Nathalia Holt is the author of Cured: The People Who Defeated HIV and a former fellow at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT and Harvard University. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, TheAtlantic.com, Slate, Time.com, and Popular Science. She lives in Boston.
"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
A New York Times bestseller
A Los Angeles Times bestseller
An Amazon Best Book of 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"
Goodreads Choice Awards finalist "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
"A marvelous book.... When Neil Armstrong made his 'giant leap for
mankind, ' there was womankind in the control room."
--Maria Popova, Brain Pickings
"A must read for any women in tech or interested in
technology!"--Girls Who Code
"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
"An intriguing account of the young, female 'human computers' who
worked at Caltech's JPL. 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"
"Engaging.... A fresh contribution to women's history.... Besides
chronicling the development of America's space program, Holt
recounts the women's private lives-marriages, babies, and the
challenge of combining motherhood and work-gleaned from her
interviewees' vivid memories."
--Kirkus
"Heartfelt.... An accessible and human-centered history.... Holt
cheerfully describes the women of JPL (and JPL itself), their
triumphs, and the inevitable questions about when they would marry
and quit working to raise families."
--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Holt argues that these women's calculations played an
under-appreciated part in NASA's towering achievements.... Here,
math is dramatic, not mundane. Calculating is a physical, even
athletic, act.... Holt depicts the human computers' life stories
vividly."
--Jennifer Light, Nature
"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
"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
"Holt gives voice to the seldom-recognized female mathematicians
and scientists who shaped NASA in its earliest years and
beyond."--ALA Magazine
"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
"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)
"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
"Immersive, evocative.... Superbly readable.... Holt's poignant
narrative should be required reading."
--Maya Gittelman, Bookreporter
"Incredible....Holt unveils this forgotten history with nuance and
insight."
--Laurel Raymond, Think Progress
"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"
"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
"Non-fiction tends to be a good reading slump buster for me, and
this one seems perfect."
--Andi Miller, Book Riot
"NASA's 'Rocket Girls' are no longer forgotten history. Thanks to a
new book, these female pioneers who helped the U.S. win the space
race are finally getting their due... Holt documents the lives of
these women, who were not only pioneers in their profession, but
also in their personal lives."
--Naomi Shavin, Smithsonian
"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"
"The women's stories are fun, intense, and endearing, and they give
a new perspective on the rise of the space age."--Popular
Science
"The JPL's earliest days were fueled by math whizzes who happened
to be women.... Holt was clearly smitten while interviewing
surviving members of the elite group, and conveys that affection
while honoring their story."
--Discover
"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
"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
"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
"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
in the '40s and '50s and made that 'one small step for man'
possible in the first place."
--Isabella Biedenharn, Christian Holub, Dana Getz, Entertainment
Weekly
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