After visiting the Trinity site in New Mexico, I’ve been fascinated by the stories behind the people who work to create the first nuclear bomb. Many didn’t even know what they were working on, but only knew their one small part. The Radium Girls is about some of the women who helped work on the project with radium. I thought this would be an interesting book for the November Online Book Club.
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.
Plan to join us in the discussion of TheRadium Girls on November 29 here on the blog and on Facebook.
