Review: The Radium Girls by Kate Moore

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
Kate Moore
May 2, 2017
Sourcebooks
480 pages

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger

The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War.

Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe; they light up the night like industrious fireflies. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive — until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.

But the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come.

Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives...

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Laura's Review: 

The Radium Girls tells a compelling story, but in a way that was just a little too leaden with details that seemed redundant and unnecessary. I found myself checking the progress many times, waiting for the next chapter or section to begin. Although a lot of the frustration reading it mirrored that of those radium girls' lives, it seemed to ask a lot of the reader to keep reading to get to some sort of resolution. 

In the same vein as The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, this is one of those stories that history has largely forgotten and most people have no idea about, but everyone should. It is a good reminder of just how important making money is to big businesses in America and the lengths the corporations and those running them will go to keep the profits high. 

I would love to see this book go through an editing process and get re-released as a condensed version because I think it is an important story to be told, but at 480 pages, it will take a lot to get people to really listen. 

The Radium Girls: 3.5 /5 stars