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A review by lillimoore
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore
5.0
5 ominously glowing stars for The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women, and its riveting, absolutely horrifying account of the many women who fell victim to the unscrupulous handling of radium and radium poisoning by their employers in the early 20th century.
Following Marie and Pierre Curie's discovery of the element radium late in the 19th century, the oddly luminous metal took the world by storm. It was purported to have health benefits—being advertised for use in baths, skin creams, hair products, and even food and toothpaste—but the element really took off as an ingredient in paint mixtures that were self-luminous. Beginning just prior to World War I, radium found itself painted onto watches, clocks, and eventually employed in the dials and instruments being used in war planes and other vehicles. So who had the coveted opportunity to light the way for the brave American soldiers fighting overseas? Why, none other than the girls and young women employed by radium companies across the nation. It was considered a privilege to work for these companies, where the dial girls were paid handsomely and developed a reputation for their camaraderie and penchant for non-stop fun.
In The Radium Girls, readers follow the harrowing accounts of girls that worked in radium dial factories in Orange, New Jersey and Ottawa, Illinois respectively. Both companies employed the practice of "lip-dipping," during which girls would point the hairs of their paintbrushes with their mouth in order to waste less material and achieve the desired look. They would come home slightly aglow, hair, clothing, and even eyebrows and teeth covered with radium—but they didn't see this as a problem. It only added to their already glowing lifestyle.
One by one, however, the girls begin to notice changes in their body. Their dentists notice the rapid decay of their teeth, and then their jawbones began to follow. Girls developed limps, lost appendages and limbs, and began to feel constantly in pain. Doctors discovered sarcoma tumors. From the inside out, these women began to fall apart, and no one could quite figure out why. Over the next two decades, the radium corporations and their former employees, nearly all of whom were now in ailing health, battled in the courts to either prove or disprove that the mysterious illnesses were due to radium poisoning. It would take many years, trials, lawyers, and dying women, but eventually the truth would come to light, change labor practices throughout the country, and expose the dangers of radium and radioactivity.
WOW, what a story. I cannot believe I never learned about this in school! Just another concrete example that goes to show that we're not focusing on the right things in history classes. This is a story at the intersection of industrialism, capitalism, women's rights, workers rights, and so much more. Kate Moore's handling of the story takes this book from a fascinating piece of history to a deeply touching and upsetting account of vivacious women who were ruthlessly murdered at the hands of their careless employers—all to make a buck. She went so deep and so far into her research and it really shows in her work. I, surely along with many of the friends and family members of the victims, was moved to see the level of respect with which she wrote about the women who suffered at the hands of the radium dial factories. They may not have always had a voice when they were fighting for their rights to compensation for exorbitant medical bills and physical, mental, and emotional anguish, but over 100 years on, Moore has amplified their stories.
The only thing that bugged me a bit about this book was the physical descriptions. I understand why the author chose to incorporate so many details about the girls' appearances—not only to depict each individual woman who played a role in this story, but also to highlight how detrimental the physical effects of radium poisoning were on them—but it did get fairly repetitive in that first part of the book. And I have been long looking forward to publicly complaining about the audiobook, because even though I enjoyed the narration (at a much quicker speed than normal), the editing was horrendous. My God, every time Angela Brazil smacked her lips, swallowed, breathed, or anything else, I got to hear it in detail in my headphones. That's not her fault—she was great! But c'mon, Simon & Schuster audio, you have the resources to edit this audio. Please for the love of God do it so more people can enjoy this phenomenally written book without being distracted by the CONSTANT swallowing. Please let me know in the comments if you listened to this because I really need someone to share my pain!
Altogether one of the more powerful, upsetting, but ultimately triumphant stories I have ever learned about, and tied together in a compelling read to boot. If you haven't read this one yet, get on it! It will shock you, anger you, make you cry, and connect you with these women who changed our working lives for the better. Yes, it made me sick to my stomach sometimes. Yes, I had to endure way too much audible swallowing. Still, I cannot recommend this book enough!
Following Marie and Pierre Curie's discovery of the element radium late in the 19th century, the oddly luminous metal took the world by storm. It was purported to have health benefits—being advertised for use in baths, skin creams, hair products, and even food and toothpaste—but the element really took off as an ingredient in paint mixtures that were self-luminous. Beginning just prior to World War I, radium found itself painted onto watches, clocks, and eventually employed in the dials and instruments being used in war planes and other vehicles. So who had the coveted opportunity to light the way for the brave American soldiers fighting overseas? Why, none other than the girls and young women employed by radium companies across the nation. It was considered a privilege to work for these companies, where the dial girls were paid handsomely and developed a reputation for their camaraderie and penchant for non-stop fun.
In The Radium Girls, readers follow the harrowing accounts of girls that worked in radium dial factories in Orange, New Jersey and Ottawa, Illinois respectively. Both companies employed the practice of "lip-dipping," during which girls would point the hairs of their paintbrushes with their mouth in order to waste less material and achieve the desired look. They would come home slightly aglow, hair, clothing, and even eyebrows and teeth covered with radium—but they didn't see this as a problem. It only added to their already glowing lifestyle.
One by one, however, the girls begin to notice changes in their body. Their dentists notice the rapid decay of their teeth, and then their jawbones began to follow. Girls developed limps, lost appendages and limbs, and began to feel constantly in pain. Doctors discovered sarcoma tumors. From the inside out, these women began to fall apart, and no one could quite figure out why. Over the next two decades, the radium corporations and their former employees, nearly all of whom were now in ailing health, battled in the courts to either prove or disprove that the mysterious illnesses were due to radium poisoning. It would take many years, trials, lawyers, and dying women, but eventually the truth would come to light, change labor practices throughout the country, and expose the dangers of radium and radioactivity.
WOW, what a story. I cannot believe I never learned about this in school! Just another concrete example that goes to show that we're not focusing on the right things in history classes. This is a story at the intersection of industrialism, capitalism, women's rights, workers rights, and so much more. Kate Moore's handling of the story takes this book from a fascinating piece of history to a deeply touching and upsetting account of vivacious women who were ruthlessly murdered at the hands of their careless employers—all to make a buck. She went so deep and so far into her research and it really shows in her work. I, surely along with many of the friends and family members of the victims, was moved to see the level of respect with which she wrote about the women who suffered at the hands of the radium dial factories. They may not have always had a voice when they were fighting for their rights to compensation for exorbitant medical bills and physical, mental, and emotional anguish, but over 100 years on, Moore has amplified their stories.
The only thing that bugged me a bit about this book was the physical descriptions. I understand why the author chose to incorporate so many details about the girls' appearances—not only to depict each individual woman who played a role in this story, but also to highlight how detrimental the physical effects of radium poisoning were on them—but it did get fairly repetitive in that first part of the book. And I have been long looking forward to publicly complaining about the audiobook, because even though I enjoyed the narration (at a much quicker speed than normal), the editing was horrendous. My God, every time Angela Brazil smacked her lips, swallowed, breathed, or anything else, I got to hear it in detail in my headphones. That's not her fault—she was great! But c'mon, Simon & Schuster audio, you have the resources to edit this audio. Please for the love of God do it so more people can enjoy this phenomenally written book without being distracted by the CONSTANT swallowing. Please let me know in the comments if you listened to this because I really need someone to share my pain!
Altogether one of the more powerful, upsetting, but ultimately triumphant stories I have ever learned about, and tied together in a compelling read to boot. If you haven't read this one yet, get on it! It will shock you, anger you, make you cry, and connect you with these women who changed our working lives for the better. Yes, it made me sick to my stomach sometimes. Yes, I had to endure way too much audible swallowing. Still, I cannot recommend this book enough!