It was many years after the inception of NASA and the space flight program that women were allowed to become astronauts. Though not all of these initial six women are household names today, they all worked to advance both space exploration and women's rights in their own ways.

It rather surprises me that I'm not very interested in space exploration - maybe because I think there's plenty here on Earth to occupy my attention. My mother, on the other hand, is a fanatic whose biggest goal in life is to one day make it to the moon and so I am kept abreast of any advancements in space exploration. However, I am interested in the people who actually made it up into orbit - the whys and hows of it - and so I was excited to read this book about the first six women accepted to NASA as astronauts.

The author devotes equal time to all six women, tracing them from childhood to show us what got them interested in becoming astronauts and how their skills and personalities led to them making it through the grueling selection process. We follow them through training, their missions in space and the advancements through the ranks of astronauts, ending with the tragic death of Judy Resnik and her colleagues in the Challenger disaster, and the investigation afterward. I enjoyed how the author did not show the women as a monolith and let us get to know them all on an individual level.

However, I did wish that the book went into more detail about the scientific aspects of what the women did on their flights to space. We go into their experiences and how the media and the public reacted to the novelty of women in space, but I would have liked to see more about the more routine aspects of their job as well. It also became tricky at times to keep track of the many people in the six's lives, especially their fellow astronauts, so I wished the cast of characters at the start of the book had included them as well.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Amazing history of the first six female astronauts in the US space program. I cried during the prologue and, knowing what was coming, at the end. In between, you'll read about each astronaut's background - standouts in education, sports and more - and the challenges they had to face as women in a completely male-dominated field. Should be required reading!

Thank you to @Scribner and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #TheSix. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

While much has been written about NASA and the space program, it's almost always about the space race of the 1960s and the men who made it happen. The Six picks up where most of those stories leave off with a well-done account of the first female astronauts and their impact on the program and the world.

The author's passion for the topic and her journalistic skill is evident throughout the book. She strikes the perfect balance between the personal backstories of each subject and technical details of their assigned missions. Evan as a self-described "space nerd", I learned several details I wasn't aware of before.

A must read for all space nerds, women in male dominated fields and girls striving to break barriers.

United States Publication: September 12, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

In 1978, NASA decided to allow women to enter into the space program. The newest astronaut training class for that year included America's first six women astronauts. Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon. Their names go down in history for their contributions to America's space exploration. While Sally was the first American woman to go into space, each of the women made significant contributions to the program and furthering STEM interests for girls and boys. Judy even gave her life as she was on the Challenger in 1986 when it exploded one minute after lift-off. Each of the six helped shape the NASA program into what it is today, paving the way for future women to take their places among its ranks.

Grush provides a succinct biography of each woman to bring her to present-day 1978 when she received the call and invitation to be one of the first women to join NASA's astronaut training program. Then Grush continues each woman's story after she joined NASA, sometimes combining it with the other women that made up the six, sometimes featuring just that woman herself - discussing her challenges and contributions to science and space exploration. It was a really interesting look into the six women who made American history in 1978. I am really grateful to have read it and know more about the intense focus, dedication, and academic/scientific acumen required to be an astronaut and to know more about these particular six women who sit in the halls of American history.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the advanced copy of this book. I have been following the space story since man initially landed on the moon in 1969. I've certainly read all about the pioneers and the men and women who have taken part in the many different aspects of space flight.

The six women profiled are Anna Fisher, Shannon Lucid, Rhea Seddon, Kathy Sullivan, Judy Resnick, and Sally Ride, It was interesting to read about the inner competition to be "the first woman" in space, similar to who would be the very first astronaut in space and the first to step onto the moon. It's obviously a very competitive pursuit for all involved.

I think this is an excellent book for young girls to read, to be inspired by these women, regardless of what field their interests may lie in.

When I was in 1st or 2nd grade, I pulled that classic kid move of being like, "Mom, I have a book report due tomorrow and I need to dress up like the person and I picked Sally Ride." This would've been not terribly long after Sally Ride became the first American woman to make it to space; her mission was in 1983 and this was somewhere in the 1984-1986 range, but clearly there were already children's biographies of Sally Ride to be read and be reported upon.

I've long been vaguely interested in the space program, possibly because I was one of those small children who knew that a teacher would be going into space...and who was then traumatized by the Challenger explosion. As an adult, that's manifested as mostly reading a bunch of books and watching a bunch of documentaries about the early days of the space program, the Mercury and Apollo astronauts. This was really my first exposure to the Space Shuttle program. (Maybe it was of less interesting because I remembered it?)

In the mid-70s, NASA started to recruit astronauts for a new program, where the spaceships would be reusable and big enough for people on board to conduct various experiments. This meant that instead of everyone on board having to be pilots, there could be mission specialists. They'd get training to work on the shuttles, but their primary roles would be elsewhere. And NASA knew that they had to make an effort to recruit women and minorities. Grush's book is about the six women in that first class of astronauts.

Grush does a great job in this book. She manages to describe both the women (and other astronauts) and the logistics of astronaut training and shuttle missions engagingly. I didn't really have much of an idea what astronauts actually did up on the shuttle (much like I'm not really sure what astronauts do today), but now I have a much better idea.

(The book ends with Challenger, which took the life of Judy Resnik, one of the Six, as well as other astronauts we'd met throughout the book, as well as Christa McAuliffe. I pinged those names immediately [though I can't name a single member of the lost Columbia crew]. Grush actually lays the groundwork early on, describing the design of the shuttles...including the O-rings. She includes the investigation into what happened; Sally Ride was on the committee. I thought her handling of the disaster was extremely well-done and completely heartbreaking.)

I don't know whether it's how things actually were or whether Grush was glossing over it, but for a lot of the book, things seemed a bit too hunky dory. The Six had to deal with a lot of media inquiries (one of my favorite bits was the day their astronaut class was introduced to the media and the Six would meet up in the bathroom to discuss strategies and compare notes), of course. Grush certainly mentions instances of sexism from NASA staff and other astronauts, but it's largely not delved into. Some of the Six dealt with it by ribbing the offenders back; others tried to shut it down or ignore it. The jokes and comments seemed to persist for quite some time and Grush does note them throughout the book, but something about the portrayal of it just seemed a bit off for me. She does do a good job pointing out things like NASA continuing--even into more recent missions--to not have spacesuits that fit women.

Grush does spend some time on the Six's romantic lives, including Sally's female and male partners. She doesn't dwell on any of it too much; at times I wondered if she should've gone into it a bit more, honestly. When the Six originally joined NASA, a bunch of media questions were about whether or not there would be romance between the male and female astronauts. And...there was. Anna's husband actually joined her as an astronaut, but at least two other of the Six married astronauts. Totally understandable, but was there ever any hesitation there? I wonder.

We do get some great moments. Like when Sally (Grush refers to people throughout the book by their first names, which I found interesting; her style at times was also a bit casual) was at a press conference just before her first launch, she said, "It's too bad that our society isn't further along and that this is such a big deal ... But I guess if the American public thinks that it's a big deal, then it's probably good that it's getting the coverage that it's getting. I think it's time we get away from that, and it's time people realized that women in this country can do any job they want to do."

I'm one of those little girls who knew from a young age that women could go into space, too. And it was thanks to these women. I enjoyed getting to know them better.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for providing an advance copy for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

As a lover of history, women, and astronauts, this was the perfect book. It was a well-written piece about the first female astronauts working for NASA. It provided a glimpse into the lives of these phenomenal women and the work that they did.

I would recommend this book to all!

Though initially excluded, women were invited to become NASA astronauts in 1978 when the Space Shuttle program began. This engaging and readable book tells the stories of the first six to be chosen. This book is a good choice for fans of HIDDEN FIGURES, or for anyone who enjoys biography, space exploration, and women in STEM.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Sometimes, we forget how fortunate we are to be able to go to university, apply for jobs that aren't allowed ot discriminate based on sex or even just have dreams beyond what's expected of us. The Six reminds us that even women who were overqualified to be astronauts had to fight to be there.

Sometimes it's staggering to realize that some of the brightest minds of this age are balancing pregnancy, full careers, and training for other goals? I can't stress enough how much I think this book should be included in curriculums for schools?! All young women need to read Loren Gush's latest!!

NOTES:
- Would be a FANTASTIC audiobook!!
- I think this also goes into my list of books perfect to give as gifts!!

**Thank you to Scribner & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR

Growing up, I heard the names Sally Ride and Christa McAuliffe, but I never learned about the six first female astronauts at NASA. I enjoyed this book so much! I love the back stories of each woman and how their personal lives meshed with their profession.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who would like to read more about pioneering women astronauts.

I got an ARC of this book.

A bit overwritten. It took a while to get used to that, but after that I really enjoyed learning more. I enjoyed seeing how the stories intersected and time periods overlapped.

I just wish there were citations so I could see what was added for flavor and what came from interviews. It would have been interesting to know just what little detail came from where and what was used as flavor. Without those citations I just kept going "did she really feel that?" and "did she really say that?" a lot. Pretty sure my partner was getting annoyed with me before I finished chapter one.

This non-fiction story of the six trailblazing women who joined NASA in the late 1970s to become the first women astronauts read like a novel. You may know two of the six women, Sally Ride and Judy Resnick, but the other four, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon, made important contributions to NASA and the space shuttle program as well. I found each woman's story engaging and detailed to better understand why they wanted to become astronauts. Each woman had their own reasons and their own journey to get there, but once they became part of NASA, they each had similar sexist experiences and they handled them in their own style. These amazing women worked hard and overcame each hurdle to become a part of history and go into space on shuttle missions. I remember watching Sally Ride's first mission into space and Judy Resnick's catastrophic ending on those Florida shores on TV in the 1980s. It helped me believe that women can do anything. If you enjoy books that celebrate women groundbreakers, like the women in the book Hidden Figures, I highly recommend this book.
Thank you Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Once NASA decided to allow women into the program, they selected 6 women to be part of their 1978 astronaut candidate class. This book follows their selection and the beginning of their careers.

Although the book had a slow start, it quickly picked up steam once the women were selected and training for missions. I was amazed at both the bravery and determination of these women. It couldn't have been easy to be among the first, where being good, just wasn't enough, you had to be the best. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been fascinated by space exploration. I was barely a toddler when the Challenger exploded and in high school during the Columbia tragedy, which dampened public opinion about the NASA program. Yet, I remember being in awe when the Mars Pathfinder landed or John Glenn returned to space.

I’ve read several books the Apollo missions and the astronauts who were part of the Apollo missions or the original Mercury Seven. All of them were about men, usually former fighter pilots, since that’s all NASA accepted in its original program. I was delighted to see a book about the first six American women in space and couldn’t wait to read it.

I was not disappointed. I liked learning about each of the astronauts, all mission specialists, though they all learned how to pilot too. Most attention in media has been given to Sally Ride since she was the first American woman in space. She like Neil Armstrong was an introvert just looking to do her job and not one to welcome the spotlight.

Six gives equal attention to each of the six women, providing background on their lives before astronauts, what made them want to apply for the job, their training, home lives, and their missions. Funnily enough, I thought each subsequent mission was more interesting than the one before. Shannon Lucid might have been the last to fly, but the details in the chapter about her mission - having to share a ride to space with a prince, greeting her son on the return and the little boy just wants to know what’s for dinner, and refusing to be called an “honorary man” just to appease Saudi royalty - stuck with me the most.

If you like reading about space exploration, people who are pioneers in their field, or about strong, intelligent women, I would definitely recommend checking this one out.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you Scribner and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book!

This book has reawakened my inner space nerd. I loved being able to learn more about the astronauts I already knew and about the ones I didn’t. I’ll admit it took me awhile to get through the book but that was mostly due to me constantly jumping into Wiki wormholes to learn more. Absolutely worth the read to find out how these six remarkable women blazed trails both big and small for the women that would follow them.

A great read about the history the first NASA women astronauts. I enjoyed following these six courageous women from the selection process through their careers at NASA and beyond. The author’s writing style is very pleasant for a non- fiction book.

4 stars! I wanted to love this book but found some of the narration jarring. We go from present tense to fact giving. I wonder if an audio version might convey this better? Overall I think this story is so important to share, and I LOVE learning about important women in history overcoming societal norms.

An absolutely fascinating look at these six women astronauts.so well written so informative. I found their stories so interesting so involving will be recommending.

First, thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have been following NASA and all things space since I was a youngster so was very excited to see this book based on the story of the first women astronauts. While I did enjoy reading it, I found the chapters to be very long and somewhat disjointed. I also thought the extensive writing about the investigation into the Challenger disaster was not really necessary in the context of this book. The fact that one of the Six was involved and that Sally Ride was involved in the investigation should have been where the discussion ended. I was also curious why in the wrap up at the end that the 2 women astronauts involved in the Columbia disaster ( Laurel Clark and Kalpana Chawla) were never mentioned. Kalpana was the first woman of Indian origin to fly in space……other firsts were mentioned so why not this one? I do recommend reading The Six particularly if you are a woman with a love of all this space related like me.

As a self-avowed space geek, I loved The Six, which focuses on the lead-up to the selection of six women as part of the 1978 astronaut class, their initial missions to space, and the Challenger disaster that once again forced NASA to take a hard look at their hardware and safety processes. There were moments in the book where I was so aggravated on the women's behalf, with the outright sexist attitudes and remarks that were pervasive during the time that they were breaking boundaries (and not just out to orbit). It's frustrating that so many people have to go through these battles to prove that things like gender, race, religion and orientation are not limitations on capabilities. Even knowing many of the events in the book, I still would get goosebumps as I was reading sections where the women were waiting to launch to space. The excitement of getting the selection call from NASA. And the sense of dread as the launch of Challenger prior to exploding is recounted. While the deaths of two of the six prior to publication, and the lack of direct access to two more because of contractual obligations limits Grush from being able to fully inhabit the journey of each woman, extensive research and access to interviews and crewmates still gives the reader a good feel for the battles this group of women experienced, their passion for being astronauts, and their desire to be known for their accomplishments, not their gender. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.