In this fascinating book about the many important women in the fields of astronomy and space exploration, Dale DeBakcsy explores ancient lady astronomers all the way to current trailblazers in these fascinating fields. Alternating between chapters dedicated to one incredible woman and chapters composed of many shorter biographical sketches, DeBakcsy provides an exhaustive amount of information about these many intelligent women. DeBakcsy also references other works about these pioneers in “Further Reading” sections, including as many references to related books as possible (and addressing which women do not have more scholarship about them and why). DeBakcsy places these women into the central narrative of astronomical and space exploration innovations while also highlighting their personal accomplishments -- publications, discoveries, and other successes. The balance between individual achievement and collective success is remarkable and allows the reader to fully understand the significance of these women, even if they do not fully understand the scientific nuances. Continuing a series starting with A History of Women in Medicine, DeBakcsy continues to explore the lives of historical women in STEM, changing the historical narrative on these topics and presenting a more diverse and complete picture of the histories of STEM fields.

This is a thorough and interesting book about the women who've studied and explored space. It's written more in an encyclopedic than narrative form, which makes it a good choice as a reference book. As a historical romance author, I know I'll turn to it regularly.

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

Even from the very beginning note on inclusion, I knew I was going to love this book. It’s superbly written and incredibly interesting from the start.

There are SO many hidden women in science, astronomy and physics it’s just unfathomable. This book did such a great job on shining a light on so many of them and managed to include an overwhelming amount of some fab women and historical figures in STEM, some known and some never heard of. It made for such interesting reading and was written in a way that both engaged and informed the reader.

There were also really handy pointers at the end of each important figure, telling you where you could go for further reading which I also found super useful. The pages dwindled quickly and with paragraphs briefly focusing on one and their achievements, it made for speedy reading. The chapters varied but always felt short and easy to read.

There seems to be so much in here and way too much to absorb fully in one sitting. I’d definitely go back and reread again and again.

This was very informative and I did learn a lot - however, the style of writing was really dense and slow. This wasn’t a “for fun/to relax” type of book. This would work well for people who really want to learn or who are taking a related course I think! It just was a bit too slow for me to enjoy the way I would have liked,

Fascinating and Inspiring! I have two daughters in STEM and wanted to read this to learn more about the impacts women have made in these fields. So many trailblazing women with significant scientific and mathematical contributions are documented in this book. It’s a log of accomplishments and truly inspiring possibilities. I’m so grateful this book has been written and I’ll definitely be buying a copy for my girls. I also love the recommendations for further reading.