The Rise of the Rocket Girls

Hidden Figures sparked your curiosity? Join local science writer NATHALIA HOLT at Harvard Book Store for the riveting true story of the women who launched America into space. Holt is a Fellow at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, and will be discussing her new book: Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us from Missiles to the Moon to Mars.

In the 1940s and 50s, when the new Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-thinking mathematicians to calculate plot trajectories, they didn’t turn to male graduates. Rather, they recruited an elite group of young women who transformed rocket design, helped bring about the first American satellites, and made the exploration of the solar system possible.
Rise of the Rocket Girls tells the stories of these women—known as “human  computers”—who broke the boundaries of both gender and science. Based on extensive research and interviews with all the living members of the team, Rise of the Rocket Girls offers a unique perspective on the role of women in science, both past and present.