They had the right stuff. They defied the prejudices of the time. And they blazed a trail for generations of women to follow.
What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape — any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale of thirteen women who proved that they were not only as tough as the toughest man but also brave enough to challenge the government. They were blocked by prejudice, jealousy, and the scrawled note of one of the most powerful men in Washington. But even though the Mercury 13 women did not make it into space, they did not lose, for their example empowered young women to take their place in the sky, piloting jets and commanding space capsules. ALMOST ASTRONAUTS is the story of thirteen true pioneers of the space age.
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Interesting and engaging. I learned so much about the history of women in aviation, and about a very interesting part of the fight for women's rights that (I'm ashamed to admit this) never really crossed my mind. We still suffer from the misconception that being a pilot or astronaut is a masculine profession - this book soundly proves otherwise, in wonderfully vivid prose, a heavy reliance on first hand accounts and documents, and fascinating supporting photographs.
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