I struggled with how to rate this book. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt and rounding up. This book could have easily been half the length and became a very tedious read. The historical information was interesting. But there were too many unnecessary details included and the writing was often cliched and overdramatized. It read like fiction and I don't mean that as a compliment. That being said, the writing style might appeal to fans of Unbreakable.

Wow. I can already tell this is going to be one of the best books I'll read this year. I knew a little bit about the dial painters, but nothing on this scale. This book will infuriate, sadden and inspire you. I've been telling friends they need to read it.

I have a personal, if indirect, connection to this story. My dad was a doctor at one of the teaching hospitals that had treated these women and, although he was too young to have met the radium victims, his professors had known them. He has a special link to them of his own, too. During the radium fad when he was growing up, my father's teenage acne had been treated with radiation and he had been badly burned, leaving scars all over his face and the lifetime risk of skin and thyroid cancer. So I grew up knowing this story and jumped at the chance to read this book when it was offered.

Ms Moore does a wonderful job of evoking the early years of the 1900s when young women in several cities landed excellent jobs as dial painters in the watch factories. What happened to them was terrible and Ms Moore presents their decline and death sympathetically, without artificial emotion.

The subsequent political fight for compensation will astonish readers who are unfamiliar with the battles for workers' rights waged by unions and others a century ago.

I received a review copy of "The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women" by Kate Moore (Sourcebooks) through NetGalley.com.

The Radium Girls
Be forewarned. The Radium Girls by Kate Moore is both repulsive and compelling – like a scab not quite ready to come off. Once started, the reader is drawn back again and again to read what she’d rather not know. The publisher fittingly describes it as “The dark story of America’s Shining Women.” Unfortunately, it is nonfiction.

Set during the time of World War I, young women get a dream job of painting numbers on clock faces with radium to make them glow in the dark, first for the military and later for public use. As early as 1901, scientists knew the dangers inherent in radium. This account begins in 1917 when those dangers were being ignored and denied. To make their brushes produce exact tiny lines, the “Radium Girls” dipped the brushes into their mouths to make the points sharper. Bits and pieces of the substance fell onto their clothes or parts of their body, making them glow eerily and beautifully in the dark. For a time, the ingredient enhanced the girls’ beauty for party going as they sometimes added extra touches of leftovers here and there. All was well until, one by one they began to get sick.

The radium attacked their bones and teeth. The company denied all charges that radium was the cause. Intrigue, lawsuits, and lies filled the days as the young women sought justice. In a saga that stretched to 1938 with one step forward followed by two steps backward, the Radium Girls pursued the truth. The impact of their battle reaches forward into safety procedures that protect our world today.

I highly recommend this book and think I see the prospects of a movie inherent in its story.

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore is a 2017 Sourcebooks publication.


“Luminous Processes, declared the local paper, seems to put profits before people.”
‘How quickly we forget.’

Only the most hard -hearted among us could read this book without shedding tears. So be warned this book is not for the faint of heart and while the bravery of these young ladies is certainly inspirational, the anger and frustration I felt about their untimely and excruciating deaths left me feeling emotionally and physically exhausted.

The author has obviously done meticulous research about the women who worked for the Radiant Dial Corporation and the United States Radium Corporation beginning in 1917.

The practice of ‘dip, lip, paint’, which was encouraged by the factory, to prevent waste, and to give the brush a sharper point, but exposed the women, who painted luminous dials on watches, with deadly radium. The factories were so popular, due to the wages, which were well above average, and because of the ‘glow’ the women had due to the radium exposure, which they were assured was perfectly safe. Some of the women even painted the substance onto their faces to see themselves glow in the dark.

Five women in particular stood out, as they battled what was termed ‘occupational diseases’, taking their case to court, but there were many more. The court cases were long, hard fought, and had many disappointments before all was said and done. It was a hard battle which lasted for many years, but the effects lingered on for these ladies’ offspring, for years to come.

But, the author really excelled at bringing these women to life, giving them a voice, so to speak. All these women were so very young, so full of life and hope. To hear, in horrific detail, their pain and suffering made for some very difficult reading. Catherine Wolfe Donohoe is one that stood out for me, with her loyal husband, Tom.

The suffering these women endured, was gruesome and unimaginable. Again, I warn you, this material is very graphic, and the author drives this point home with such vividness, I swear my joints and teeth ached.

This is a battle that waged for many years, with the factories refusing to accept that the radium was dangerous, then trying to hide that it was dangerous, by any means.

This is a painful story, one that highlights greed and deceit, but also proves what can happen if you stand up for yourself, speak out, and refuse to give up. The women featured here saved countless lives, while giving their own.

This is a powerful, gut wrenching story, and it’s one that has played out in various forms, since the years highlighted here, with various companies hiding dangers or releasing flawed products onto an unsuspecting public.

These women should never be forgotten and their bravery should set a shining example for anyone who may find themselves in a similar situation. You never know, you may, like the women featured in this book, bring about new standards of health and safety, expose dangers, and force accountability on those only concerned about their own bottom line.

Bravo to Madeline Piller, whose championed these ladies by raising funds for a bronze statue honoring these brave women. The statue was unveiled in 2011, in Ottawa, Illinois.

5 stars

Kate Moore's The Radium Girls is a harrowing account of the young women working to paint the illuminated numbers on the clock. Before reading this, I hadn't realized the dangers that these women faced, and I was horrified to discover that none of their symptoms were truly taken seriously until one of the men who worked in one of the factories succumbed to the effects of radium poisoning. It's an enlightening read, and I'll be sure to recommend it to readers who are looking for their next read after The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

I honestly do not know where to begin with this book, but just wow!!! This book made me so so angry, and let me tell you why. I was angry because I had never heard their story, it had never even been hinted at. This to me is such a heartbreaking, maddening injustice. What these women went through is unimaginable and their strength through it all is astounding. Let me back up a little and explain.

This is the story of the Radium Girls, Dial Painters from the early 20th century. They painted dials on watches, clocks, and various equipment so that it would glow in the dark. The part of the paint that was used and made them glow was Radium... Yes, you read that right, Radium!! These women had no protection whatsoever and many of them painted and were exposed to these dangerous elements for years!! And one of the problems is that it takes years in most cases for symptoms to begin. It was known fairly early on after the discovery of the element by the Curie's that it was dangerous, but communication about it was so skewed and often portrayed as being beneficial. It took decades for these women's voices to be heard and for them to even be diagnosed. Many years after that until it made it's way through our court system and more years until it really had an impact on the industry.

The amount of suffering these women had to endure, the strength they had to fight those who had harmed them, and their efforts to help those who came after them is just astounding! I cannot tell you how many times I cried while reading or became so infuriated that I had to pause for a minute. You will not believe that this book is really nonfiction and even worse that you have never heard anything about it. To me it is an unbearable travesty that this piece of history is overlooked. I think everyone needs to read this book and tell others about it. These women deserve to be heard!

I gave this book five stars because of all I have written above, but also because it is a very well written book to boot. I could not put it down from the first page and finished it as quickly as I could. Kate Moore really draws you in and makes you feel like you are a party of the story. I believe that is one of the reason it is so devastating a read, you really get to know these women and you see their world. You can also feel the author's obvious passion on sharing this story with the world. Excellently written book and an unbelievable story! I am forever changed from reading it and recommend it to everyone. It has been quite a long time since I have read a book that has ignited a passion in me. So much so that I have now added to my bucket list a trip to pay my respects to these amazing heroes at the one and only monument to them, which is in Ottawa, Nebraska. Thank you Kate Moore for opening my eyes and giving this story life.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley for my fair and honest review.

I know a lot of people have wept while reading this book... me? I felt empowered. Not just that but I felt like I was contributing by just becoming aware, by know what these unbelievably brave women went through.
Radium, newly discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie, became 'the next big thing' being found in tonics, elixirs, toothpaste, tablets and many other health and beauty products due to its powerful "rejuvenating qualities". But also it was utilized for its luminous properties, starting with clock dials and them moving on to dials for planes. The Radium Girls, known as artists back then were employed by the hundreds. Using tiny little brushes to paint the minute numbers and hands onto hundreds and thousands of dials a day. The women were all too keen to be part of the glamorous lifestyle as a dial artist, especially if it meant they were fighting the good fight, and helping the men win the war. Women would line up around the block in the hopes of landing this most prestigious of jobs. Each and every one desperate to start lipping and dipping (the process of shaping the radium coated brush tips with their mouths). Which was obviously safe because the company officials and doctors told them so.
The book documents the tenacious and admiral ladies battle through to get justice and recognition, fighting various doctors, employers, courts and officials, all while living in poverty, too ill to work and slowly succumbing to the horrific and disturbing effects of the radiation. The women were determined to get justice with their last dying breaths against the corporate giants inflicting these life sentences on the women.
The story was told in a way that I had never experienced before. The writing and a matter of fact, almost stern tone. That actually mad it easier to read. There was no scene setting of pretty picture building but just fact after fact. The book only telling you the cold truth. Although told through interviews, newspaper reports and diary entries, it was not set out like so. The only way I describe it is 'a story of facts'.
At no point during the book do you forget that these are real people. It is something that you are continuously and constantly aware of. I felt although I had gained something by reading this book, I feel like I am more aware, I feel although the story and hearing the decade long plight has life me a changed person.
The Radium Girls was definitely one of the most powerful books that I have ever read and will stay with me for a long long time.Moore was harsh and factual in her writing yet always sympathetic. What a masterpiece.
NOTE: Before you begin this book Google The Radium Girls and radium poisoning. Put faces to the names of the heroic women you are about to read about; Helen, Grace, Marguerite, Catherine, Marie, Pearl....

This is an important book. I'll repeat that; this is an important book!

I was introduced to the story of "The Radium Girls", earlier this year when I was attended a performance of "These Shining Lives" put on by our local university. It was astounding and left me wanting to know more about these women and the others like them. I was thrilled by the chance to do just that with this book.

After the discovery of radium in 1898 by the Curies, it was looked on as a most wonderful thing. Quickly savvy merchandisers came up with all kinds of miracle products and the radium craze was born. The discovery that radium could kill some cancers sealed the idea that it was safe and even beneficial.

Around this time, companies began to use radium in paint to outline the numbers on clocks, watches, and other instrument dials. The radium gave them a glow that allowed them to be seen in the dark. Young women were hired at a factory in Orange, New Jersey to paint these faces with radium paint. They were even encouraged to apply for the jobs as the United States entered WWI in order to do their part for the war effort in producing the dials needed for instruments used by the troops.

Efficiency was important since they were paid by the piece, but quality was also necessary. In order to get the neat and fine work needed on the dial faces, the girls were taught to paint in a very specific way. They would put the brush in their mouth drawing it out over their tightened lips to make a sharp point. Then they would dip it in a bit of the paint and paint the number on the dial. Lip, dip, and paint was done over and over hundreds of times a day by each girl. The paint would obviously be ingested by the girls as they followed this pattern. (With what we know now about radium, this becomes a real life horror scene.) The companies however were quick to point out the many advantages of radium that were being touted and assured them that it was completely safe.

Eventually the girls began to have numerous physical problems. They struggled to find someone to listen and give them accurate information about the reality of their diminishing health. The companies repeatedly assured the women that their jobs were completely safe even after evidence mounted to prove them wrong. This is repeated in Ottawa, Illinois when the Radium Dial Company opens a factory. The effects of the radium are devastating to these young women and their pleas for help are ignored by the companies who monitor their health but keep the results secret.

While heartbreaking to read, these women show courage and a strength of character that is astounding. They continue attempting to live as workers, wives, and mothers as next to normally as they can. Eventually they are driven to fight back to help each other. They try to recover some of the medical costs that threaten to ruin their families and avenge for the lives of those that have already been lost as well as preventing others from suffering their fate.

The story of these women is part of the bigger story of the beginning of worker's rights in the United States. They were able to finally get legal recognition of a company's responsibility to protect its workers and damages when they fail. The idea and initiation of worker's protection groups such as OSHA came out of the catastrophic and preventable results of radium exposure that these women suffered.

Their lives were not in vain, and this book shows that side of them as well. They were strong in their connections to one another and built on that strength to pull them through. Much of the book is dismal, but there remains, as in the play, a strong undercurrent of sisterhood and the power of persistence that is perhaps needed at this present time once again. The power of companies is well know, but there is also power when individuals join together and stand up for what is right and true.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. My special thanks to the author, Kate Moore, for her dedication and persistence in telling the story of these remarkable yet ordinary women whose lives can once again shine for us all to acknowledge and appreciate.

“In 1918, an estimated 95 percent of all the radium produced in America was given over to the manufacture of radium paint for use on military dials. By the end of the year, one in six American soldiers would own a luminous watch.” It was the Radium Girls who painted them.

The Radium Girls is a remarkable historical compilation of stories and information about the hundreds of working women (including many teens) exposed to radium at facilities where they painted clock faces with this new illuminating ‘wonder’ substance during the height of World War I. What once was perceived a dream job turned into a wave of horrifying and agonizing illnesses, destroying bodies and bones from the inside out. Each time I read about a character licking her brush as taught by supervisors (“Lip…Dip…Paint) instead of cleaning in water dishes because “too much valuable material was wasted in the water,” sickened me. The callousness of employers, the lack of precautions despite increasing suspicions about radium and the legal battles these women had to endure were unconscionable and hard to read. Tragically, only three Radium Girls were still alive when their lawsuit was settled, providing them $10,000 each annual restitution and the last Radium Girl died two years later.

A big thanks to Kate Moore for sharing the Radium Girls’ stories. She took the time to visit families, homes and graves. Meticulous in documenting, her passion is evident.

This is such an amazing read, and so important. I was mesmerized learning of how all of this happened and how it impacted employee law to this day. These women were lied to and mistreated for so long. Just an amazing exploration of everything involved.

Moore uses extensive research to uncover the story of the “radium girls,” young women in the early 1900s who worked in factories painting dials on watches and other time devices. The paint contained radioactive components, unbeknownst to the young women. Baffling doctors and dentists, the women over time exhibited symptoms with no known cause. When the companies refuse to accept any blame, the women turn to legal help, only to discover that they have a long way to go to fight for compensation. Though the narrative was slow at times, this is an overall engaging read. I felt anger and astonishment as I read the women’s plight. It is a timely piece and a story deserving to be told. Moore lets the women speak, through their words printed in news articles, letters written to friends and family or their diaries. It’s a book about struggle and courage, about hope and survival, but mostly, a book about justice. Recommended.

SUMMARY

The Radium Girls is an infuriatingly true story, documenting young women's exposure to radium and their pursuit of justice starting in the 1920's. The women were painting clock and watch faces with radium, so they would glow in the dark. The young women, most in their teens and 20's love their jobs because the pay was tremendous for the time. They made an average of $20 per week, which was three times what the average factory worker made. But the women had to have a steady hand and be able to paint thin clean lines.

In order to get the thin lines, the women were taught "lip pointing". The women would put the paintbrush between their lips to make the bristles as thin as possible. Leery at first, the women asked if this technique could hurt them. They were told no, it wasn't dangerous, they didn't need to be alarmed. After all, the company said, radium and was being touted as a wonder drug, if anything the girls would benefit from their exposure.

It was in the darkroom where the women could see that the luminous paint was everywhere. It was on their face, lips, hands, hair, and clothes. It was even on the food they ate at their desk. They women became know as the "shining girls." The women initially loved the attention. They thought the paint was great, and had a great time with it.

But then some of the women started getting sick. Some lost their teeth, and while others experienced aches in their arms, legs, feet or back. The doctors and dentists had no idea what was wrong with them. On September 1922, Mollie Maggia died from a infection that started in her mouth and spread to her throat and jugular vein in less than a year. She was 24 years old when she died. She had begun painting with radium in 1917.

She was only the first of many to die. The women became known as the Society of the Living Dead. There was no cure. The companies these women worked for denied any and all responsibility for years. The women had to fight to be heard that the radium was what was making them sick.





REVIEW

Kate Moore was personally invested in this book and you can feel her passion in her writing. She had previously directed a play about these shining women in London in 2015. Her experience with the play motivated her to write this book. She wanted to showcase the voice of these incredible women who stood up for their rights with with dignity, strength and courage.

The descriptions in the book, of the radium effects on the women are detailed and vivid. The level of suffering was difficult to read about. But what was most frustrating to read was the ineptness, inaction and denial on the part of the doctors, dentists, the companies, and the government.

I was so looking forward to reading this book. I really appreciate books that are informative, expose corruption, chronicles a fight for justice and results in reform. Particularly when it involves strong women standing up to corporate greed against all odds. This book certainly does that.

It's a phenomenal story, and I am not sure that any book can do it justice. While Moore makes a great attempt, I struggled with the writing. The sheer number of people mentioned in the book is daunting. Moore introduced us to 30 radium women and over 45 others (managers, doctors, dentists, investigators, and attorneys) in the 480 page story. Trying to keep track of who was who was challenging. I also had difficulty with some of the narration of the book, telling me what to feel or think. The story speaks for itself. But despite my issues with the book, it's worth the read for the story.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks and Kate Moore for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Although, as a scientist myself who has worked with radioisotopes, I had heard of the women workers who died as a result of painting radium on clock and instrument dials in the 1920s, I wasn't prepared for the sheer horror of the story that unfolds in this book. It wasn't just the naivety of the girls and their bosses with regard to the dangers of radium that shocked me but the way the corporations lied to the girls when the dangers were recognised and women were dying tragic and painful deaths at a young age.

Discovered in 1898 by the Curies, radium was hailed as a great cure for shrinking tumours and was thought to be beneficial for health and vitality. It was added to cosmetics and even medicines to treat all manner of ills and promoted as a health giving tonic. In 1917, a watch dial company in New Jersey started to use it to paint the dials of watches and clocks so that they could be read in the dark. With the start of WWI this was expanded to ship and later plane dials and the factory hired hundreds of young women to do the painting.

The women were taught to paint the fine lines on the dials by a technique called 'lip pointing'. Using a fine brush they would dip it in the radium paint, draw the brush to a fine point with their lips and then paint the line of the dial: "lip, dip, paint". At first the girls were allowed to rinse the brushes in water but this was later discouraged as radium was lost in the wash water and it was too expensive to waste, so the girls would "lip, dip, paint" and repeat over and over again. The radium dust was also all over the workplace, on the benches where they ate their lunches, in their hair and in their clothes. The workers were known as the 'Shining Girls' because they literally shone in the dark.

In the 1920s, Mollie Maggia was the first of the girls, but not the last, to start losing her teeth and eventually her jaw bone also disintegrated and was removed. Dentists and doctors were puzzled by the nature of her illness and her eventual death was listed as syphilis even there was no evidence for this (or even evidence that she had ever been sexually active). Other girls then began to fall ill. Developing anemia, losing teeth and jawbones, developing painful joints and hips, experiencing stillbirths. Later on sarcomas started to appear on those who survived long enough. All through this the radium corporations told the girls that radium could not be responsible and was perfectly safe. Eventually the girls would find a champion in lawyer Leonard Grossman who worked tirelessly to bring the corporations to account and change the laws surrounding Industrial occupational hazards forever.

This is an amazing story, meticulously researched and investigated by Kate Moore, telling the personal stories of many of the women and their families who fought to be heard, often from their hospital beds. There were almost too many tragic stories of the many young women employed by the radium companies that I felt I was suffering from emotional overload in the middle of the book but once it moved into the women's fight for recognition of the damage done to them and their families and the sheer bravery exhibited by them I was totally enthralled by their battle for justice and was cheering them on.

incredible true story of the young women exposed to the “wonder” substance of radium and their brave struggle for justice...

As World War I raged across the globe, hundreds of young women toiled away at the radium-dial factories, where they painted clock faces with a mysterious new substance called radium. Assured by their bosses that the luminous material was safe, the women themselves shone brightly in the dark, covered from head to toe with the glowing dust. With such a coveted job, these “shining girls” were considered the luckiest alive—until they began to fall mysteriously ill. As the fatal poison of the radium took hold, they found themselves embroiled in one of America’s biggest scandals and a groundbreaking battle for workers’ rights.

A rich, historical narrative written in a sparkling voice, The Radium Girls is the first book that fully explores the strength of extraordinary women in the face of almost impossible circumstances and the astonishing legacy they left behind.

My thoughts:
Five stars

This book is a must read and it belongs in everybody's library, it's the type of story that'll stay with you even after you finish reading it and it's an emotional read as well.
Because from the every start of it ,it had me going on an emotional rollercoaster, there was times I just wanted to cry and just put down this book and not finish it at all, and other times I just wanted to scream , because it seemed liked the girls was never going to get the help they needed , what that company put them though was so wrong, and so against everything I believe in it ,.Not only that but this story gives you an in sight of what the girls and their families went through, how much pain they had, their deaths, the lost their families felt ,how the company tried to cover it up and convince everyone that the radium was safe , this is a story that needs to be know because even too this day it's not talked about, with that said I would love to say thinks to NetGalley for giving me the chance at reading what tuned out to be a really great book in a change for my honest opinion. Will definitely be picking up a copy when I can.

A wonderful book. A great study of industry gone wrong.

Impeccably researched, Kate Moore showcases this incredible piece of history, THE RADIUM GIRLS: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women – Filled with triumph and tragedy, the inside personal story showcasing real women standing up for their rights with strength, dignity, and courage.

Top Books of 2017! An incredible book. The Radium Girls would be proud. They were called the shining girls because they quite literally glowed in the dark. And they were dying.

Kate Moore, best-selling author, editor and ghostwriter from London made it her quest to give these women a voice, with inspiration starting from a play. She became passionate about these women and knew she had to write about them.

The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with glow-in-the-dark paint at the United States Radium factory in Orange, New Jersey, around 1917.

The women, who had been told the paint was harmless, ingested deadly amounts of radium by licking their paintbrushes to give them a fine point; some also painted their fingernails and teeth with the glowing substance.

Five of the women challenged their employer in a case that established the right of individual workers who contract occupational diseases to sue their employers.

“An amazing story about real women who stood up and fought for justice. Their strength, sacrifice, and courage deserve to be remembered. Part scientific mystery, part horror story and part courtroom drama, this is a piece of history that will break your heart but somehow lift your spirit.”

Moore goes beyond the scientific and legal aspects and centers on the women’s compelling story of their individual lives. They are center stage, told from their perspective. The individual women who had fought and died for justice. Historical achievements.

The author tells the story of these women, ready to express their independence from their initial excitement about the work to their realization that it was killing them to their legal battles and ultimate death.

In addition to the sickness, death, and injustice after injustice, the author shows the women’s intense strength and courage fighting until the bitter end. The slander, fighting the corporate giants, from doctors, lawyers, and the corruption. They never gave up hope. For some it was too late; however, they wanted to fight for justice for their families and others.

These were ordinary working-class women who had dreams and hopes. They were known as “The Radium Girls”. They each had their own unique experiences. Their own lives, loves, families, and losses. Their triumphs and terrors.

The author takes readers on a journey. What makes it so special and moving is the efforts put into this book, by flying 4,000 miles across an ocean to walk in the radium girls’ footsteps in America. She walked the routes to work, visited homes and graveyards.

From extensive research, diaries, letters, photos, personal accounts. She delved deeper and became their champion. Standing on the site of Radium Dial, and interviewing their relatives, research, legal and medical reports, plus more in order to find out what the heroines were really like. What the girls endured. Their sacrifices.

Moore brings their story to life!

Love the way everything is organized with contents, a list of key characters, doctors, investigators, dial-painters, The Radium Dial Company, and doctors. In addition, photos of the women, and the watches among other references.

The women were told there was nothing hazardous to their health. A frequent line we hear today about our foods. Just a little will not hurt. The amount of radium in the paint was considered so small that such measures were not deemed necessary.

Grace and Irene. Mollie and Ella. Albina and Edna. Hazel, Katherine, and Mae. They picked up their brushes and they twirled them over and over, just as they had been taught. Lip . . . Dip . . . Paint.

Radium Poisoning. Lives cut short. Tragic suffering. Bodies disfigured. The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials.

"The Radium Girls live on shining through the darkness of history to blaze a light for good, for strength, and for courage.”

Dial painters were motivated by the idea of helping the troops. They were doing their bit to help. Some even scratched their name and address into the watch as a message for the soldier who would wear it and often would respond with a note. Soldiers needed watches, and people needed it for the planes and the trucks, so these girls were employed to paint the dials.

The health problems came later. From an aching limb, or a bad tooth ... but as the sickness developed and set in with the women, it got a lot more gruesome. From jawbones, bleeding, tumors, decaying bones, infections, anemia, and cancer. – the radium was killing them. There were expensive medical bills, care, and an employer not accepting responsibility.

They had no clue at the time, they would make history. They would change workers' rights. Five girls fighting for justice: Grace, Katherine, Quinta, Albina, and Edna.

The Radium Girls is a bittersweet, cautionary tale. A reminder that our society is as fragile today as they were hundreds of years ago. A race-against-time fight for justice that would forever change US labor laws.

In light of the food industry today, plus many more areas of our life including our environment. With chemicals, toxins, additives and preservatives. When the food industry says it is ok. When those who rely on the assurance of others and do not question their reliability and credibility. The corruption can be deadly.

As in the tobacco industry, baby powder cancer lawsuits, financial, and numerous others, it may be years before the actual horrors are known, and unfortunately, deaths and sickness before greedy giants are taken down and justice is served.

A deeply moving story of women whose lives were cruelly cut short by people who placed greed and profit above human life. These women became a glowing beacon of hope for justice, equality, and accountability.

What makes this story so unique versus others: It is told through the eyes of the radium-dial workers, their families, and friends – their personal journey. By doing so, it gives the reader a better understanding of the girls’ lives, explored from a more personal level. The radium girls’ case was one of the first in which an employer was made responsible for the health of the company’s employees. Today, we benefit from their courage and tenacity.

“Part scientific mystery, part horror story and part courtroom drama, this is a piece of history that will break your heart but somehow lift your spirit,” Moore said in her New York Times interview. Tell Us 5 Things About Your Book: Kate Moore’s ‘The Radium Girls’ New York Times Interview

“Not much unlike the modern American war against science being waged by our government and big business, the radium companies of the 20th century ignored the facts and hid the truth, resulting in deadly consequences. . . But also not unlike modern America, there were some people willing to stand up for what was right: the Radium Girls.” – Bustle

Emotional, rich in history and character, a must-read book! Strong women which are not forgotten. In addition to the advanced reading copy, also purchased the audiobook performed by Angela Brazil. Highly recommend.

A special thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an early reading copy.

JDCMustReadBooks

Radium Girls was an interesting read, with a great start and finish. Giving us not only the human element on something we often only hear the legal aspects of, but the aftermath of what happen to the towns the the radium company left.

It's clear that Ms. Moore did her research in writing this book. With interviews from family and friends of the shining girls, almost putting you right next to them on the studio floor. Ms. Moore takes us through the excitement of being hired into these companies, the first bout of pain and confusion of it origins. Showing us the extent that some of the companies when to skirt blame.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to learn a bit more about how for a brief time the roaring 20's also shined.