Loren Grush

Two starred reviews The "compelling and inspiring" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) true story of America's first female astronauts hailed as "suspenseful, meticulously observed, enlightening" by Margot Lee Shetterly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures, now adapted for young readers. Sally Ride may have been the first US woman in space, but did you know there were five other incredible American women who helped blaze the trail for female astronauts by her side? When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots--a group women were also aggressively barred from--had the right stuff. But as the 1980s dawned so did new thinking, and six elite women scientists--Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Anna Lee Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon--set out to prove they had exactly the right stuff to become the first US women astronauts. In The Six -- Young Readers Edition, acclaimed journalist Loren Grush shows how these brilliant and courageous women fought to enter STEM fields they were discouraged from pursuing, endured claustrophobic--and often deeply sexist--media attention, underwent rigorous survival training, and prepared for years to take multi-million-dollar equipment into orbit. Told with contributions from nearly all the living participants and now adapted for young readers, this book is an inspiring testament to their struggles, accomplishments, and sacrifices and how they built the tools that made the space program run. It's a legacy that lives on to inspire young people today.

Two starred reviews The "compelling and inspiring" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) true story of America's first female astronauts hailed as "suspenseful, meticulously observed, enlightening" by Margot Lee Shetterly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures, now adapted for young readers. Sally Ride may have been the first US woman in space, but did you know there were five other incredible American women who helped blaze the trail for female astronauts by her side? When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s, the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots--a group women were also aggressively barred from--had the right stuff. But as the 1980s dawned so did new thinking, and six elite women scientists--Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Anna Lee Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon--set out to prove they had exactly the right stuff to become the first US women astronauts. In The Six -- Young Readers Edition, acclaimed journalist Loren Grush shows how these brilliant and courageous women fought to enter STEM fields they were discouraged from pursuing, endured claustrophobic--and often deeply sexist--media attention, underwent rigorous survival training, and prepared for years to take multi-million-dollar equipment into orbit. Told with contributions from nearly all the living participants and now adapted for young readers, this book is an inspiring testament to their struggles, accomplishments, and sacrifices and how they built the tools that made the space program run. It's a legacy that lives on to inspire young people today.

The remarkable true story of America's first women astronauts - six extraordinary women, each making history going to orbit aboard NASA's Space Shuttle.

The remarkable true story of America's first women astronauts - six extraordinary women, each making history going to orbit aboard NASA's Space Shuttle.

"Vivid." --The Guardian * "Engrossing." --Booklist * "Suspenseful, meticulously observed, enlightening." --Margot Lee Shetterly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures In this account of America's first women astronauts "Grush skillfully weaves a story that, at its heart, is about desire: not a nation's desire to conquer space, but the longing of six women to reach heights that were forbidden to them" (The New York Times). When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots--a group then made up exclusively of men--had the right stuff. It was an era in which women were steered away from jobs in science and deemed unqualified for space flight. Eventually, though, NASA recognized its blunder and opened the application process to a wider array of hopefuls, regardless of race or gender. From a candidate pool of 8,000 six elite women were selected in 1978--Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon. In The Six, acclaimed journalist Loren Grush shows these brilliant and courageous women enduring claustrophobic--and sometimes deeply sexist--media attention, undergoing rigorous survival training, and preparing for years to take multi-million-dollar payloads into orbit. Together, the Six helped build the tools that made the space program run. One of the group, Judy Resnik, sacrificed her life when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded at 46,000 feet. Everyone knows of Sally Ride's history-making first space ride, but each of the Six would make their mark. "A spirited group biography...it's hard not to feel awe for these women" (The Wall Street Journal).