Name: The Radium Girls
ISBN: 9781492650959

Kate Moore

"Originally published in 2016 in the United Kingdom by Simon & Schuster UK"--Title page verso.

The Dark Story of America's Shining Women

The Radium Girls

Emma Watson's Our Shared Shelf book club choice New York Times bestseller 'Fascinating.' Sunday Times 'Thrilling.' ????? Mail on Sunday 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.' As the First World War spread across the world, young American women flocked to work in factories, painting clocks, watches and military dials with a special luminous substance made from radium. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous - the girls shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in dust from the paint. However, as the years passed, the women began to suffer from mysterious and crippling illnesses. It turned out that the very thing that had made them feel alive - their work - was slowly killing them: the radium paint was poisonous. Their employers denied all responsibility, but these courageous women - in the face of unimaginable suffering - refused to accept their fate quietly, and instead became determined to fight for justice. Drawing on previously unpublished diaries, letters and interviews, The Radium Girls is an intimate narrative of an unforgettable true story.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. Further praise for The Radium Girls '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?

They Paid with Their Lives. Their Final Fight Was for Justice

It's an incredible story, of course, and certainly worth reading, but I'm not a fan of the author's voice. I found her most compelling in her afterword where she describes the steps that led to her writing the book and the research she undertook to get it just right. I really respect her goals in writing the book, but it's clear reading it, without knowing the context under which it was written, that she was trying to balance the human element with the authoritative, factual element, and I don't think she did this very well. The book still comes off as dry, I don't feel like I know the "characters" really at all, and I would have honestly appreciated reading more about the science, so it just fails in both regards. She spends entirely too much time calling the women beautiful and entirely too much time lamenting that they couldn't be the wives and mothers they wanted to be. I'm honestly shocked it wasn't written by a man! Of course she tries to talk about the women's qualities outside of their beauty and fertility, but her focus still lies on those two characteristics, which greatly undercuts the feminist tone she's grasping at. After reading the book, I'm very interested in learning more about the women and what they went through, but I will not be reading any more books by Kate Moore.

Jonnie

The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger The Curies' newly discovered element of 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 in the otherwise dark years of the First World War. 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. But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. 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. 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...

Incredibly inspiring and super interesting book! There were some parts that were a bit dry (legal terms and government involvement) but overall, great book! 

Alicia Evans

Erin G.

Not the highest quality audiobook narration but an incredibly thorough, gruesome, infuriating true story I previously knew nothing about.

A heartbreaking tragic truth telling of the radium girls. Women who went to work every day feeling like they had the best job in the world only to find their lives shortened from being poisoned and lied to. It is extremely sad how long it took for anyone to acknowledge what was truly happening to these girls. The lies and cover ups made me absolutely sick to my stomach. The few who were brave enough to file law suits were turned away from lawyers and doctors/dentists were quick to misdiagnose them because they didn’t have an answer nor did they want to take the time to find one. Corporate greed ran so deep that even the townspeople looked the other way when these women hobbled down the street in visible pain and suffering. 

It’s a must read. Including the epilogue and postscript. Don’t overlook these parts! Moore did an outstanding job collecting data and doing her research with this one.

Christa Bell

A heartbreaking tragic truth telling of the radium girls. Women who went to work every day feeling like they had the best job in the world only to find their lives shortened from being poisoned and lied to. It is extremely sad how long it took for anyone to acknowledge what was truly happening to these girls. The lies and cover ups made me absolutely sick to my stomach. The few who were brave enough to file law suits were turned away from lawyers and doctors/dentists were quick to misdiagnose them because they didn’t have an answer nor did they want to take the time to find one. Corporate greed ran so deep that even the townspeople looked the other way when these women hobbled down the street in visible pain and suffering. 

It’s a must read. Including the epilogue and postscript. Don’t overlook these parts! Moore did an outstanding job collecting data and doing her research with this one.

Elisabeth Bontrager

** spoiler alert **
           Wow. The story of these girls is incredible. The battle they faced to get justice. I hate the greed and selfishness of the Radium companies, they're blatant lying to say radium was safe when they knew without a doubt it was deadly. I recommend reading this book if you want to learn more about the Radium Girls and their battle for justice. It took 21 years and endless deaths to get them there. But don't read this book expecting a story that has you on the edge of your seat. It wasn't that. It's a lot more like reading a 400 page article. The reason i gave it 3 stars is because I was getting tired of it by the end of the book. I'm very glad i read it though. I just won't ever reread it. I never really felt for the characters other than just badly badly wanting them to get justice. Before this book I had never even heard of these girls and their fight with the radium companies that killed them. It's definitely a story that needs to be heard more.

Bella Koch

This book was a heart-breaking story about the women who painted glowing watch dials in radium paint in the early 1900s. This non-fiction book read so much like a story that you could think it was a novel except for the sheer volume of characters. Great read

Hannah Alexander 

altlovesbooks

Powerful and unsettling in its telling of these girls' stories. The details of the tragedy are framed using the stories from the girls themselves, which made it a pleasure to read. This story is sad, but it led to many things that hopefully prevents tragedies like this today. Or, it should anyway. The postscript from 1978 was upsetting.

Ivy X

I wanted to learn more about what happened to the Radium Girls in more detail and in a way that humanized the girls that were victims of radium poisoning and poor OHSA standards at Radium Dial--this book did a good job highlighting the health issues, family conditions, lawsuits, and the sad history of the Radium Girls.

Kristen Claiborn

I love that I can get the ebooks on my phone. For a long time, I restricted myself to physical books…because I wanted to be that kind of snob. Then I got stuck in line at the DMV and didn’t have a book, so my only form of entertainment was to scroll endlessly through social media. It was exceptionally bland. Then, somewhere along the line, I discovered my library had ebooks and I could get them directly onto the kindle app on my phone. That knowledge changed my life. Suddenly, I had unlimited access to millions of books on the device that never left my eyesight. It was a glorious piece of information. At no point do I have fewer than 10 books checked out on the library’s website, so I always have a book there to start when I finish one. While it is wonderful, there are a few drawbacks. The first is battery power. I’m constantly panicking over whether or not I have enough life left on my phone (but since I rarely use it for anything other than reading, it doesn’t often dip below 70%), and it’s worse when I’m traveling via air. Airplane mode, for whatever dumb reason, drains my phone battery (I ALWAYS have physical books when I travel for that reason). The second: footnotes. Non-fiction books always have footnotes, which work as links in an ebook. If you hit the little blue number, it takes you to the note. Convenient but annoying when that little blue button gets hit unintentionally. 
	And I did that a lot with this book. I think there were as many pages of notes as there were in the actual meat of the book (that might be an exaggeration). Unfortunately, the note-jumping experience clouded a lot of this book for me. 
	Moore did an unbelievable amount of research for this book (as evidenced by the footnotes) and it shines through the entire story. These women became real for her, and their life stories became exceptionally important to her. While reading this book, it was easy for me to see them in their lives, what they were wearing, how they glowed with the radium, and how carefree they were in the early days of their employment as dial painters. Moore’s passion for these women and their stories is the greatest thing about this book. 
	In the year 2022, we are all aware that radiation poisoning kills people, and many people in 1920 also knew, but these women were not protected. They were subjected to huge amounts of deadly radiation, and it killed a huge number of them. What’s even more mind-blowing is that many people knew as early as 1905, yet these women were still subjected to what were horrific working environments. The scientists knew. The company executives knew. Even lower management knew. These women were lied to over and over, repeatedly told there was nothing to fear from the radium dust that literally made them glow in the dark (and eventually made their bones glow through their skin). These companies put profits before people and reading all of it made me angry. It SHOULD make the reader angry. It should have ended there, but alas it did not. Companies consistently put people in jeopardy in order to increase profits. Take Purdue Pharma’s oxycontin. Purdue knew it was addictive, yet they continued to push the narrative it was completely safe in large doses and does not pose a addictive threat. Almost 100 years later and we are still seeing the same patterns. It’s disgusting. These are stories that need to be told, they need to be shouted from rooftops. I applaud and genuinely thank Moore for writing this book.

Emma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf book club choice New York Times bestseller ‘Fascinating.’ Sunday Times ‘Thrilling.’ ????? Mail on Sunday 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.’ As the First World War spread across the world, young American women flocked to work in factories, painting clocks, watches and military dials with a special luminous substance made from radium. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous – the girls shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in dust from the paint. However, as the years passed, the women began to suffer from mysterious and crippling illnesses. It turned out that the very thing that had made them feel alive – their work – was slowly killing them: the radium paint was poisonous. Their employers denied all responsibility, but these courageous women – in the face of unimaginable suffering – refused to accept their fate quietly, and instead became determined to fight for justice. Drawing on previously unpublished diaries, letters and interviews, The Radium Girls is an intimate narrative 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. Further praise for The Radium Girls '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?

They paid with their lives. Their final fight was for justice.

Belle

3.5 rounded up. I'm surprised how much I got into this story. I found myself reading whenever I could because I wanted to know what happened. The author clearly did a lot of research and did well to piece together a story from court records, old interviews, and help from surviving relatives. I learned a lot and enjoyed the story.

I'm not 100% vibing with the writing style, but other than that this was an amazing and sad story. These poor women...

Bec Taylor

Heart breaking, blood boiling, excruciatingly detailed depiction. 
Didn’t actually finish it as I was just too frustrated but talked about it in two book clubs and am looking forward to the movie.

Nadine 

Great introduction to the idea of fighting for the right for safe employment and the impact of the lawsuits and research into radium later on radioactivity etc. 
Was reading the eBook and wish the images had been placed around the relevant text. 
Good to pair with a biography of Marie Curie.

Samantha Armstrong

This book made me cry, no joke, and also enraged. Moore managed to evoke-- clearly, distressingly--the pain that these women went through as their bodies were ravaged from radium, and also just as clearly, how little the world cared (except for a few people who helped them fight the good fight). 

This book more of a popular history as it is written in an interweaving of in-personal non-fiction narrative and Radium Girl's perspective, so it takes a bit of getting used to. Once you are used it, it is an absorbing reading that makes you cry, be angry and cringe as you imagine the vivid details of what happened.

Megan Gober

Opening your mind to the world of unknown elements and the lies of the media, Kate Moore describes the lives of relentless women who provided fervent hard work but were horrifically failed by the same people they served.

Simran Kalkat

A real well written book that talks shares a side of American history that not many of us have heard of before.

Mary Graham

This book was absolutely amazing. What a great way to start my 2018 reading year.

Pam Sartain

What a heartbreaking story of young women being lied to about Radium and their struggle to see justice.

This is a story that I had never heard of, and was so scary how many times the women are lied to about Radium poisoning them, and how companies popped up doing the same thing.

Paige Green

Rating: 4/5

Genre: Historical Non-Fiction

Recommended Age: 13+ (some mature scenes)

I received a free e-book copy of this book from NETGALLEY in exchange for my honest review. This did not influence my decision in any way.

The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger
The Curies' newly discovered element of 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 in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.
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.
But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. 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.
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… - Amazon.com
 
 
While I enjoy fantasy so so much, I do enjoy reading about historical events. I actually used to be a history major! So I was very excited to receive an ARC of this book on NETGALLEY! Thanks Sourcebooks! Anyways, when I read it I was expecting the dry history books of my college days… but I was highly impressed by this book! Not only was it totally engaging, but it was very educational without being pushy (which is pretty rare for some books especially for younger children). What really made this book was the character development. The characters in this book seem to just come alive and you really become invested in these characters and their plight. The writing is superb and is extremely enjoyable as well.

However, while I am freshly out of college I did try to keep in mind how this book would be for younger children, especially those that would pick this book up for a book report. Keeping that in mind, I did find that the pacing was a bit slow and that the plot was a bit drawn out because of it. However, very enjoyable book, very educational book, and very inspirational book because while this is a book about women who were poisoned by the radium fad it does show the strength of these women who could be a role model to many.

Lacey

This book was so sad and such an important part of history.

Sharon Steinman

It was an interesting book telling a horrible story about women who worked radium that was poisoning and killed them. I think it is an important story that needs to be told and remembered for all the woman who died

Jan Talkington

This book took me a while to get through. At times it seemed like "so much of the same" but honestly I don't know how else the story could be told. Interesting to think of how far we have come when it comes to job safety and that a lot of it began with these women.

Amy Brown 

A fascinating account of the dial painters in Ottawa and Orange and the companies that would not accept responsibility for poisoning them with radium. I had never heard of these women before and the story is a powerful one. The writing is not perfect, I had a few issues with the writing style and some turns of phrase. I didn't like how when introducing the characters in the beginning it felt very much focused on their looks, as if that made any difference to the horrors they had to endure. Perhaps however Kate Moore was trying to imitate how these women would have been described in writing at the time. Would 100% recommend, a very illuminating (pardon the pun) read.

The Radium Girls The Dark Story of America's Shining Women