Almost Astronauts

May 4, 2009
Enlivened by numerous b&w and color photographs, this thorough book takes readers back to the early 1960s to tell the story of 13 women who underwent a battery of physical endurance tests (including hours spent in a deprivation tank) and psychological analysis to determine their readiness to travel in space. A gripping narrative surfaces in Stone's text, as the women are repeatedly thwarted by NASA, discriminated against and patronized by society (“Gene Nora Stumbough's boss said she couldn't have time off. So she quit. Sarah Gorelick had the same problem.... So she
quit”). Readers with an interest in history and in women's struggle for equality will undoubtedly be moved. Ages 10–up.

Starred review from March 1, 2009
Gr 5-7-Stone adopts a tone of righteous indignation in chronicling the quixotic efforts of 13 women to win admission into NASA's initial astronaut training program in the early 1960s. The women were all pilots (one, Jerrie Cobb, had more hours in the air than John Glenn or Scott Carpenter), earned high scores in preliminary tests, and even counted a senator's wife among their number. But resistance came from all directionsincluding NASA regulations, which were weighted toward men; media coverage that reflected contemporary gender expectations; political maneuvering by then vice president LBJ and other officials; and the crushing opposition expressed by renowned aviatrix Jackie Cochran in a 1962 Congressional hearing. Properly noting, however, that losing "depends on where you draw the finish line," the author closes with chapters on how women did ultimately win their way into spacenot only as mission specialists, but also as pilots and commanders. Illustrated with sheaves of photos, and based on published sources, recently discovered documents, and original interviews with surviving members of the "Mercury 13," this passionately written account of a classic but little-known challenge to established gender prejudices also introduces readers to a select group of courageous, independent women.John Peters, New York Public Library

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2009
Grades 5-8 Space gals. Astronettes. Astrodolls . . . Who do these women think they are? The media mocked them. Male astronauts did not want them, and neither did then vice-president Lyndon Johnson. If they were to let women into the space program, blacks and other minorities would be next. Nearly 20 years before the U.S. officially admitted women into the astronaut program, 13 women, known as the Mercury 13, fought for the right to soar into space. This dramatic, large-size photo-essay covers their stories, along with the exciting politics of the womens liberation struggle in the 1950s and 60s (What is a womans place?) and the breakthrough science and technology surrounding space exploration, including details of the would-be astronauts tests and training. The chatty, immediate style (Picture this) and full-page photos make for a fast read, and the crucial civil-rights history will stay with readers. The long, spacious back matter is part of the story, with detailed chapter notes and a bibliography.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2009
The story of the ultimately unsuccessful effort to get women into NASA's Mercury astronaut training program is meticulously researched and thrillingly told. Stone uses first- and second-hand sources, including interviews with many of the women, and outstanding historical photographs. The revelatory text clearly shows the personal and physical risks taken by the women in pursuit of their dreams. Reading list, websites. Bib., ind.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from March 1, 2009
In the early 1960s, William Randolph Lovelace II, the NASA doctor who administered the rigorous physical and psychological tests to the men who would become the first U.S. astronauts, wondered if it might be feasible for women to become astronauts as well. The story of the ultimately unsuccessful effort to get women into NASA's Mercury astronaut training program is meticulously researched and thrillingly told by Stone using first- and second-hand sources, including interviews with many of the women who participated in Lovelace's tests, and a set of outstanding historical photographs. Nineteen women with extensive flight experience and a desire to be a part of one of the most exciting periods in American history eagerly signed up to go through the testing; thirteen, including the exceptionally qualified Jerrie Cobb, passed. Despite very public efforts by the group to get NASA to accept women, they were rejected (and, in fact, NASA didn't accept women or people of color until 1978). There is no sugarcoating here -- Stone presents the full story of early-sixties public discourse about women's capabilities and clearly shows the personal, political, and physical risks taken by the women in pursuit of their dream. The details will likely be a revelation for the intended middle- and high-school audience, who may be surprised to find the world of their grandmothers' childhoods a far cry from their own. Extensive bibliographies and endnotes are appended.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)