Publishers Weekly
03/20/2017
British ghostwriter Moore traces the lives of more than a dozen American women who were employed as luminous watch-dial painters as early as 1917. She tells how these women, some barely in their 20s, were enchanted by high pay and the allure of the paint’s luminescent substance: radium. Carefully researched, the work will stun readers with its descriptions of the glittering artisans who, oblivious to health dangers, twirled camel-hair brushes to fine points using their mouths, a technique called lip-pointing. By the end of 1918, one out of six American soldiers owned a luminous watch, but the women had begun losing their teeth and entire pieces of their jaws. Moore describes the gruesome effects of radiation exposure on these women’s bodies, and she spares nothing in relaying the intense emotional suffering of their friends and families during subsequent medical investigations and court battles. In giving voice to so many victims, Moore overburdens the story line, which culminates with a 1938 headline trial during which a former employee of the Radium Dial Company collapsed on the stand and had to testify from bed. Moore details what was a “ground-breaking, law-changing, and life-saving accomplishment” for worker’s rights; it lends an emotionally charged ending to a long, sad book. (May)
From the Publisher
"Radium Girls spares us nothing of their suffering; though at times the foreshadowing reads more like a true-crime story, Moore is intent on making the reader viscerally understand the pain in which these young women were living, and through which they had to fight in order to get their problems recognized…The story of real women at the mercy of businesses who see them only as a potential risk to the bottom line is haunting precisely because of how little has changed; the glowing ghosts of the radium girls haunt us still." — NPR Books
"A perfect blend of the historical, the scientific, and the personal, this richly detailed book sheds a whole new light on this unique element and the role it played in changing workers' rights. The Radium Girls makes it impossible for you to ignore these women's incredible stories, and proves why, now more than ever, we can't afford to ignore science, either." — Bustle
"Kate Moore has dug deep to expose a wrong that still resonates–as it should–in this country. Exceptional!" — San Francisco Book Review
"Compelling chronicle of women whose work maimed and killed them while their employers, their doctors and their government turned a blind eye to their suffering" — The Seattle Times
"Written with the taut pacing of a novel, Kate Moore’s The Radium Girls tells the horrifying true story of the young women who worked in radium dial factories in the 1920s and ’30s...Their incredible story, beautifully told by Kate Moore, is sure to incite equal parts compassion and horror in the reader." — BookPage
"We sometimes need reminding of where health and safety came from, and why it is so very important for progress. The Radium Girls compels us to remember." — Chemistry World
"Carefully researched, the work will stun readers with its descriptions of the glittering artisans who, oblivious to health dangers, twirled camel-hair brushes to fine points using their mouths, a technique called lip-pointing…Moore details what was a ‘ground-breaking, law-changing, and life-saving accomplishment’ for worker’s rights." — Publishers Weekly
"This timely book celebrates the strength of a group of women, whose determination to fight improved both labor laws and scientific knowledge of radium poisoning. Written in a highly readable, narrative style, Moore’s chronicle of these inspirational women’s lives is sure to provoke discussion—and outrage—in book groups." — Booklist-STARRED review
"Moore’s well-researched narrative is written with clarity and a sympathetic voice that brings these figures and their struggles to life...a must-read for anyone interested in American and women’s history, as well as topics of law, health, and industrial safety." — STARRED Library Journal
"Kate Moore vividly depicts the female factory workers whose courage led to a revolution in industrial safety standards. In describing their heart wrenching struggles and bittersweet triumphs, Moore delivers an intimate portrait of these pioneers. Uplifting and beautifully written, The Radium Girls is a tribute to the strength of women everywhere." — Nathalia Holt, New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us From Missiles to the Moon to Mars
"Kate Moore’s gripping narrative about the betrayal of the radium girls—gracefully told and exhaustively researched—makes this a nonfiction classic. I particularly admire Moore’s compassion for her subjects and her story-telling prowess, which brings alive a shameful era in America’s industrial history." — Rinker Buck, author of The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey and Flight of Passage
Library Journal
★ 02/15/2017
Moore (Roses Are Red…) details the tragic stories of dozens of young women employed as dial painters during World War I. Often the daughters of immigrants, these women were lured to these prestigious and well-paying jobs unaware of the dangers of the radioactive paint present in their workplace—which caused their bodies and clothes to glow, even outside of work. With America's entry into World War I, demand for painted dials and painters skyrocketed. Soon, many employees suffered aching teeth and jaws, sore joints, and sarcomas. As their ailments worsened, many sought answers from their employers. They were met with denials and misinformation even as evidence mounted that radium poisoned these women. After nearly 20 years, several trials, and thousands of dollars in doctor and attorney fees, the women won a small measure of justice, but for some, it was too late. Moore's well-researched narrative is written with clarity and a sympathetic voice that brings these figures and their struggles to life. VERDICT A must-read for anyone interested in American and women's history, as well as topics of law, health, and industrial safety.—Chad E. Statler, Lakeland Comm. Coll., Kirtland, OH
JUNE 2017 - AudioFile
This audiobook tells the tragic story of the women who worked with the new wonder element, radium, ushering in a new era for American businesses, and paying for it with their lives. Narrator Angela Brazil has a lively, clear voice, excellent diction, and a great sense of pacing. She maintains her energy throughout this impressive history and varies her approach to keep the story interesting and approachable. For most of the book, though, Brazil sounds as though she’s announcing rather than simply narrating. It would have been better to dial back some of her energy and focus on phrasing as opposed to pronouncing every individual word with precision. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
