'The importance of the brave and blighted dial-painters cannot be overstated.' Sunday Times
'A perfect blend of the historical, the scientific and the personal.' Bustle
'Thrilling and carefully crafted.' Mail on Sunday
Ordinary women in 1920s America.
All they wanted was the chance to shine.
Be careful what you wish for.
'The first thing we asked was, "Does this stuff hurt you?" And they said, "No." The company said that it wasn't dangerous, that we didn't need to be afraid.'
1917. As a war raged across the world, young American women flocked to work, painting watches, clocks and military dials with a special luminous substance made from radium. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous - the girls themselves shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in the dust from the paint. They were the radium girls.
As the years passed, the women began to suffer from mysterious and crippling illnesses. The very thing that had made them feel alive - their work - was in fact slowly killing them: they had been poisoned by the radium paint. Yet their employers denied all responsibility. And so, in the face of unimaginable suffering - in the face of death - these courageous women refused to accept their fate quietly, and instead became determined to fight for justice.
Drawing on previously unpublished sources - including diaries, letters and court transcripts, as well as original interviews with the women's relatives - The Radium Girls is an intimate narrative account of an unforgettable true story. It is the powerful tale of a group of ordinary women from the Roaring Twenties, who themselves learned how to roar.
This is a powerful book.
History is important because it tells the story of humanity. These women are not part of the author's imagination - they are beautiful tragic souls. Each woman in this book chose to stand up and fight in the face of something that felt impossible. Despite their pain, despite their ultimate demise, they chose to fight to change the law and save the women who came after them. That takes strength.
Kate Moore does a wonderful job of telling these stories. The best non-fiction reads like a novel, because it takes the facts and makes it into a story that stays in your heart. It resonates with you.
The Radium Girls speaks for itself, even when the women can no longer do so. It's an incredible, horrible story and one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read. Read it, and be prepared for a broken heart.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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3 June, 2018:
Finished reading
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3 June, 2018:
Reviewed