Radium Girls

They Paid with Their Lives. Their Final Fight Was for Justice

Kate Moore

All they wanted was the chance to shine. Be careful what you wish for…

'The first thing we asked was, "Does this stuff hurt you?" And they said, "No." The company said that it wasn't dangerous, that we didn't need to be afraid.'

All they wanted was the chance to shine. Be careful what you wish for…

'The first thing we asked was, "Does this stuff hurt you?" And they said, "No." The company said that it wasn't dangerous, that we didn't need to be afraid.'

As the First World War spread across the world, young American women flocked to work in factories, painting clocks, watches and military dials with a special luminous substance made from radium. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous - the girls shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in dust from the paint. However, as the years passed, the women began to suffer from mysterious and crippling illnesses. It turned out that the very thing that had made them feel alive - their work - was slowly killing them: the radium paint was poisonous.

Their employers denied all responsibility, but these courageous women - in the face of unimaginable suffering - refused to accept their fate quietly, and instead became determined to fight for justice.

Drawing on previously unpublished diaries, letters and interviews, The Radium Girls is an intimate narrative of an unforgettable true story. It is the powerful tale of a group of ordinary women from the Roaring Twenties, who themselves learned how to roar.

1 Auflage

Sprache: English

Am 5. Oktober 2018 von Simon & Schuster, Limited veröffentlicht.

ISBN:: 978-1-4711-5388-4
ISBN kopiert!

Auf OpenLibrary ansehen

Themen

Consumers' leagues
Industrial hygiene
World war, 1914-1918, women
World war, 1914-1918, united states
Industrial toxicology
Women, united states, history

Rezensionen

Nook&Cranny hat Radium Girls von Kate Moore besprochen

Had me in tears

5 Sterne

This book left a deep impact ...

I highly recommend this true story. It had me in its grip. It took me a while to read through because it is hard to endure the pain and strength of the women involved over such a long time.

It's unbelievable how long it took for the women to find justice. How they were ignored, mistreated, and discredited.

I truly believe that it would still be the same in our days. Company's only interest are the money they can make, whitewashing their "code of ethics" or "code of conduct", lying and manipulating, bribing and threatening the people who are a risk to the companies vault.

But also a story of hope, faith, and will ...

Nook & Cranny (Backup) hat Radium Girls von Kate Moore besprochen