Although the story of the dial-painters' lawsuits has been told, it has not been told from the perspective of the girls themselves. Most of them did not survive. They died drawn out, agonizing deaths, their jaws crumbled into pieces, their limbs shortened, of strange cancers for which their doctors had no answers. Their families bankrupted themselves trying to keep up with spiraling medical and dental bills. Then the girls, most in their twenties, started to die, in excruciating pain. Yet two radium dial factory owners denied any link between their employment painting radium dials and their sickness. They refused to even contribute to medical expenses. After all, most of the illnesses manifested long after the girls left their employment. Radium poisoning was unknown and labor law favored big business. And radium was beneficent, promoted everywhere! Lawsuits dragged out for years in the hopes that the plaintiffs would die. Many did.

Interestingly, it was not an American who chose to shine a light on this shameful but important piece of our history, but an Englishwoman.

Note: Be sure to read the introduction, in which the author details her extensive research. She mentions that she even visited some of the radium girls’ grave sites and corresponded with many descendants.

The Radium Girls is an informative, infuriating, entertaining read. It reads like a legal and medical drama that cannot possible be true; yet it is. Moore kept the memories of these women alive and told their stories in a wonderful manner.

WOW! Erin Brockavich meets Silkwood meets Norma Rae - this books is a movie mash-up of 3 powerful movie situations/stories/ignorances. . I loved it. This book broke my heart, pulled on my heart, gave me hope, shed light on many types of ignorance. Powerful book. Love the personification of the women/girls in the story...this isn't just a story to be told and science, it is about people who have a story to tell. Loved the insight and making the girls so central to the plot.

The Radium Girls was a tough read. I found myself crying on several occasions out of anger and compassion. And it was not always easy for me to read the descriptions of the girls' health problems and the symptoms of radium poisoning. This doesn't influence my review, but people that are a little sensible when it comes to these descriptions, like me, should probably know that before reading the book.

Before I read that book, I didn't know anything about the use of radium in the industry in the twentieth century. But when I saw it, I got interested and decided to read it. And although I didn't plan to, I finished this book within three days. The author's style of writing and the fate of the Radium Girls really got to me and I couldn't take it down. It has been one of these non-fiction books that had more suspense than a lot of fictional books. Kate Moore brings the Radium Girls to life without emotional manipulation or giving the reader a feeling that she invented a lot of details. This might be because she not only did extensive research and included many quotes from relatives and newspaper articles from that time, but she also directed a play about the Radium Girls. That might have surely helped her developing that lively narrative.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that is interested in women's studies or the history of laws to protect people at the workplace.

Thanks for writing this book. What a tragedy these girls went through when the affects of radium was little known. The struggles the girls and family went through along with the doctors who tried to help them. Eye opening the stance some doctors, legal system, and corporation went through to hide the dangers and failed to protect the innocent victims.

I received a free copy of The Radium Girls, a recreation of the lives of the many young New Jersey women brought down by radiation poisoning in the early 1900’s from Netgalley, Kate Moore and Sourcebook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, for sharing your hard work with me.

Kate Moore brings us an intimate look through the eyes of these girls, recreating their lives from diaries, letters and court testimonies, tombstones, family stories and dusty archives. She brings to life these feisty girls who spent their days painting minuscule radium numbers on watch faces, gun sights, and airplane dashboards. This work, done quickly and well, provided a fine income for an artistic young woman. Many applied for these jobs and encouraged their sisters and friends to apply, as well – both for the experience of working with this miraculous material discovered by the Curie’s, and to do their part for the war effort. The price they paid for this experience was horrendous. This is a story that needs to be shared so their sacrifices are not in vain, and as a cautionary tale as our world spins rapidly into tomorrow.

Even though at times it felt the pace of the book got bogged down in details, it was a very compelling story that I could not stop reading. Before picking this book up I had never heard of the plight of the Radium girls or the huge impact they made on laws which now keep workers safe. The determination of these women in the face of almost insurmountable opposition by unscrupulous companies was truly inspiring. I think our patrons will enjoy this book very much.

I thought this was such an enjoyable nonfiction read. Can't wait to share this with some of my older teens and parent readers! This will be hugely popular with fans of Hidden Figures.

The Radium Girls were young, healthy, and in the prime of their lives until mysterious ailments start to affect them. This heartbreaking and powerful book tells the story of these young women who thought they were working in a safe industry - after all, the benefits of radium were being advertised in magazines, and what a beautiful glow it gave to the skin. But, when the truth comes out, these young women have to fight for justice. It's one of those books that's hard to say you love, because of the subject matter, but it really is a remarkable, well-written read. I highly recommend it to those who also enjoyed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Hidden Figures.







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Tara McGuinness
Cuyahoga County Public Library /Bay Village

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I began reading this book with certain expectations, having been drawn in from the summary about shops hiring women to paint radium onto objects. Maybe I shouldn't have come into it with a bias, but I was expecting straight, factual non-fiction. However, for the facts presented around this dark time in our history, the author adds to it a sort of re-imagined day some of these girls would have. It was this mix of fictional accounts with the non-fiction approach that really just turned me off to this. I just wanted this piece of history to be told in a different way. I did not care for the artistic flourishes and was too put off by this approach to finish this book.

I finished reading this and immediately bought two copies for my cousin and my environmental health professor. It made my heart hurt, but I was so amazed

Having come across the Radium Girls in my studies several times, I knew what the history and the facts were about, knew what Radium poisoning looked like in these women. What I had not known, since chemistry and medical books don't tell you that, nor did I find this information in any history books, how hard the struggle must have been for the women and everyone helping them for acknowledgment of the disease and getting justice.

Kate Moore brought the "girls", who formerly were only names and figures to me, to life. She showed me how proud these women were to get specialised jobs that made a difference, especially a difference for their own lives and that of their families - at first in a very positive and then in a very negative way. Moore also showed me how hard it was to fight for justice and, what is most important for me, it is never in vain to fight for what is right.

I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Kate Moore's The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women. Thank you, Netgalley, Reading Group Guides, and Bookreporter!
The Radium Girls has illuminated a dark moment in the history of women in America. I hope that everyone reads this book; in fact, it should be required reading in every history class in the United States! The story of the dial painters is heartbreaking to say the least. I admire their courage and resolve in their fight for justice as well as for their lives. They paid the price for laws and regulations that are still in place today, and their memory should not be forgotten!
This work of narrative nonfiction reads like a thriller. Many times I found that I could not read it fast enough!

Many thanks to NetGalley for this advanced reading copy!

From the moment I started reading THE RADIUM GIRLS I was enthralled. The author’s goal for the reader to learn about each individual girl is thoughtful and ambitious. This is truly a book where the characters are at the forefront of the story. We see how each one, eager to earn a living, found Radium Dial and sealed their fate. The author handles the tragedy with diplomacy and underscored, yet effective use of detail, both medical and non (such as when one of the ill-fated girls catches a glimpse of herself in a mirror and sees her bones glowing through her skin. She realizes she has radiation poisoning and promptly faints.).

As I read, I became infuriated and frustrated with the way that the girls were lied to and manipulated by the company. Banking upon their innocence, the “doctors” that examined them kept the true results hidden, while telling them that they were the picture of health. Over and over, they would experience a toothache or jaw pain; the harbinger of things to come. Insidiously things progressed to such a degree that walking or eating without pain was impossible. Thankfully, finally, the stars aligned and the case was brought to court. I am still amazed that there wasn’t more public outcry at their plight; this would never happen today. (Or would it? See the author’s epilogue.)

The author’s style is clean and easy to read; letting the story shine through without calling attention to how it’s being said. Once the “how” overshadows the “what”, I lose patience with a book. The writing flowed naturally here, letting emotions build and always keeping the girls front and center.

Each life is carefully, lovingly recreated – all the hopes, dreams and horror each Radium Girl experienced. By making each “girl” have a background, this brings them to life and makes this tragedy more real. There are so many moments in this book that made me stop to think about these poor victims – if they were men, would things have progressed as far as they did? These lives were truly taken for granted to further Radium Dial’s needs. I’m not sure which is more terrifying; the fact that radium has a half life of 1600 years (meaning their bodies are still emitting radiation from the grave) or that no one thought to care more about these women who were clearly suffering. Even the dimunitive “girls” is simultaneously endearing and dismissive, if you think about it.

THE RADIUM GIRLS was one of the best books I’ve read in a while, partly because the subject is fascinating, and because it allowed me to feel a gamut of emotions; to have me truly invested in the story and its outcome. The strength these women possessed is evident on every page, keeping the tension high and making them heroines regardless of how they were treated.

Kudos to the author for illuminating their lives as she did! She took these “statistics” and made them human…forcing us all to think about how the girls were treated as disposable. The description of the court battles is very detailed, further underscoring the evil corporation’s plans to try to drag out the proceedings, hoping the women would die before they would have to appear in court.

I have nothing bad to say about this book; there is history, pathos, hope, and humanity on every page. This should be required reading for all managers and factory workers, both to keep these girl’s memories alive, and to prevent suffering like this from ever happening again.

A very compelling story, well told. I've already encouraged other colleagues to read it and gave a preview book talk to a woman waiting next to me at a restaurant - she is looking forward to finding it in her local library!

Extremely interesting book. This is local history as the Waterbury Clock Company is nearby with its own cadre of suffering girls and women. The event this book mainy fallows is the court case that winds thru the slow and though courts that the suffering women brought against the various clock companies to cover their pain and suffering and being unable to work during the Great Depression. The cost of doctors' and dentist 's care were huge in these women's life..
As strange as it seems now radium was seen as a wonder mineral and used as a wonder drug and tonic. Its was known have a vague sense of dis-ease and damage that it inflicted on its first handlers but was pushed from the get-go as a wonder drug for all ills. No concern was seen for the dial painters for handling the paint or for the girls' safety durning their time at the factory. (its ok. to eat at your desk next to the paints--its fun to paint your teeth and eyes during breaks with the brush wash water-- and take home your work smocks to be washed in the family wash. The only concern was the cost of the paints and not to waste the
the expensive material.
It was from these case and others that the modern OSHA was put in place for.. The martyred girls and women paid for OSHA policy in their blood and suffering.

What a haunting story author Kate Moore has captured in her new book, The Radium Girls. This is an account of a real-life tragedy: the deaths of a number of young women who painted watch dials with a luminous material made with radium in the 1920s. During that time, these girls (and many really were girls, as young as 15, 16 and 17) were proud to land jobs with a company that supplied the glowing dials to America's fighting men. The pay was good, they enjoyed one another's company, and they thought it was glamorous and fun when their hair and clothes and very bodies began to glow in the dark. One girl even smeared the material over her teeth, to make her smile gleam more brightly for her beau.

Then, as this true story recounts, the girls began to fall ill. Their teeth became loose, and when they had their dentists extract them, sometimes portions of their jaws came out, too. Ulcers and sores and the gaps left in their gums refused to heal, leaking pus and smelling putrid.

At first, doctors were mystified, and it was only after a few deaths that the dangers of radium began to emerge. Then another horror: their employers refused to admit what was happening, or assist with medical payments in any way.

Court battles raged for years, as the young women continued to die. Moore's subtitle is "They paid with their lives. Their final fight was for justice," and indeed it was. This is a shocking, unforgettable story of corporate greed, scientific ignorance, and, in the case of the girls, bravery, courage and faith.

According to the publisher, the book is based on trial transcripts, letters, diaries and interviews with relatives. It's a sobering, tragic, horrific story, made even more memorable because of the extreme suffering these women endured. The reader's heart breaks, after meeting them in the pages of this book and coming to know their personal hopes and dreams. Highly recommended, but not for those who may be disturbed long after the book is closed.

I don't usually read non - fiction but the topic of the dial painters intrigued me, and I'm really pleased I read this book as it felt a fitting memorial to incredibly brave women and the men who supported them. Ms Moore had obviously thoroughly researched her subject and managed to write an engrossing narrative which really bought the characters to life. At times I wished it had been fiction as the women suffered such devastating effects from the "magic" radium and even when they were removing parts of their own jawbones their company refused to believe there was any problem. Living in a country with an NHS I was also shocked by the cost of medical treatment and how finding the means to pay for care devastated families.
The end of the book, while sadly not surprising, is a challenge to today's women to continue fighting large companies so that they take responsibility for their employees and the environment in which they live and work.
The only negative was that my kindle edition didn't have any photos and it looked from the appendices as if the book will have.

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

"LIQUID SUNSHINE" The element Radium was dubbed. It is 1917 and Katherine Schaub is fourteen years old. She is exited to be working the glamorous job painting the dials of watches and clocks at the Radium Luminous Materials Corporation. It wasn't considered a factory job it was described as a studio at Third Street, Newark, Jersey. Each dial-painter had her own supply. Mae said when she first started in 1916 that American girls did not take up the lip-pointing technique with blind faith. She and her colleagues had questioned it being "a little bit leary" about swallowing the Radium. Asking if this stuff could hurt you? And they said No.

Kate Moore did a remarkable job to humanize the girls in this part of history that we all owe so much too. Because of these girls and women we now have OSHA to protect us. It takes 1500 years for the effects of radium to wear off. These girls and women sacrifices have led to a safer environment for everybody. This book is a tribute to all of those souls that suffered but persevered to make a safer work environment. Both companies the USRC in Orange, New Jersey and the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois employed young women at a higher wage to do a dangerous job. Only the women didn't know the dangers they were involved with painting these glow in the dark instruments.

Kate Moore tells the history of Radium beginning with Marie and Pierre Curie's discovery of radium in 1898. Bringing all of the girls and women to life on the page who didn't have any knowledge of the risks of exposure to working with Radium. These women were lied to and denied compensation when they were unable to work and were dying. After these loyal employees found out it was the Radium in the paint and powder that were causing their jaws to break apart, sarcomas, amputations, these Companies did not want to help compensate. They fought hard against taking any responsibility toward those whom were inflicted by working for them.

I am glad to have had the honor of learning about all of the courageous individuals that fought an uphill battle. I think the Attorney who paid the legal costs and court fees to fight all the way to the United States Supreme Court deserves accolades of thanks. He took on a job that a lot of attorneys didn't want to go up against these companies. I was pleased with the decision of cert. denied. I had some issues with a big corporation and I personally know that ERISA which was enacted to protect retirees pensions has no protection of promised Employee health care. I know what it is like to find an attorney that is willing to take on a corporate giant. Most are not interested.

Thank you to Net Galley, Kate Moore and Sourcebooks for providing me with my digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.