Nathalia Holt shines a light on the women behind the scenes."
―Eliza Thompson, Cosmopolitan, "6 New Books to Read This Month"
"Inspiring and thought-provoking, this book will change the way you look at the history of space travel--as well as its future."―Katherine Handcock, A Mighty Girl, "25 New Mighty Girl Books for Early Spring"
"Incredible....Holt unveils this forgotten history with nuance and insight."
―Laurel Raymond, Think Progress
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