The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
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.
For the Reading Challenge(s):
2026 Nonfiction Reader Challenge
2026 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #TBD: TBD)
The Reason
It’s been on my TBR forever and it felt like it contained important information.
The Quotes
“We’ve got humane societies for dogs and cats, but they won’t do anything for human beings.”
“That was the tragedy. Radium had been known to be harmful since 1901. Every death since was unnecessary.”
“The cynical would say there was only one reason a high-profile specialist finally took up the cause. On June 7, 1925, the first male employee of the United States Radium Corporation died.”
“Thousands of women helped with the study, through their forties, fifties, sixties, and beyond; their contribution to medical science is incalculable. We all benefit from their sacrifice and courage, every day of our lives.”
The Narrator(s)
Angela Brazil. No complaints, I was completely immersed and forgot I was listening to an audiobook.
My Thoughts
I love reading about medical science but I also inevitably get a little paranoid when reading about illnesses and all the ways the human body is susceptible to so many dangerous things around us. I happened to be having a toothache while reading this book and even though I never got anywhere near any sources of radium, as far as I know, I still got paranoid about my teeth falling out when the women in the book started losing their teeth.
It was really painful to read about how the women suffered, and I think it’s especially hard when they didn’t know, in the beginning, why they were suffering. They had no idea radium was dangerous and didn’t understand why they were sick. It was horrific to read about their bodies slowly deteriorating and so humbling to see their strength and resilience in the face of that kind of pain.
The worst thing is that the companies who hired these women didn’t take any accountability for what they did. It’s one thing if they didn’t know about the dangers of radium and then took accountability once they knew, but they continued putting their employees at risk after knowing the dangers of radium, and kept telling lies to avoid facing any kind of responsibility. It is sad and infuriating to see this kind of evil in the world. Even now.
However, if there’s one thing we can take away from this, it’s that these women continued to fight to be seen and heard, against their pain, against all odds, against these evil corporations, and their fight made lasting changes in workplace safety laws. It is inspiring.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
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