A real life story about what happens when your dream job ends up killing you. This is a powerful story about how corporations put money above the lives of its women workers, and the toll it took on those women. The ailments of the women is described in anxiety inducing detail, but I think that's the only way to truly covey the horrors these women had to face. Gripping and chilling all at the same time, this is one of the best non-fiction books I've read in years.

This book is absolutely heartbreaking. The story of the Radium Girls, like all stories of previously untold injustices, is a shocking and saddening one, yet it is an important story to tell. This book gives a beautifully descriptive account of the lives of girls and their tragic deaths. Although it is a historical record of events, this book is also a personal history of the girls and their struggles that brings their tale to life in a way an ordinary historical account never could. The sacrifices these women made and their brave fight to improve working conditions saved and improved so many countless lives. It was an honor to read their story. Warning - do not read on public transport and Bring a box of tissues for this one! Speaking from experience.

This is an amazing story and an incredible book. Before I read Radium Girls, I had only a vague notion of some sort of scandal surrounding WWI watches, specially made so that soldiers could read the dials, day or night, in whatever conditions. I remembered that when Radium was introduced in the US, it became a phenomenon and a major fad. It was new and exciting and people went crazy for the glow. Part of me is impressed that I absorbed -- and retained -- that much information, because it had to have been years ago that I learned about it at all. However, I can't believe how much of the story I didn't know. Radium Girls is both fascinating and sad; it gives these largely-forgotten women a voice, and a chance to be heard. People complain about ridiculous regulations and government oversight so often these days; Radium Girls is a shining example of the dark side of those famous "good old days." It is a chilling -- and necessary -- reminder that it IS the government's business -- and it's responsibility -- to protect it's citizens, whether they are factory owners or factory workers.

How on EARTH is this not taught in school? How is it that I am nearly 40 and had never heard of the women who died from painting with radium? This book is sorely needed, and the fact that it's well written and composed is just gravy on top.

In short, back in the early 1900s, radium was used to make things glow, things like watch faces and panels for airplanes. Women were employed to paint these items, and they were exposed to insane amounts of radium...because despite it being known in scientific circles that it was poisonous, that message wasn't well-circulated.

Moore takes us on a more personal journey with some of the ladies who fought against the companies that killed them (once the source was discovered, which in itself is a fascinating story of science). I appreciated how she balanced the human side with the science, compassion with cold truth, and how this narrative taught me so much about something I had no clue about. The woman who painted dials never asked to be heroes, but they ended up making sure that their lives were not lost in vain--so much of our safety in the workplace today is owed to them.

This should be required reading in every school, everywhere.

I normally don't give 5 stars to books that I don't intend to re-read, but this one was so well-crafted, and is such a vital narrative, that it deserves that honor.

This was an incredible story and I am so glad it has been told. Unbelievable.

This is such an incredibly inspiring story, albeit a tough one to read. Essentially, this is the story of the women martyred, who gave scientists our first insight into the havoc that radiation will wreak on the body. This book tells the story of the abused women who fought and pursued justice that led to the basis of workmen's comp and protection for those exposed to work-related hazards. I am astounded that I was not familiar with this story before. Kate Moore's writing is so full and inviting, that several times in the first quarter of the book I re-checked that I was indeed reading a non-fiction book. Each and every woman who she includes in this record is described in such detail that they all pop alive on the page. She handles each person's story with such loving care. However, though this is a celebration of their lives and homage to these strong women and the impact they made on the world, for me, 2017 was not a year that I wanted to read about countless accounts of women ignored, used, and destroyed in the workplace. This book was terrifyingly relevant and at times read like a horror story in terms of the graphic description of the disintegration of these poor girls' bodies. I am glad that I read it, but it took about 7 months for me to get through this one...That said, I believe this one is an important story to tell.

The sad story of the women whose job it was, in the 1920s, to paint watch and clock dials with glow-in-the-dark paint. Unbeknownst to them, the paint contained radium, a deadly substance. The author describes the effect of the radium on their bodies, and tells of their lengthy legal quest for compensation from the companies who knew the paint was dangerous but covered it up.

A heartbreaking and harrowing true story told in America 1917 of the dial painting of clocks and watches in the factory carried out with luminous radiant paint and the horrific injuries received by the woman due to the radium poisoning omitted.
The ladies fought for justice long and hard to ultimately receive the rights to a new law placed regarding hazardous substances.
This book shocked me to the core but it's a story that needed to be told and one that will stay with me for a long time.
My thanks go to the author, publishers and Netgalley for this arc in return for a honest review.

Kate Moore does a fantastic job telling the tragic tale of the Radium Girls, whose lives were dramatically altered, and in some cases cut short, by working with the element Radium. Moore follows the stories of several different groups of women who were affected by their work and tried to let others know of the dangers. Compelling.

Thanks to Net Galley, source books, and Kate Moore for this ARC. I believe this book to be very truthful but disturbing look back at female workers in the radium plant. It keep me interested in the subject matter, and interested in the women involved in the painting with radium. Such an interesting story yet something you didn’t want to actually believe had happened. If you are a lover Of history this is a must read for you.

The style of the book is not what I was originally expecting. I was expecting more of a "story" format rather than a narrative. It is still very interesting and the format doesn't detract from the narrative at all.

I had never heard of the story of the Radium Girls until I found out about the book. Then I HAD to read it! This is a very sad story, and it is hard to believe this actually happened to so many girls. Reading Kate Moore’s words about how she found out about this story and the fact that she is British stands out to me. She felt it was a story she needed to tell and she delivered!

**As this happened in the past and anything can be researched I don’t feel like any of what I am going to say in this review is a spoiler.

We get to know each of the girls featured and their lives. We also get to know the extreme pain and anguish they went through from suffering from the radium poisoning. Moore graphically depicts the way the girls suffer. As I was reading, I wanted to tell them to stop the ‘lip, dip, paint’ that they were instructed to do! They continued as they were told the radium was safe. They were even excited to see the radium on themselves as they left work and ‘glowed in the dark’. They even went dancing while the radium was on them. Yes, the girls were naïve, but it was not their fault: They were young (some barely teenagers), impressionable and excited to get the highly sought after job of becoming a “Radium Girl”.

The villains are the companies and they are despicable as they knew radium was dangerous and they kept this fact a secret from the girls. They did not care about the girls, it was just about making a dollar. The Radium Girls is a very hard book to read. It was not just the girls who were affected, but their families as well with the high medical bills.

The girls’ story continues as some go to court and fight a hard fought battle. Their battle ended with changes to laws and more safeguards in the workplace for employees.

Kate Moore worked tirelessly to bring us this narrative non-fiction journey. Everything in the book is real, but written in this way you don’t ever want to put The Radium Girls down! It is well researched and she traveled all over the US learning about these girls and their lives.

Ms. Moore, you have made the Radium Girls proud by sharing their personal story with us.

There is a site dedicated to the novel and the Radium Girls. Do check it out, it’s the least we can do.

Special thanks to NetGalley for granting me a copy. The Radium Girls is recommended.

Completely heartbreaking, yet inspiring. It took me some time to finish this one, as it was so incredibly heavy and painful to digest. The Radium Girls will stay engraved in my mind forever. "I wanted to showcase their shining spirits in a book that would tell their story - not just the famous professionals who had helped them."

Recommended for anyone who wants to better understand the sacrifices made by American women at home during World War I.

This was a very insightful and interesting book. The story of the Radium Girls is eye opening. The author did an extraordinary job showing the strength of the girls even with all the suffering that they endured. The disregard that business at that time had for their employees and the lack of laws to protect the employees shows how far society has come. This book tells history of how the medical world, business and law are intertwined. This is an amazing book that everyone should read.

Starting in WWI and continuing until the 1930’s, there was big business in painting clock and instrument dials with radium. Two of the main factories were in New Jersey and Illinois. The painters that were hired were mainly young women and they were well paid for their work. To get the brush point to a fine tip, the girls would dip the brush in the radium, use their lips to create the point and then apply the paint. When some of the girls became ill, dentists and doctors were stupefied by the symptoms. No one knew the dangers of handling radium and even if they suspected, the truth was hidden. In fact, the two radium businesses had evidence of the dangers and lied to the girls. They assured them that painting radium dials was perfectly safe.

Moore follows the cases of numerous young women who suffered horrifically from their exposure. The details of their ailments is gruesome and unnerving. Compounding the horror is the repeated actions of the companies to hide clear evidence, mislead their employees and cheat the sick and dying girls of any compensation. Not only is this eye-opening but the cases of a few of the women to get the companies to pay for some of their medical care, were historically significant and lead to important legislation. This is a significant book about a travesty of monumental proportions. It puts corporate greed center-stage. It’s a time when women were thankful for having a job. They didn’t question authority and believed what they were told. The danger of radiation poisoning was not understood and doctors and dentists were seeing symptoms they couldn’t explain. Even as the girls suffered, they were brave and stalwart rather than angry and vindictive. During this time in history, people were more accepting of their plight, less challenging of those in authority and laws were not as protective of workers’ rights.

This nonfiction book uses documents, comments and personal recollections in presenting an account of the torturous suffering of many young women who thought they were lucky to have such a great job as a dial painter, using the fascinating, glowing radium. It’s a compelling documentation of deliberate lies and a coldness that one cannot fathom. How people can watch the suffering of others and continue to encourage them to put themselves at further risk is reprehensible. No one who reads this can fail to be shocked and horrified.
4.5*

Heartbreaking! This book will make you so mad yet you will not be able to put it down. A true story of a dark time in America when companies lied to their employees and tried to deny the negative impact radium had on the human body. sadly things like this are still happening in America but hopefully there is more support for workers than there was in the early 1900s. I highly recommend this book to everyone!!

We read this book for Book Club. I couldn't bring myself to read past the first chapter, although I gave it a second try after discussing the merits of the book with other bookclub members. All of us said it was a "tough read" for the subject matter. I thought the book would be similar to "Girls of Atomic City" which was interesting to read and not too disturbing (although some of it was tough). However, Radium Girls was too much for me -- as someone who makes my living writing analysis reports predicting "bad things happening", and how to prevent them, I knew that sticking radium coated paint brushes into your mouth was NOT A GOOD IDEA. ONLY IF you have a stronger stomach for this sort of thing, I recommend the book, based on the book club's evaluation.

Having read many wonderful reviews, it was an choice to pick up Moore’s tragic, real life story behind the young girls who painted radium on dials in the 1920s. Alas, I found myself wishing this subject matter had been as easy as the choice was to read. I’ve likely read thousands of books in my life and within the aforementioned books I’ve encountered countless deaths. It is fairly safe to assume most people ponder their own death, alongside the more macabre possibilites for the worst case scenario. Upon reading The Radium Girls, I have added a new type of death to the list of unimaginable horrors, radiation poisoning. Moore flawlessly captures the exuberant nature of youth surrounding these young vibrant workers, with the hope of their whole future still ahead of them. Previously receiving radiation training during my graduate research, I was physically cringing as the story transitioned into the girls beginning work in the radium factories. It is so hard to imagine a world in which the dangers of radiation are not known and radium was in fact thought to be a health boost. Moore weaved a story in which this relatively new substance could be perceived as magical, due to the glowing aftereffects and especially with so many influential individuals touting its benefits. Fairly quickly, these young women started presenting mysterious, terrible symptoms, eventually resulting in suffering a death beyond comprehension. Furthermore, infuriating is a vast understatement regarding the actions of the radium companies. I still cannot fathom how those men in charge could live with themselves, knowing that they had and were actively, in some cases, poisoning their workers. I can think of only a handful of books that have caused me to rant and rage for days after reading, and this topic might have superseded all others. Overall, The Radium Girls was one of the most difficult reads that I’ve ever encountered, however in literature that characteristic is far from synonymous with bad, often being quite the opposite. I’m so thankful Moore chose to tell the story of the The Radium Girls and the indescribable suffering they endured, alongside the relentless drive these women exhibited throughout their tragically shortened lives to reveal dangers of radium.

This was an extremely sad account of the torment the women of the United States Radium Company had to endure to obtain justice for their wrongful poisoning. It’s a example of profits put before people and is heart rending. These women showed unbelievable courage in the face of adversity. This book was well written and researched. Be prepared to be saddened by the accounts of the anguish these women went through.