This was a very interesting and emotionally engaging book. I had some vague knowledge of the "radium girls" before reading the book, but had no idea of the impact that their pursuit of justice had on the country-- expanding and improving compensation for occupational diseases, contributing to the creation of OSHA, leading to stringent safety precautions for the workers on the Manhattan Project, establishing the dangers of radiation exposure on the human body, etc. The author does a great job of bringing the dial painters to life, discussing their appearances, interests, aspirations, families, reasons for working as a dial painter, friendships, and interactions with each other at work. She goes into detail regarding their medical ailments, the medical and dental visits, the uncertainty of the doctors and dentists about what was causing the symptoms, the research that suggested a possible link to radium, the accidental discoveries that provided insight (such as bones left on x-ray film leaving a white glow on the paper), and the opposition to the idea that radium, which was considered a wonder substance, could be poisonous. The author describes in great detail the legal efforts to obtain justice and compensation for the women, as well as the efforts by the companies to hide knowledge of the harms of radiation (including company medical tests that supported the claims of the women). My only criticism, and it is a minor one, is that while the author uses dramatic descriptions to evoke an emotional response from the reader, at times the author seems to be overly dramatic when discussing certain events or the conditions of particular women. Overall, a book well worth reading.

This book made me so unbelievably angry. It tells the true story of the women who worked as radium-dial painters during World War I, and all of the health issues they suffered because of their constant exposure to radium. The fact that the company was so determined to avoid compensating these women as they died agonizing deaths was infuriating. Moore does a great job of bringing these women's voices back to life while holding the radium-dial factories accountable for their actions.

Radium Girls is a must read. It is part of the American history and this women need to be remembered.

Fantastic, very readable non-fiction. This story was heartbreaking and empowering. A group of women who suffered and then fought to change the law knowing full well they would never benefit financially from it themselves. An important piece of history.

An excellent book - as a science teacher I was familiar with the science of radium and the phenomenon of radium poisoning, but this book brought the dry science to life. Although the phrase 'brought to life' is ironic, since it would be more accurate to say that the book made more real the many terrible sufferings and painful deaths endured by the young girls who painted the luminous dials of watches and gauges in the early twentieth century. The truly vile manoeuvrings of the factory owners to avoid liability over the predictable damage is as evil as anything described in the fiction of John Grisham. A very good read that - hopefully - shows how far we have come in protecting workers from occupational illness.

From the Radium Girls' torment from the radiation poisoning that devoured them from the inside-out, the unbelievable array of barriers thrown in their way by their employers in the quest that many of the girls made for justice and simple recognition, to the effects that have rippled out to this day in so many ways, and everything in between, this is an incredible story whose subjects Moore does immense justice to in a detailed narrative that
very successfully shocks and disgusts beyond words yet will also leave readers inspired and awed by the time they reach the final page.

Another disturbing chapter of our history revealed.

Not since The Lilac Girls has a book made such a distinct impression on me. I just sent an e-mail to over 20 women urging them to read this book. I so appreciate the opportunity to read quality books like this and recommend them to others.

This book uncovers an important part of American social and labor history that until now has been kept in the shadows. I applaud the author, who did a fabulous job bringing these women to life from their graves to tell their story.. I highly recommend this book.

I must start off by saying that this is not the type of book that I usually read. I saw a video on Facebook about these 'Radium Girls' and decided that I would definitely have to read this book.

I cannot believe that I did not know about this before. This was such a sad book. These girls (and some men) sacrificed so much so that others could be safe. It was really a heart-wrenching read. Before their symptoms started, they were so happy and carefree. This book details their struggles with their health and their fight for justice.

They won in the end but sadly, it was too late for many of them.

This is an absolute must read. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebook for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A truly astounding tale but it's not for the faint of heart. The real-life struggles of these women will break your heart. A very important story for not only Americans but people worldwide. These women stood up for their rights and won valuable protections against industrial abuse of workers. Their stories are truly horrifying and disturbing. The topic which lends itself to discussion so this would be an excellent choice for a book club.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review on NetGalley.

Despite how grateful I am to have received this book, I sadly had to abandon it about 25% of the way through. I was dragging myself through it and could not get myself interested enough to read more than a few pages at a time. In the interest of all the other books in the world, I decided to abandon ship.

The premise of the book interested me greatly, and I wish it had been written in a more exciting style, rather than being bogged down by details. I could this becoming a movie or miniseries - as the women involved seem truly tremendous and worthy of portrayal. There are a lot of interesting characters at play - not only these women, but the doctors who treated them, government/public officials and researchers who investigated the matter, and of course, the businessmen determined to stop the association of radium with these women's horrific ailments.

As an infrequent nonfiction reader, you may take my assessment of the riveting nature of the book with a grain of salt. If nonfiction is your style, I would try this on for size.

WOW. I have struggled writing this review, forming words that do the book justice. It is Heartbreaking, yet powerful. The cruel reality showing the evil side of capitalism, illustrating the worst form of corporate greed there is. When innocent lives are destroyed and scientific evidence is pushed under the rug and denied, just for profit. Through the girls stories, I was reminded to always question everything, especially when it comes to your health.

The book follows the lives of Radium factory workers, who painted radium watch dials in the early 1920s with the beautiful and new self-luminous paint. They were told that the paint was harmless, and told to "point" their brushes daily with their tongues, ingesting it. The girls started becoming sick, but the company kept denying that Radium was to blame, even destroying evidence.

I was engrossed in each girl's story. I was heartbroken, seeing them naively taken advantage of. I cried with them, got angry with them, and I became their ally, emotionally invested in their battle against the company that ruined their lives. I never heard of "The Radium Girls" before I started reading this book, and now I will never forget them

I didn't put this down. I've bought three copies to gvie away two. This is every bit as good as Hidden Figures and Rise of the Rocket Girls.

Fascinating look at the physical and legal plight of the young women hired to paint watch faces and aircraft gages with radium paint. A great look at the background of the establishment of OSHA and worker safety across the US.

The writing was very good, with Kate Moore drawing the reader right into the women's stories and emotions.

Highly recommended!

The Radium Girls starts off strong and is deeply fascinating. Who knew radium was lethal? Well, no one at the time. The author certainly does her research but I found myself bored near the end, it sort of just fizzled out. I got lost with all the names of all the women. Would totally recommend though if you interested in the history and don't need a page-turner!

One of the best books I've read this year. The individual stories are woven together brilliantly. Excellent narrative flow, even more impressive given that it's a nonfiction book involving legal proceedings (which often get very dry and tedious). Incredibly moving point in history that few know about.

Wow! What an excellent book! I don't think I ever heard of these "radium girls" and there was even a company here in Illinois that employed these dial painters, who used paint containing radium. Ths book was extremely well-researched and although this is nonfiction, most of this reads as fiction, but it is true. It was a page-turner and often kept me up somewhat later than I usually do. Definitely 5 stars.