This is such a well researched and unique story. This follows female, Jewish scientists as they try to get out of Germany during WWII. These ladies have to depend on the science community to help get them to safety. And believe me…it is not easy. As with most books set in this time period, it is emotional. But I have to give kudos to the author for the research and the subject. As I said before, very unique!

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

It took me a bit longer to get through Sisters in Science, due to rereading and at times Googling terms and such that were beyond my comprehension.

The book itself was fascinating and filled with information I knew nothing about until now. I feel like students and non students alike should pick up and educate themselves on these brave intellectual woman .

The book itself is a slower, heavier read, but well researched and written in a manner that makes reading enjoyable.

When the Nazis came to power, many people had to fear for their safety, their careers and of course, their lives. This book tells the story of some of the Jewish women who had finally broken into the male dominated world of science, but because of their gender and religion, were fired from their roles at labs and universities when the Nazis held power. Some of them escaped to Sweden or the US and their contributions to science were numerous and integral to the physics world, but then because of their gender, the world didn’t learn of them and many of their contributions were attributed to the men who were happy to take the accolades.

A few things kept going through my mind as I read this - if you base your policies on hate, your country will eventually fail, beginning with the moral corruption. Germany was so fixated on ridding itself of Jews and other enemies of the state and making sure women became mothers and not academics that it was blind as to what it was giving up - they basically gave the US all of the scientific breakthroughs that otherwise would have occurred in Germany/Austria (like nuclear fission). As a nonfiction book I thought it would be a little dry, but in general the style of the writing kept me interested most of the time (I may have skimmed over some of the physics stuff) and she did a really great job of showing the moral failures of the entire world at the time. I think this is an important book to show what amazing things people can still accomplish even when the world seems to be against them.

Thank you to Park Row Books and NetGalley for the ARC to review

SISTERS IN SCIENCE details the lives of Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer, and Hildegard Stücklen, four women who were forced to leave their homes, their research and livelihoods due to Hitler’s regime. It wasn’t enough that these four intelligent physicists were already facing sexism and working below their educated talents, but now with Hitler’s takeover, they were also being discriminated against because they were Jewish.

Many scientists and foundations from all over the world had to band together to get these four women to safety and it wasn’t easy. At times, this book reads like a thrilling novel as you are taken along on Lise’s train ride to Sweden or Hedwig’s numerous roadblocks to her leaving Germany. However, as thrilling as it was in spots, it does take a bit to get into this story.

Since I am the farthest thing from a scientist, I have to admit that a lot of the physics conversations in the book went WAY over my head. I didn’t understand much of what these women were working on, but what I did understand was the constant sexism and semitism that they faced as well as the fear and uncertainty that each of them had if they couldn’t find a way out of Germany. Unfortunately, these are things people are still facing in the workplace today nearly 100 years later. These scientists were paid drastically less, weren’t allowed to be professors (only high school teachers), and couldn’t have their own labs (they had to work under a male scientist). But, without their research and perseverance to continue their work, many scientific problems would not be answered today.

“‘What will our soldiers think when they return to the university and find that they are required to learn at the feet of a woman?’ the faculty demanded.”

Aside from the story of the women’s lives, WWI and eventually WWII are raging in the background. The author creates a timeline of sorts of Hitler’s regime and the creation of the various concentration camps interspersed with the lives of these female scientists to create an urgency to their situation. While trying to save these scientists seemed like such a monumental task, male Jewish scientists like Einstein were easily transported to safer places like the US. Especially, when these women were coming up with solutions to just as important problems as the men were, sometimes alongside them.

“Just as the goal of the darkness is to snuff out the light, the goal of the Nazis was to snuff out anyone who wasn’t a straight, able-bodied member of their invented master race-as well as anyone who stood in the way of that goal…The Nazis considered your ancestry in their calculations of intolerance, not your religious practices. So, while making scientific history, Lise was also frantically searching for a way to make it out of Nazi Germany alive.”

Olivia Campbell’s extensive research and attention to detail make sure that the lives of these women and their struggles are remembered and honored. Her extensive bibliography and end notes are proof of her diligent fact-checking which must have taken years to collect and write. I think these women would be proud to know another woman took the time and effort to record their history.

These four brilliant scientists never lost hope even when they were forced to rely on friends, acquaintances, strangers, and other countries to save them. Each of their situations was desperate and if not for the monetary interventions and monumental plans to save them, they would not have made it out of Germany alive. I won’t try to explain their contributions to science but know that their discoveries made a huge difference. If you can wade through the extensive scientific details, this is a fascinating book.

"Sisters in Science" was an okay read. It's well-researched with interesting history, but the book wasn't particularly engaging.

This book shares the stories of four German scientists from the start of their careers to their escape from Nazi Germany and their lives after the war. To put it simply, each story is a remarkable read. From blatant misogyny to actual legal obstacles, achieving a degree in any scientific field as a woman in the early 20th century was a feat in itself. When the Nazis took power, even more restrictions are put on the women forcing all four (two of them Jewish) to flee. These stories offer hope as these are the women who survived thanks not only to their own strength and courage but also hundreds of people who worked together to give these women the job offers, money, and transportation arrangements needed to escape. Even though the story of these four women ends with their survival, it makes the dedication even more poignant:

“This book is dedicated to all the women academics murdered by the Nazis. Their absence haunts this book; the rippling impact of their loss affects us all. May their memories be a blessing and remind us of the importance of fighting fascism and unfettered hatred in all its forms.”

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Park Row Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

“This book is dedicated to all the women academics murdered by the Nazis. Their absence haunts this book; the rippling impact of their loss affects us all. May their memories be a blessing and remind us of the importance of fighting fascism and unfettered hatred in all its forms.”

Though I’m not an expert, I thought I knew a lot about Nazi Germany, WWII, and the Holocaust, but I learned so many things from this book! As my one and only nonfiction read/review of the year, this was a great pick.

It had lots of primary sources and was clearly very well-researched. It’s incredibly informative and paints a very detailed picture of what women academics were facing in the 1930s-40s, worldwide but particularly in Germany. These extraordinary women already faced so much discrimination and challenges merely due to misogyny and sexism, but of course everything became that much worse once the Nazis took power. The book specifically follows the stories of Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer, and Hildegard Stücklen, who all had to eventually flee Nazi Germany and eventually settle in the United States due to being Jewish (or having Jewish ancestry), simply being women in academia, or being anti-Nazi. They lost their personal and professional connections, at least to a certain degree, and all experienced setbacks in their careers due to this forced exile.

I would love to read more about these women’s lives and accomplishments, because while this book did make me interested to know more, it wasn’t always the easiest to follow. While trying to do justice to all four biographies, it jumps around a bit, repeats things already discussed (which makes some sense because it’s now providing context for another person’s story, but still), and pads the four main women’s stories by jumping almost randomly to other people briefly and then jumping back. Especially with three of the four biographies following women whose names start with H, it was hard to keep things straight.

I also think I went in with unclear expectations. With a subtitle of “How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History,” I expected a bit more…excitement, I guess. Olivia Campbell starts by providing backstory on the women and the historical climate, which is necessary I’m sure, but that means we don’t actually get to the real rise of the Nazis until a quarter of the way through the book. While it was fascinating and heartbreaking to read all the great hardships these women suffered and all the many hoops they had to jump through to enter academia, build their careers, and then ensure their own survival, we don’t get to the real nail-biter I was expecting from a book about “escaping Nazi Germany” until almost halfway through.

Then there’s the scientific parts. I guess I didn’t realize going into this how much actual science would be discussed, which is probably silly on my part since it is about women making *scientific* history. Truly, it makes sense that Olivia Campbell would need to explain the science behind their discoveries and accomplishments to truly demonstrate just how brilliant and groundbreaking the four women’s work was. But…it was really dry. I like science. I was pre-med for two years of university (long story, don’t ask). But I found myself only barely skimming a lot of those parts to get back to the more biographical sections.

So while this book wasn’t a perfect fit for me, I do think someone who enjoys scientific talk and the history of science, as well as is interested in WWII history and feminism, but who can taper their expectations regarding the “escape” parts of the book, I do think others would really enjoy it. And if nothing else, at least I now have lots more facts to whip out when I’m feeling a bit of feminine and/or antifascist rage coming on, like why I’m mad about the Nobel prize they gave Otto Hahn for nuclear fission and why I’ll never buy a Ford.

Read if you’re interested in:
History nonfiction
History of science
Physics
Nazi Germany & WWII
Feminism
Women in academia

Sisters in Science is a powerful and inspiring account of four extraordinary women—Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer, and Hildegard Stücklen—brilliant scientists forced to flee Nazi Germany as World War II loomed. While Kohn found refuge in Sweden, Meitner, Sponer, and Stücklen made their way to the United States, continuing their groundbreaking work in exile.
These remarkable women not only defied the oppressive regime that sought to silence them but also contributed immensely to their respective fields.
Olivia Campbell has crafted a meticulously researched and compelling narrative that is as informative as it is inspiring. The book balances depth with readability, maintaining a pace that keeps readers fully engaged.
Thank you so much to the Olivia Campbell, NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

This book is not at all what I thought it would be. I missed somewhere that it was nonfiction. However, it was a very interesting perspective on what happened in Nazi run Germany.

This book follows some women in science throughout the time that hitler was taking over and describes their journeys to ground breaking discoveries despite being persecuted for being Jewish or Jewish friendly. It also goes over how, in a male driven field, the women did not get the credit they deserved for these discoveries.

There is a lot of heavy statistics and science lingo throughout this book. It’s very well researched and very well put together. These women were scientific heroes of the time and yet we knew nothing about them. That in itself is tragic.

When I saw this book, I was immediately interested in reading it. I love reading untold stories of women throughout history and especially in STEM. This book goes back into the 1930s and we meet four women scientists. We follow them as they struggle to even be allowed at universities, and eventually must flee Germany and go to Sweden and the US.

“Silly girl. Didn’t she know that universities were for men? That math was for boys?”

These four women were brilliant scientists and their stories deserve to be told. They were strong and brave and their journey was so difficult.

I thought this book was really well researched and very detailed and the author doesn’t shy away from the horrors these women experienced. Some parts are hard to read, but I believe understanding our history (even the ugliest parts) is important.

If you enjoy reading about history and science, I would check this book out. This book does dive into the actual science behind their work, so you’ll probably learn a little something too!

It's one thing to know that the Nazis murdered 6 million Jews. But Campbell introduces us to abut a dozen
German women, pioneers in chemistry and physics, and the harrowing ordeals they endured in order to escape death at the Nazis' hands. These women first fought for the right to attend university and study in their chosen fields. Then they fought to be allowed to teach or do research, something that was extremely rare for women to achieve. Many worked under men who were openly misogynistic, and didn’t receive any credit for their discoveries.
But once the Nazis came to power, female and Jewish scientists in Germany were denied the right to work, or in the cases of Jewish women, the right to exist. Several international agencies worked to provide funds for intellectuals to emigrate from Germany, or offers of employment for them, but most agency efforts were directed toward men. Four German female scientists miraculously managed to emigrate—three of them to America, and one to Sweden. These are their stories.

As a reader of military history, I’ve already read quite a bit on the Nazis, Hitler’s rise to power, and World War II. I’d heard of Lise Meitner and had a vague outline of her accomplishments; I was aware that she had had to flee the Nazi pogroms. Sisters in Science offered the opportunity to find out more about her, and other women like her, so I jumped at the chance. And frankly, the publication of this book, given current events, is timely; there are lessons to be learned here.

Taken as a whole, Sisters in Science is a highly informative read on a few different fronts. It does fulfill its promise to familiarize the reader on Lise and other notable women in science, and their escape from the Nazis. It also offers an in-depth view of the scientific studies each of them pursued, looks at several other notable scientists – both men and women – and describes the state and progress of scientific research at the time.

There is a lot of fascinating stuff here, and for the most part it’s an interesting read as well. My only real problem with the book is that it takes a while for it to find its footing. The book first mentions concern over these women escaping fascism in the opening pages, in reference to Hedwig, though at that point it mentions only that the Nazis had her fired and her supporters were trying to arrange for her flight. Lise’s ancestry (and subsequent risk) is mentioned just before the beginning of section seven, or roughly ten percent of the book. And then the book makes no reference to the danger these women are in, or their efforts to escape, until around a quarter of the way through, when the author discusses Hitler’s election as Chancellor.

In the intervening pages there are several tangents to explain various scientific concepts, or historical facts (such as the education of women and the state of feminism). And while these are all important aspects of history and even pertinent to a certain degree, I felt them to be distractions that do not appreciably add to the discussion of the subject matter. My presumption is that the author is compensating for a reader who has zero knowledge of any of the topics being discussed in the book. In which case this may be the perfect book in terms of sharing knowledge, but it does make it disjointed and scattered for much of its beginning.

After the first quarter the book does flow much better. It still bounces around a fair bit as the author updates the reader on each of the scientists in turn, but it doesn’t feel so haphazard, and the last three quarters of the book is a pleasure to read.

Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.

Sisters in Science follows four physicists working in Germany during the rise of Hitler and their paths to getting out of Germany in order to survive. The book covers Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer, and Hildegard Stücklen from their start in physics through their rise to being researchers and professors then their varied paths to get out of Germany. The only one of the four I am familiar with is Lise Meitner who I think is overlooked in the history of science.

The main issues encountered by all four stem from both misogyny and anti-semetism. What strikes me the most is how these issues remain nearly a hundred years later. The slow erosion of rights as Hitler solidified his hold on Germany feels way too close to home. There are lessons to be learned.

Well worth reading.

Blog post goes live Dec 31st
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Amazon & B&N reviews will be submitted after release
Will be covered in upcoming Youtube review video


**TL;DR**: This one had me tense, sad, and fascinated all in different turns. A very good read
**Source**: Netgalley - Thanks so much to the publisher!

**Plot**: We follow four women (who are mostly forgotten by popular history) who fled Nazi Germany.
**Subjects**: These three women were all fascinating and important to scientific history. I’d like to read more about them.
**Setting**: We stayed primarily in Germany following our women and the Nazi rise though we branched to a few other countries later in the book.
**Readability**: This was very accessible, there were only a few times I felt like a some knowledge of the science would have been nice.

**Thoughts**:

Sisters in Science was an emotional read for me, I have to admit. We follow the lives of four women who grew up and studied science in Germany. This alone is a huge achievement for the time as the author points out, this was difficult and in some areas almost impossible. This is during the time in which women are forced to stay home and in most cases not even allowed to finish higher degrees. Unfortunately all four women are impacted as the Nazi’s rise to power disrupts and threatens all of them.

The book follows what we know happens. Hitler’s slow rise to power and his gradual murder and destruction of the Jewish population. It’s not just the Jewish folks, those even remotely related or associated, and others of smaller populations are targeted and we see that outlined here. It always boggles my mind the level of hate a group of people can have for others, historical or now, and that is what made this so difficult to read at times. She didn’t shy to far away from the atrocities but did manage to focus on the women. We were shown the clear danger they were in as colleagues and family were murdered around them and we watched them flee.

I really recommend this for anyone who loves science history, especially focusing on the scientists themselves. Fans of WWII histories will likely also enjoy this. It’s great for beginners in the subjects especially (like myself) as it’s readable and at times I felt like I was reading a thriller. My husband laughed at me a couple of times as I gasped and sighed out loud.

4 out of 5 stars

I've been trying to read a bit more WWII non-fiction in the past couple of years, and I love to read science history so Sisters in Science was the perfect combination for me. It also ticked the box for reading outside of the life sciences as it is focused on scientists in physics and chemistry.

Campbell might start with the WWII years but she tells these women's stories from the start of their careers before the war (mostly the 1920s and early 1930s). So in that way, we get much more science history.

I have read several books (both fiction and nonfiction) that showcase the plight of women in the early years of science. If books like A Lesson in Chemistry or A Lab of Her Own sparked your curiosity and interest, then this book should definitely be on your list to read.

I already knew about some of the challenges and obstacles women faced such as being uncredited authors of papers and being left out of notable awards. But I don't think I realized how much unpaid work these women took on to pursue their passion. And definitely with this book, there is the added layer of cultural and political discrimination that was occurring in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s.

Perhaps it's because I'm not as familiar with physics and chemistry (but more likely because they are women), I've never heard of the four women who are the focus of the book. However, I did recognize many of the male scientists mentioned, such as Albert Einstein (theory of relativity), Max Planck (Planck's constant), and Erwin Schrödinger (Schrödinger's cat). One central person who is male, but I don't remember ever hearing about is James Franck. He was definitely a champion for women's rights, so I'm glad his story also got told in this book.

Having three women whose names start with H was a little difficult to keep straight. The structure of the narrative jumped between the women so sometimes I would forget who had done what. The world of science was small back then and there is a lot of overlap which didn't help. It also made me realize that Campbell used the women's first names but mostly used the men's last names (I've started to really notice this in society today as well during the election as we referred to male candidates by their last names but women by their first name).

I learned more about Germany in the years leading up to WWII and it was eerie how some of it echoed today's rhetoric.

Just as Campbell covered the early years of these women's careers before the war, she follows through to the end of their lives, years after the war ended. You get to see the full breadth of their accomplishments and what might have been lost with so many people massacred by the Nazis.

If you have an interest in WWII, science, gender issues, or social justice, then I recommend getting this book.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Sunday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2024/12/sisters-in-science-by-olivia-campbell.html

I read Olivia Campbell's "Women in White Coats" and loved it, so when I saw she had a new book coming out (and on such a fascnating topic) I was thrilled to get an ARC.

Unfortunately, "Sisters in Science" seems to suffer from a case of too much research and a book that wants to be too much, and fit it all in, when narrowing the focus a little might have helped the power of the narrative better. Each of the four women Campbell introduces us to are powerhouses of science with fascinating stories. They respresent the difficulties involved in being a woman of science when men didn't want women studing science (let alone teaching science), the gender inequality women had to fight every day, and then the increased fight and danger being a woman professor as well as Jewish in the case of two of the women, once the Nazis came to power. Getting out of Germany was never easy, and only got more difficult-something Campbell shows us in tension filled detail. The stories are terryfying and heartbreaking.

Large chunks of the book go into detail about why the Nazis wanted to remove women from professorships and other teaching possitions, their beliefs about women's place in the home and how it clashed with the new German equal rights so recently granted to women, and the slow erosion (at first) of rights for Jewish citizens in Germany. Once the main women in the book try to leave Germany we get plenty of information on the quotas and necessary requirements to immigrate to countries like Sweden and America and how difficult it was. All of this is important information and helps build the historical context for the women we're following, but it became repetitious and I found myself overwhelmed by the information presented, losing track of the main story.

That was frequently a problem I had with "Sisters". I wanted the information Campbell had researched to give me a solid historical background and to understand the world and the circumstances her four scientists were facing. I had no idea how difficult immigrating to another country at the time was, even when the countries finally undestood how dangerous Nazi Germany was! So I definitely appreciated that research and understanding what was going on. But there did come a tipping point where there was too much of the same information and I was overwhelmed. There were also places where the information was presented in ways that seemed out of order and clunky. Streamlining the information throughout the book and a bit of rearranging would have easily taken the book from 2 to 4 stars for me.

"Sisters in Science" is a reminder of how we are still learning the stories of women whose voices were hidden by the men they worked with, and how strong they had to be every day to fight for their place in the classroom and the lab; a heartbreaking account of those who escaped the Nazis and those who didn't. There's a small section of biographies of women scientists we know were sent to camps and were murdered (or joined the resistance and were killed) that had me crying. But it is also a beautiful and powerful story of people working together to save as many scientists as possible. A story of the networks of friendship and hope and how some people can come together in the worst of times to do their utmost to make a difference.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A deeply researched and well written look at four women scientists- Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer, and Hildegard Stücklen- who were ahead of their time but forced to leave their homes due to antisemitism. These were unfamiliar names but they deserve recognition even though most of the credit their work was assumed by their male colleagues. Campbell managed to obtain a trove of primary source material and brings them to life. This does feel a little disjointed in spots but I learned a great deal. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. It's a good read and one I'd also recommend to the YA crowd.

A Disjointed Dive into Four Female Scientists Who Fled Nazi Germany

While delving into an extraordinary topic and uncovering the stories of four women who were almost lost in Nazi Germany, Sisters in Science fell flat for me. Unfortunately, Campbell’s writing didn’t just dabble, but fully embraced, a couple of transgressions of historical writing. First, there was a significant amount of projection that happened throughout the book. Too often, Campbell described how the women must have felt and thought. The only places I see this working is in an author’s note or epilogue. When the sources and evidence aren't there to back it up, leave it alone or to the purview of historical fiction. Secondly, there were several instances of unnecessary commentary from the author. Her addition of rhetorical questions were simplistic and sought to lead the read to a particular line of thinking. My last major criticism is the use of first names. Almost exclusively the author referred to women by their first name and men by their last. There needs to be one choice that is followed consistently for both. As a historian, I appreciated the context chapters, but had a difficult time following the organization of the book. It wasn’t chronological and it didn’t just follow the story of one woman and move on to the other. It just felt disjointed and haphazard throughout.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Park Row for providing me with an advanced reader copy of Olivia Campbell’s Sisters in Science.

What a well-researched and detailed book about Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer, and Hildegard Stücklen. These four brilliant women had to overcome sexism, anti-Semitism, and two World Wars to become contributing scientists in the world of physics and chemistry. They had to flee Germany in the 1930s and 40s to Sweden and America to survive and continue their research. Each woman had their own challenges and path to their discoveries. If not for other scientists, mostly men, that helped find new positions with other academic posts, these women may not have survived WW2. Their research helped with medical breakthroughs as well as setting up the foundation of fission where the men created the atomic weapons.
As I was reading about their research, positions, and lives during WW1 and the 1930s, I was amazed that they persisted to attain PhDs in their fields. Unfortunately, we don't about their contributions because the men, and society, pushed them down and did not give them the credit they deserved in scientific papers and journals. What I found fascinating was the amount of primary sources that were available to the author, such as the plethora of letters the women wrote and the letters written to them. Also, the travel methods were by train and by ship where trips could last for days and weeks instead of the hours on an airplane today.
If you are looking for more information about women who changed the world, I highly recommend Sisters in Science!
#SistersinScience
Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Will share review on BookBub when book appears, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, my instagram, facebook and twitter accounts.

A very powerful book. I loved this story from page 1. I loved how they persevere through WWII. If you love Historical Fiction. I suggest getting this book

Thank you publisher and netgalley. All my thoughts and opinions are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else