What an excellent read! the author gave us a well written, well researched, engaging story about the lives of the first 6 female astronauts chosen by NASA. Their stories are so well written that it feels like a conversation with each one. There is a bit of NASA history thrown in to, that helps complete the overall pictures in the story. I highly recommend to any fan of space travel or history.

A great accurate telling of the first six women astronauts. Grush does a wonderful job of keeping the reader engaged with wonderful stories about each woman. The determination of these women to become astronauts is amazing! Enjoyable , well written!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of The Six! I am so impressed with this book. Grush did an incredible job of condensing years of information into a narrative that flows naturally and keeps the reader invested throughout the book. As someone interested in space history, particularly as it pertains to women’s involvement in it, I really appreciated the extensive research that went into this work. I was also glad to see mention of Weitekamp’s work and the women who were a part of Project WISE/The Lovelace Program. Additionally, while I sometimes struggle with the tone and style of nonfiction, I never had that issue with The Six. I found that Grush’s writing did a fantastic job of navigating each woman’s story while not losing sight of the overall narrative thread. This is truly a must-read for anyone interested in space and/or women’s history. I can’t wait to buy a copy in September!

Author Loren Grush has put together an intimately researched book about America's first female astronauts, "The Six," who paved a new path for gender equity in space exploration when the women's rights movement finally caught up with NASA in 1978.

These women were already trailblazers as achievers and students, far beyond most women of the 1970s. They came from families that supported them, were friends with men who were not intimidated by them, and they took that and ran. Can you imagine just deciding to apply to be an astronaut as a 20-something???

At the same time, the women supported each other, knowing they were in America's spotlight, and had only each other to truly understand what they were going through. The women learned and trained so hard - it was inspiring to read about.

I think this would make a great book for any young woman looking to go into a STEM field, and honestly, it should be taught as part of history classes in high school.

I wish the book did not open with the end story of each of the women, as I would have prefered to learn about their paths by reading the chronologically organized book.

4.5-stars rounded up. Pub date 9/12/23. 432 pages (kindle).

Thank you, Scribner Books, and NetGalley, for providing an eARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

#scribnerbooks @scribnerbooks #netgalley @netgalley #thesix

Thanks so much to the publisher for I really supplying me with a galley of this book in exchange for my review. I loved it! I learned a lot, not just about the first women astronauts, but about NASA, and the space program in general. It was also a stark reminder of how difficult it was for women prior to (and at the start of) the women's movement. Of course, reading this today, as we seem to be moving backward as a country, that aspect of the book packs even more of a punch. I was disappointed, however, that the book began with summaries of the various women and what happened to them in terms of who flew and in what order. As most readers will be unfamiliar with anyone other than Sally Ride, it would have been nice to withhold that information and keep the reader guessing about not just what order the women flew, but whether everyone actually got the opportunity to fly. As we learn in the book, you can be an astronaut in training and even be an astronaut and yet never take flight.. SO: for those of you reading this review on Goodreads, I suggest you skip the summaries of the women; it's covered in the narrative.

First, let me thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a fascinating telling of the lives of the first six women astronauts. It follows their lives from prior to applying to NASA, all the way through the selection process, to their first flight assignments and beyond. You really get to know these women and the amazing things they accomplished.

I’ve long being fascinated by space exploration from the early Mercury days to the Apollo missions to the age of the Space Shuttle. I’ve read several books covering these topics over the years. This book gave a unique perspective by focusing on the first six. An amazing group of women. I grew up during this timeframe and obviously always heard of Sally Ride, and being born and raised in the Akron, Ohio area (the hometown of Judy Resnik) felt a sort of “connection” to her, but was far less familiar with the others in this group. I really enjoyed this and felt it was very well researched and written.

I highly recommend.

I’ve had a fascination over the last 4-5 years of stories of astronauts going to space. So imagine my delight when I found out about this book.

The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts the rich story of the first six women admitted to NASA back in 1978. Going in, I only knew of Sally Ride, so this book was a delight. The author sharing the details of their upbringing, the frustrations of being women in a male dominated industry and highlighting their successes as they finally made their way into space.

I also really loved the insight into what NASA was like before the women arrived and the changes they had to make once women started to enter into the program. Despite there being a lot of the science explained in the missions, it’s never hard to understand and makes it digestible for someone not in that field. The chapters dedicated to the Challenger explosion and Sally Ride’s first trip to space were the highlights to me, but I enjoyed learning about all six of the women.

This book is fantastic. The research that went into it is extensive and the author really knows what she’s talking about!

I did not expect this to be a book I would really love but guess what? I was totally wrong on this one! It is a cannot put down book. I learned so much about each of the six women and most of the men astronauts that made up the first of the US astronauts. It is an in-depth study and written in a very likeable, informative way that really appealed to me. I followed the careers of each of the six women from childhood to career endings of each of these iconic women in the history of the United States Space program. The reader will experience their pain, their joys and their secrets. It is an amazing work and I simply cannot praise it enough. The total description of the training involved in preparation for an actual space journey is incredible and I felt great respect for all of them as they endured so much, risked so much and put their life, their marriages, their families behind them while the sought the ultimate prize of space travel. This book will be a book club favorite when it is published. I highly recommend this book.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster, Scribner Publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

such a solid history of the first six american women to go to space. I wish a little more time was dedicated to the post challenger NASA but this book really resparked my childhood love of NASA/astronauts

Thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the ARC

What an excellent book! Whether you’re a space geek or not, this will give you an inside look at NASA as well as what it was like for the first women astronauts. It read like a novel at times, which was not easy to do given some of the technical details provided. I was so impressed with the passion, dedication and enthusiasm these women had for space travel. They were dealt a difficult hand, considering the discrimination against women in NASA, the media and the population in general. But all six of them handled it professionally and overcame the obstacles. I haven’t read an inside look at male astronauts and I’m sure they had the same drive to succeed as the women did but they didn’t have the world constantly doubting their abilities and choices to have a career and family. I hope that this story inspires young girls to fight to make their dreams come true and to learn from these six how to gracefully overcome the doubters. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

If you asked me about women in the space program before I read Loren Grush's, "The Six," all I would be able to tell you was that Sally Ride was the first American woman sent to space and that two women were part of the Challenger disaster. That is to say, Grush nearly had a blank slate on which to school me.

Chronicling the NASA careers for the first six women astronauts to be admitted to the program, Grush writes a wonderful tribute to each of their successful careers. I didn't know they were all part of a class of new astronauts which included the first members of color. Grush adeptly tells the story of each of the six as singular people but also as part of a larger group. At no point in this book was I bored or yearning to get back to a different character. This is a testament to Grush's ability to highlight what made each woman unique to the reader.

Grush also does a great job moving the narrative forward which is no mean feat. She needs to occasionally jump back in time to highlight a different character but it seems seamless in Grush's presentation. I should point out that this is clearly a celebration of these six women as opposed to anything akin to an exposé. Grush focuses on the positives of each of the six and possible character flaws are not detailed extensively. In fact, she treats all the characters, even those not in the six, in the same way (with the exception of Johnny Carson but don't worry about that). This is not to say Grush sweeps anything under the rug, but merely avoids diving into long discussions around things like marital fidelity. The book is better for it.

I did notice that some reviews call this book a "novel" or suggested some of the details may be fiction. My reading of Grush's sources at the end seem to indicate there is nothing fictitious in the book and it is in no way a novel.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Scribner.)

Kudos to Ms. Grush on this exemplary study on the first six female astronauts in NASA and the Space Shuttle project! This book covers everything from the biographies of Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon, to the early years of NASA, the sometimes raging mysogyny which ran through NASA and finally, the acceptance of women in the Space Program.

The way things work is fascinating and Loren Grush takes the reader through the Space Shuttle beginnings, the mistakes and the successes of NASA.

Those old enough to remember the Challenger tragedy and the Columbia breakup several years later, know those disasters will be discussed in this book, and they are. And they're discussed with discretion and respect, as they should be.

What struck me was the amount of time each of these astronauts had to put into training and waiting for their chance to fly. Again, this is as it should be, with each task becoming second nature.

All in all, this is one of the most informative books I've read about the space race, really from start to present day.

Loren Grush did a remarkable job researching and writing this book. Highly recommended!

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. I was worried it would be dry as nonfiction sometimes is for me, but it was SOO good. I was super interested the whole way through because it was written in such a great way. It was great to learn more about the behind the scenes stuff at NASA and about the personal lives of these six women. It was a bit sad, but still compelling reading about the space shuttle explosions near the end of the book because I had been alive for those events, but also I felt like I knew them better after reading everything they had gone through to become astronauts.

The Six by Loren Grush was a book about the first female astronauts. What they had to do to get to the top of NASA's missions. The discrimination they endured because they were woman by the same gentlemen who were allowed to go into space.

One thing I liked about this book was the back stories about these women. How they started their careers and what let them to apply to the space program. There are many books written about the space game which really only tell us about the male astronauts and all their accomplishments. Not many stories were told about these women who fought long and hard to be part of NASA'S elite program. These six ladies had to fight the "ALL MALE CLUB" so they can accomplish the dream of going into space.

Reading the backstories of these women was interesting, because I never heard of them. I knew of Sally Ride and Judy Resnick but never heard of Anna Fisher, Shannon Lucid, Rhea Seddon and Kathy Sullivan.. So it was nice to see there were so many other women who had the dream of space.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the space journey and seeing it from a women's view. Knowing there is another side to the story was refreshing. Thank you NeyGalley and the publisher for the approval. Thank you Loren Grush for writing a book that might inspire young girls to follow their dreams, work hard and never give up.

I received a free copy of, The Six,by Loren Grush, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The six are: Anna Fisher, Shannon Lucid, Rhea Seddon, Kathy Sullivan, Judy Resnick, and Sally Ride, they are America's first women astronauts. I thought this book was good but I wish it had Christa McAuliffe in it, who died on the Challenger.

In 1978, the first six women were accepted into the NASA space program. This is the story of how these brilliant women dealt with the physical, mental and emotional challenges of the role of an astronaut, as well as the sexism of the era, to become major contributors to the scientific breakthroughs of the space race. Grush writes about each woman’s personal history in a way that creates an emotional connection with the reader and honors them as the American heroes they became.

What a terrific book this is! Readers interested in the history of space exploration and women in space, NASA, its first six women astronauts, and/or the space shuttle program will want to put “The Six” on their bookshelves right next to Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff” and Andrew Chaiken’s “A Man on the Moon.”

Author (and veteran space reporter) Lauren Grush begins with the backgrounds of each of “The Six”—Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon—women with advanced educations and scientific or technical backgrounds who dreamed of going into space but had little hope in light of NASA’s seeming insistence that its astronauts be white-male test pilots.

All that changed as a result of the women’s movement and the political climate of the 1970s as well as the onset of the shuttle program which needed, not just pilots, but “mission specialists” capable of performing scientific and other technical tasks in space. After an exhaustive and exhausting selection process, the resulting astronaut class of 1978—called the “Thirty-five New Guy” or the “TFNG” class—came into being, including two people of color and “The Six.”

Grush goes on to detail the training the women received (including piloting high-performance jets), the missions each undertook, the significant contributions each made, the Challenger disaster (causing the death of Judy Resnik), and its investigation (in which Sally Ride played a crucial role), and finally, how the remaining five continued on with their lives. Some stayed with NASA. Some went on to other equally challenging endeavors.

It's a very well-written history comprised of clear, straightforward prose and many fascinating anecdotes. It's also very well-researched, incorporating information from a large number and wide variety of sources, including 100 hours of interviews conducted by the author. Readers will gain a clear idea of how extraordinarily talented each protagonist is (or was, in the cases of Sally Ride and Judy Resnik) and how challenging—not to mention demanding of courage, disciple, and sacrifice—it is to be a NASA astronaut.

My thanks to NetGalley, author Lauren Grush, and the publisher Scribner for providing me with a complimentary electronic ARC. The foregoing is my honest, independent opinion.

My thanks to Loren Grush and Simon and Schuster for the ARC copy of the Six. I was totally blown away by this book. It gave great insight into a world that was conquered by six incredible women. The struggles and the challenges they went through to become astronauts were truly mind-Blowing. This book read well (it was never dry or anything like that). I really felt like I was in the NASA world learning all of their triumphs and friendships and a lot more about the newest series of astronauts to go to space. I stayed up way past bedtime reading this book and found it ended satisfactory. I highly recommend this to anyone and especially women who want to see how other women met the challenges of dealing in what was a typically male profession. These women were pioneers and I salute everyone of them.

Prepare to be captivated by "The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts" by Loren Grush, a spellbinding exploration of courage, determination, and the indomitable spirit of adventure. As an ardent space enthusiast, I found myself instantly transported back to my childhood dreams of soaring through the cosmos, fueled by the awe-inspiring tales of space travel and the magnificent space shuttle.

Grush's meticulously researched narrative takes readers on an exhilarating journey, shedding light on the extraordinary lives of the women who defied societal norms and shattered the glass ceiling to become America's first female astronauts. Their stories unfold with vivid detail, presenting personal triumphs and tribulations, intertwining with the incredible scientific breakthroughs and political landscape of the time.

The book explores the early days of NASA's space shuttle program, a period marked by uncertainty and fervor, where the vision of reaching the stars was within humanity's grasp. With a seamless blend of historical context and personal anecdotes, Grush brings to life the challenges faced by these remarkable women, from rigorous training regimes to battling entrenched prejudices.

Grush infuses the narrative with an unbridled passion for space exploration. Her infectious enthusiasm for the subject matter is palpable, and her descriptions of the space shuttle and its missions are breathtaking. With each turn of the page, I felt myself propelled into the cockpit alongside these pioneering astronauts, experiencing the thunderous roar of liftoff and the weightlessness of the vast expanse above.

Grush’s deep respect for the women at the heart of this story shines through every word, as she crafts a narrative that is both informative and inspiring. From the iconic Sally Ride to the lesser-known yet equally remarkable figures like Jerrie Cobb and Rhea Seddon, their individual journeys reflect the tenacity, intellect, and unwavering dedication required to overcome societal barriers and push the boundaries of human exploration.

"The Six" is an homage to the wonders of space travel, written for those who have long been fascinated by the boundless mysteries that lie beyond our blue planet. Grush's dedication to accuracy and her ability to seamlessly blend scientific detail with a compelling narrative will leave readers feeling awestruck and deeply moved. Her book reminds us that even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, the human spirit can transcend boundaries and soar to unimaginable heights.

For anyone who has ever gazed at the stars and dreamed of what lies beyond, "The Six" is an absolute must-read. Loren Grush has crafted an extraordinary tribute to these unsung heroes, giving voice to their remarkable achievements and reigniting the flame of curiosity within us all. Embark on this thrilling adventure and allow yourself to be swept away by the triumphs, challenges, and ultimate legacy of America's first women astronauts.

Very interesting women, but this book could use another pass by a good copy editor, as the author's writing isn't as smooth as it should be. (Yes, I know she has multiple accolades, but we can all use another editor.) Really - why say "She would do something" when she did do it? Then in the rest of the paragraph use simply past tense, as that sentence should? If the language hadn't been so distracting, I'd have given this book 4 or 5 stars.