I could not put this book down once I found the time to sit and read for more than ten minutes at a time. They brought in their own people - including a fake medical doctor (he had a PhD, not an MD) - to examine the women on their own terms to ensure the women got as little money as possible. To make matters worse, these companies knowingly delayed the trials, hoping that the women would die before they had to make the payouts. Then, they not only had to fight for their lives but for their rights and for compensation from the very companies who put them in danger in the first place. What it came down to was money.Įvery day those women worked in those factories, they ingested radium, completely unaware of the dangers of the substance until it was too late and it became a part of their very bones. They didn’t care that the women working in those factories had lives. For those companies, it was all about the profit and the bottom line. The companies instructed the women to use this technique to reduce waste and to give the brushes a sharper point, thus allowing the numbers to be painted better, basically. This line is repeated over and over through the book. Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | IndieBound Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives… 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. 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.
With such a coveted job, these “shining girls” are the luckiest alive - until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.īut the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women’s cries of corruption.
The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe they light up the night like industrious fireflies. Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War. 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. Synopsis: The incredible true story of the women who fought America’s Undark danger.
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