Status
Available
Genres
Publication
SOURCEBOOKS (2017), Edition: 1, 496 pages
Description
As World War I raged across the globe, hundreds of young women toiled away at the radium-dial factories, where they painted clock faces with a mysterious new substance called radium. Assured by their bosses that the luminous material was safe, the women themselves shone brightly in the dark, covered from head to toe with the glowing dust. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" were considered the luckiest alive--until they began to fall mysteriously ill. As the fatal poison of the radium took hold, they found themselves embroiled in one of America's biggest scandals and a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights. The Radium Girls explores the strength of extraordinary women in the face of almost impossible circumstances and the astonishing legacy they left behind.… (more)
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User reviews
LibraryThing member PrairieProgressive
Both as an attorney and in my past life as a journalist, I learned how to research. I also discovered two often overlooked keys in researching a subject, ones I tried to pass on to new attorneys. The first is that you often can research forever so you need to learn when to stop diving into rabbit
Failure to observe the latter precept decidedly cripples Kate Moore's The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women. The book is a meticulous examination of what happened to dozens of young women who painted watch dials. Over the years, they would be given a number of nicknames. The Ghost Girls. The List of the Doomed. Women Doomed to Die. And in February 1938 they named their own group The Society of the Living Dead. The names came from the radium in the luminous paint they applied to dozens of watch and instrument dials a day.
Moore, a British author, delves into the story of these women, their horrendous illnesses and their fight for justice. It's a tale of corporate callousness and almost criminal deceit, as well as the lag between scientific advances and the law. Unfortunately, it is a narrative that is overwhelmed by people and details.
Two companies are the villains. Prior to World War I, Radium Luminous Materials Corp. opened a watch dial factory in Newark, N.J. (It would later move to Orange, N.J., and become the United States Radium Corp.) After the war, the Radium Dial Company opened in Ottawa, Ill., about 85 miles southwest of Chicago. By applying paint containing radium the numbers on the dials would glow in the dark, leading Radium Luminous Materials to call its paint "Undark." Some of the numbers were as small as a millimeter in width, so the delicate work called for nimble, dexterous hands. As a result, the painters usually were women and a majority were teenagers.
Three words summarize what gave rise to their eventual predicament. Lip. Dip. Paint.
To ensure a fine point at the end of their brush, the women used a technique called lip-pointing. Throughout the day they would twirl the brush in their mouth to form a point, dip it in the paint and apply the paint to the numbers. This process also moistened any radium that hardened on the brushes. How often each worker lip-pointed each day was reflected in their earnings. Paid on a piecework basis averaging 1.5 cents per watch, the average painter took home $20 a week ($370 today) and the fastest sometimes earned $2,080 a year (almost $40,000 today).
A critical factor in this approach was that radium was considered a wonder drug at the time. When the first plant opened, radium was used to treat everything from cancer to gout to constipation. Dozens of radium-laced products, such as lingerie and cosmetics, even enemas, were on the market. Thus, rather than being warned of any dangers, the girls were told that, if anything, they would benefit from their exposure to radium.
But dozens slowly developed unusual physical problems. Complaints of intractable pain in the jaw was common. Teeth were removed in an attempt to alleviate the pain but not only did the pain remain, the holes left by the extractions didn’t heal. They would form ulcers and abscesses, which would also being showing up in other parts of their mouths. As this progressed, jaw bones would break by simply applying pressure with a finger. They had radiation poisoning, a disease unknown at the time but one that would produce a horrific death.
The first dial-painter died in 1922. She was 24 and only a few months before quit the job she'd held since she was 19. That and worker complaints led to various studies and investigations over the next couple years. Most, though, were conducted by industry experts and company doctors. Moreover, the industry suppressed anything that might suggest radium paint was causing these problems. The situation began drawing media attention when an employee in Orange, N.J., filed the first lawsuit over the condition in February 1925. On June 14, 1925, another female employee in New Jersey became the first dial-painter ever tested for the presence of radium. (Some wondered if it was merely coincidence that the test came a week after the first death of a male employee.) Her death four days later made the front page of the New York Times.
Even more media attention was generated when the parties to the lawsuit were going to autopsy the dial-painter who died in 1924. When her body was exhumed five years after her death those present reported that "the inside of the coffin was aglow with the soft luminescence of radium compounds." Every piece of tissue and bone examined during the autopsy was radioactive.
Yet not only did the industry aggressively fight the lawsuit and others, it did its best to suppress evidence that might support the claims. Moreover, the fact radiation poisoning was essentially unknown when the women’s problems developed meant the law also was a roadblock. All the suits were brought after the statutes of limitations expired for common law injury or workers compensation claims. While both New Jersey and Illinois made some industrial diseases compensable under workers’ compensation, radiation poisoning wasn’t among them Even if it was, those specific statutes of limitations also expired before the women’s conditions manifested themselves for years and before they knew the cause was occupational.
Given that the radiation poisoning appeared to be a death sentence, public outrage grew as the litigation dragged on and it appeared the radium girls had no remedy. Settlements were eventually reached in most of the cases, although at times it was only enough to cover medical and burial expenses.
Moore takes the reader through the effects on the women, the industry efforts to cover up any danger and the women’s struggle to find legal representation and a legal remedy. The extent of the book's research is reflected in the fact it has nearly 1,500 footnotes. Yet Moore's failure to be more discriminating in using the research produces a significant downfall.
At its core, The Radium Girls is a fascinating story of women with horrendous medical conditions fighting dishonest corporations and law that had yet to recognize their plight. But the core gets entangled in excess. The book’s “List of Key Characters” contains nearly 70 names. All of them -- and more -- are heard from over the course of the book, making it difficult to keep track of who is who. This is exacerbated once the book begins jumping back and forth between people and lawsuits in New Jersey and Illinois. It feels like, having devoted so much time and effort to research and interviews, Moore feels obligated to include as much of it as possible. This leaves an otherwise compelling tale adrift in a sea of information.
(Originally posted at A Progressive on the Prairie.)
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holes. The second -- and more important -- is that you don't need to use everything your research uncovered. Providing an inordinate amount of information hurts more than it helps.Failure to observe the latter precept decidedly cripples Kate Moore's The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women. The book is a meticulous examination of what happened to dozens of young women who painted watch dials. Over the years, they would be given a number of nicknames. The Ghost Girls. The List of the Doomed. Women Doomed to Die. And in February 1938 they named their own group The Society of the Living Dead. The names came from the radium in the luminous paint they applied to dozens of watch and instrument dials a day.
Moore, a British author, delves into the story of these women, their horrendous illnesses and their fight for justice. It's a tale of corporate callousness and almost criminal deceit, as well as the lag between scientific advances and the law. Unfortunately, it is a narrative that is overwhelmed by people and details.
Two companies are the villains. Prior to World War I, Radium Luminous Materials Corp. opened a watch dial factory in Newark, N.J. (It would later move to Orange, N.J., and become the United States Radium Corp.) After the war, the Radium Dial Company opened in Ottawa, Ill., about 85 miles southwest of Chicago. By applying paint containing radium the numbers on the dials would glow in the dark, leading Radium Luminous Materials to call its paint "Undark." Some of the numbers were as small as a millimeter in width, so the delicate work called for nimble, dexterous hands. As a result, the painters usually were women and a majority were teenagers.
Three words summarize what gave rise to their eventual predicament. Lip. Dip. Paint.
To ensure a fine point at the end of their brush, the women used a technique called lip-pointing. Throughout the day they would twirl the brush in their mouth to form a point, dip it in the paint and apply the paint to the numbers. This process also moistened any radium that hardened on the brushes. How often each worker lip-pointed each day was reflected in their earnings. Paid on a piecework basis averaging 1.5 cents per watch, the average painter took home $20 a week ($370 today) and the fastest sometimes earned $2,080 a year (almost $40,000 today).
A critical factor in this approach was that radium was considered a wonder drug at the time. When the first plant opened, radium was used to treat everything from cancer to gout to constipation. Dozens of radium-laced products, such as lingerie and cosmetics, even enemas, were on the market. Thus, rather than being warned of any dangers, the girls were told that, if anything, they would benefit from their exposure to radium.
But dozens slowly developed unusual physical problems. Complaints of intractable pain in the jaw was common. Teeth were removed in an attempt to alleviate the pain but not only did the pain remain, the holes left by the extractions didn’t heal. They would form ulcers and abscesses, which would also being showing up in other parts of their mouths. As this progressed, jaw bones would break by simply applying pressure with a finger. They had radiation poisoning, a disease unknown at the time but one that would produce a horrific death.
The first dial-painter died in 1922. She was 24 and only a few months before quit the job she'd held since she was 19. That and worker complaints led to various studies and investigations over the next couple years. Most, though, were conducted by industry experts and company doctors. Moreover, the industry suppressed anything that might suggest radium paint was causing these problems. The situation began drawing media attention when an employee in Orange, N.J., filed the first lawsuit over the condition in February 1925. On June 14, 1925, another female employee in New Jersey became the first dial-painter ever tested for the presence of radium. (Some wondered if it was merely coincidence that the test came a week after the first death of a male employee.) Her death four days later made the front page of the New York Times.
Even more media attention was generated when the parties to the lawsuit were going to autopsy the dial-painter who died in 1924. When her body was exhumed five years after her death those present reported that "the inside of the coffin was aglow with the soft luminescence of radium compounds." Every piece of tissue and bone examined during the autopsy was radioactive.
Yet not only did the industry aggressively fight the lawsuit and others, it did its best to suppress evidence that might support the claims. Moreover, the fact radiation poisoning was essentially unknown when the women’s problems developed meant the law also was a roadblock. All the suits were brought after the statutes of limitations expired for common law injury or workers compensation claims. While both New Jersey and Illinois made some industrial diseases compensable under workers’ compensation, radiation poisoning wasn’t among them Even if it was, those specific statutes of limitations also expired before the women’s conditions manifested themselves for years and before they knew the cause was occupational.
Given that the radiation poisoning appeared to be a death sentence, public outrage grew as the litigation dragged on and it appeared the radium girls had no remedy. Settlements were eventually reached in most of the cases, although at times it was only enough to cover medical and burial expenses.
Moore takes the reader through the effects on the women, the industry efforts to cover up any danger and the women’s struggle to find legal representation and a legal remedy. The extent of the book's research is reflected in the fact it has nearly 1,500 footnotes. Yet Moore's failure to be more discriminating in using the research produces a significant downfall.
At its core, The Radium Girls is a fascinating story of women with horrendous medical conditions fighting dishonest corporations and law that had yet to recognize their plight. But the core gets entangled in excess. The book’s “List of Key Characters” contains nearly 70 names. All of them -- and more -- are heard from over the course of the book, making it difficult to keep track of who is who. This is exacerbated once the book begins jumping back and forth between people and lawsuits in New Jersey and Illinois. It feels like, having devoted so much time and effort to research and interviews, Moore feels obligated to include as much of it as possible. This leaves an otherwise compelling tale adrift in a sea of information.
(Originally posted at A Progressive on the Prairie.)
Show Less
LibraryThing member rosalita
When Marie and Pierre Curie discovered the element radium in 1898, its destructive effects on living tissue were not fully understood. A rash of commercial products incorporated radium as a health benefit, including toothpaste, hair cream, and food products. And it was quickly put to use to provide
The luminescent paint containing radium was applied by hand by women, many of them teenagers when they began working at the factory, using small paintbrushes. In order to apply the paint to small areas with precision, they were instructed to lick the brush heads to draw them to a fine point. This caused them to ingest the radium-infused paint, but they didn't worry about it because they were told, repeatedly, that the radium was perfectly safe. It was so safe, in fact, that they would often jokingly paint mustaches and other designs on their faces, enjoying the effect it created when they stood in a darkened room. Even without such playful shenanigans, the women's clothing and hair would shine with luminescence from the accumulation of radium dust from the factory air, which they carried out into the public and home with them. Because of this, they became known as the "Shining Girls."
Of course, we know how this ended. The radium was a deadly poison that settled itself in their bones and erupted months or years later into cancerous tumors and other devastatingly fatal conditions. Many of the girls suffered immensely as all of their teeth fell out and their very jawbones disintegrated from the effects of the radium poisoning. Because radium was not understood to be a poison, however, the dentists and doctors that they repeatedly consulted had no idea what was causing their ills. At least one girl was diagnosed as having syphilis, although she had never been sexually active. It took decades for the truth to become known and for at least some of the girls to receive monetary compensation.
The story as told by Kate Moore through contemporary accounts, including journals and interviews of the women involved, has several layers that make it interesting beyond the quest for justice by these specific women in this specific circumstance. Moore does a good job of outlining just how anemic were workplace safety regulations during the early 20th century, and how the case of the radium workers spurred stricter oversight of dangerous industries. She also effectively conveys how the science surrounding radium toxicity was laggard, though certainly the companies who hired the women knew it was dangerous and deliberately lied and stonewalled to keep from facing liability after the women began falling ill. Many, many women died before ever receiving the justice of hearing their employer admit they were culpable.
Moore writes in a mostly dispassionate tone, although her sympathy clearly lies with the women and there are moments when her indignation on their behalf leaks onto the page. I didn't feel her emotions detracted from the authority of her research and narrative; indeed as I read I was feeling much the same way and in a more emphatic way than she allowed herself to reveal.
All in all, it's a useful reminder of what life was like for working people, and women especially, in the days before government organized itself to protect employees from the greed and amorality of their employers.
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long-lasting luminescence in clocks, watches, and instrument displays and dials for aircraft and other military equipment. Such use soared beginning with the onset of World War I and continued for decades.The luminescent paint containing radium was applied by hand by women, many of them teenagers when they began working at the factory, using small paintbrushes. In order to apply the paint to small areas with precision, they were instructed to lick the brush heads to draw them to a fine point. This caused them to ingest the radium-infused paint, but they didn't worry about it because they were told, repeatedly, that the radium was perfectly safe. It was so safe, in fact, that they would often jokingly paint mustaches and other designs on their faces, enjoying the effect it created when they stood in a darkened room. Even without such playful shenanigans, the women's clothing and hair would shine with luminescence from the accumulation of radium dust from the factory air, which they carried out into the public and home with them. Because of this, they became known as the "Shining Girls."
Of course, we know how this ended. The radium was a deadly poison that settled itself in their bones and erupted months or years later into cancerous tumors and other devastatingly fatal conditions. Many of the girls suffered immensely as all of their teeth fell out and their very jawbones disintegrated from the effects of the radium poisoning. Because radium was not understood to be a poison, however, the dentists and doctors that they repeatedly consulted had no idea what was causing their ills. At least one girl was diagnosed as having syphilis, although she had never been sexually active. It took decades for the truth to become known and for at least some of the girls to receive monetary compensation.
The story as told by Kate Moore through contemporary accounts, including journals and interviews of the women involved, has several layers that make it interesting beyond the quest for justice by these specific women in this specific circumstance. Moore does a good job of outlining just how anemic were workplace safety regulations during the early 20th century, and how the case of the radium workers spurred stricter oversight of dangerous industries. She also effectively conveys how the science surrounding radium toxicity was laggard, though certainly the companies who hired the women knew it was dangerous and deliberately lied and stonewalled to keep from facing liability after the women began falling ill. Many, many women died before ever receiving the justice of hearing their employer admit they were culpable.
Moore writes in a mostly dispassionate tone, although her sympathy clearly lies with the women and there are moments when her indignation on their behalf leaks onto the page. I didn't feel her emotions detracted from the authority of her research and narrative; indeed as I read I was feeling much the same way and in a more emphatic way than she allowed herself to reveal.
All in all, it's a useful reminder of what life was like for working people, and women especially, in the days before government organized itself to protect employees from the greed and amorality of their employers.
Show Less
LibraryThing member LibraryCin
In the early 20th century, radium was touted as being beneficial to one’s health. Clock dials were being painted with radium so they would glow in order to be read in the dark. Young women, mostly in their late teens or early 20s, were working in factories, hand painting the radium on to those
Wow! Scary stuff! Imagine your jawbone disintegrating and breaking through into your mouth in pieces. These women were still young, wanted to get married and have families. Even worse was when a group of women who worked at a factory in New Jersey successfully sued for their health problems, but the company in Illinois told their employees that the radium the company used in NJ wasn’t to blame – it was something additional they put in theirs that wasn’t used in the Illinois factory… so the “lip, dip, paint” method continued in Illinois.
This book is nonfiction, but read like fiction. It kept me wanting to read, and it was a surprisingly fast read. Even more horrifying,”lip, dip, paint” was still being used in Illinois in 1978!!!!!! . I guess it’s nonfiction, so I shouldn’t need a spoiler there, but I’m putting it in, anyway.
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dials, and being paid very well to do so. Not only hand painting them, but licking the brushes they used to paint, in order to make a nice sharp tip to be able to paint perfectly. Eventually, many of these women began having health problems, from their teeth falling out to carcinomas in various parts of their bodies. The companies that employed these women continued to insist it wasn’t radium that was the problem.Wow! Scary stuff! Imagine your jawbone disintegrating and breaking through into your mouth in pieces. These women were still young, wanted to get married and have families. Even worse was when a group of women who worked at a factory in New Jersey successfully sued for their health problems, but the company in Illinois told their employees that the radium the company used in NJ wasn’t to blame – it was something additional they put in theirs that wasn’t used in the Illinois factory… so the “lip, dip, paint” method continued in Illinois.
This book is nonfiction, but read like fiction. It kept me wanting to read, and it was a surprisingly fast read. Even more horrifying,
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LibraryThing member amanda4242
This review concerns the audiobook read by Angela Brazil.
When I was a child my father showed me an old army compass he owned. I remember being entranced by the luminescent face, so much brighter than my glow-in-the-dark toys. I asked him why it glowed like that and he turned it over, showing me
As soon as I received the audiobook I popped in the first CD and prepared to spend the rest of my day listening; unfortunately, the narration is so atrocious I could not continue beyond the first disc. Angela Brazil’s performance is so bad I had to check the box to make sure it wasn’t a computer generated reading. At her best Brazil sounds like she is reading a storybook to a kindergarten class, which is a totally inappropriate style for a book about women dying of radiation poisoning.
I cannot take another moment of the audiobook so I have requested the paper book from my local library.
When I was a child my father showed me an old army compass he owned. I remember being entranced by the luminescent face, so much brighter than my glow-in-the-dark toys. I asked him why it glowed like that and he turned it over, showing me
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the radiation warning on the back; he explained that it was from the radium in the paint and how the dial painters were poisoned by it. When I read the description of Radium Girls I decided to read it to learn more about the women who painted my father’s deadly compass.As soon as I received the audiobook I popped in the first CD and prepared to spend the rest of my day listening; unfortunately, the narration is so atrocious I could not continue beyond the first disc. Angela Brazil’s performance is so bad I had to check the box to make sure it wasn’t a computer generated reading. At her best Brazil sounds like she is reading a storybook to a kindergarten class, which is a totally inappropriate style for a book about women dying of radiation poisoning.
I cannot take another moment of the audiobook so I have requested the paper book from my local library.
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LibraryThing member amandacb
Like some other reviewers, I think initially the subject of this book is fascinating. However, unfortunately there are just so many women and other people to keep track of that the narrative becomes bogged down. When I was only 25% through the book, I was certain I was almost to the end -- and to
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be honest, I did just give up. Show Less
LibraryThing member c.archer
This is an important book. I'll repeat that; this is an important book!
I was introduced to the story of "The Radium Girls", earlier this year when I was attended a performance of "These Shining Lives" put on by our local university. It was astounding and left me wanting to know more about these
After the discovery of radium in 1898 by the Curies, it was looked on as a most wonderful thing. Quickly savvy merchandisers came up with all kinds of miracle products and the radium craze was born. The discovery that radium could kill some cancers sealed the idea that it was safe and even beneficial.
Around this time, companies began to use radium in paint to outline the numbers on clocks, watches, and other instrument dials. The radium gave them a glow that allowed them to be seen in the dark. Young women were hired at a factory in Orange, New Jersey to paint these faces with radium paint. They were even encouraged to apply for the jobs as the United States entered WWI in order to do their part for the war effort in producing the dials needed for instruments used by the troops.
Efficiency was important since they were paid by the piece, but quality was also necessary. In order to get the neat and fine work needed on the dial faces, the girls were taught to paint in a very specific way. They would put the brush in their mouth drawing it out over their tightened lips to make a sharp point. Then they would dip it in a bit of the paint and paint the number on the dial. Lip, dip, and paint was done over and over hundreds of times a day by each girl. The paint would obviously be ingested by the girls as they followed this pattern. (With what we know now about radium, this becomes a real life horror scene.) The companies however were quick to point out the many advantages of radium that were being touted and assured them that it was completely safe.
Eventually the girls began to have numerous physical problems. They struggled to find someone to listen and give them accurate information about the reality of their diminishing health. The companies repeatedly assured the women that their jobs were completely safe even after evidence mounted to prove them wrong. This is repeated in Ottawa, Illinois when the Radium Dial Company opens a factory. The effects of the radium are devastating to these young women and their pleas for help are ignored by the companies who monitor their health but keep the results secret.
While heartbreaking to read, these women show courage and a strength of character that is astounding. They continue attempting to live as workers, wives, and mothers as next to normally as they can. Eventually they are driven to fight back to help each other. They try to recover some of the medical costs that threaten to ruin their families and avenge for the lives of those that have already been lost as well as preventing others from suffering their fate.
The story of these women is part of the bigger story of the beginning of worker's rights in the United States. They were able to finally get legal recognition of a company's responsibility to protect its workers and damages when they fail. The idea and initiation of worker's protection groups such as OSHA came out of the catastrophic and preventable results of radium exposure that these women suffered.
Their lives were not in vain, and this book shows that side of them as well. They were strong in their connections to one another and built on that strength to pull them through. Much of the book is dismal, but there remains, as in the play, a strong undercurrent of sisterhood and the power of persistence that is perhaps needed at this present time once again. The power of companies is well know, but there is also power when individuals join together and stand up for what is right and true.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. My special thanks to the author, Kate Moore, for her dedication and persistence in telling the story of these remarkable yet ordinary women whose lives can once again shine for us all to acknowledge and appreciate.
I was introduced to the story of "The Radium Girls", earlier this year when I was attended a performance of "These Shining Lives" put on by our local university. It was astounding and left me wanting to know more about these
Show More
women and the others like them. I was thrilled by the chance to do just that with this book.After the discovery of radium in 1898 by the Curies, it was looked on as a most wonderful thing. Quickly savvy merchandisers came up with all kinds of miracle products and the radium craze was born. The discovery that radium could kill some cancers sealed the idea that it was safe and even beneficial.
Around this time, companies began to use radium in paint to outline the numbers on clocks, watches, and other instrument dials. The radium gave them a glow that allowed them to be seen in the dark. Young women were hired at a factory in Orange, New Jersey to paint these faces with radium paint. They were even encouraged to apply for the jobs as the United States entered WWI in order to do their part for the war effort in producing the dials needed for instruments used by the troops.
Efficiency was important since they were paid by the piece, but quality was also necessary. In order to get the neat and fine work needed on the dial faces, the girls were taught to paint in a very specific way. They would put the brush in their mouth drawing it out over their tightened lips to make a sharp point. Then they would dip it in a bit of the paint and paint the number on the dial. Lip, dip, and paint was done over and over hundreds of times a day by each girl. The paint would obviously be ingested by the girls as they followed this pattern. (With what we know now about radium, this becomes a real life horror scene.) The companies however were quick to point out the many advantages of radium that were being touted and assured them that it was completely safe.
Eventually the girls began to have numerous physical problems. They struggled to find someone to listen and give them accurate information about the reality of their diminishing health. The companies repeatedly assured the women that their jobs were completely safe even after evidence mounted to prove them wrong. This is repeated in Ottawa, Illinois when the Radium Dial Company opens a factory. The effects of the radium are devastating to these young women and their pleas for help are ignored by the companies who monitor their health but keep the results secret.
While heartbreaking to read, these women show courage and a strength of character that is astounding. They continue attempting to live as workers, wives, and mothers as next to normally as they can. Eventually they are driven to fight back to help each other. They try to recover some of the medical costs that threaten to ruin their families and avenge for the lives of those that have already been lost as well as preventing others from suffering their fate.
The story of these women is part of the bigger story of the beginning of worker's rights in the United States. They were able to finally get legal recognition of a company's responsibility to protect its workers and damages when they fail. The idea and initiation of worker's protection groups such as OSHA came out of the catastrophic and preventable results of radium exposure that these women suffered.
Their lives were not in vain, and this book shows that side of them as well. They were strong in their connections to one another and built on that strength to pull them through. Much of the book is dismal, but there remains, as in the play, a strong undercurrent of sisterhood and the power of persistence that is perhaps needed at this present time once again. The power of companies is well know, but there is also power when individuals join together and stand up for what is right and true.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title. My special thanks to the author, Kate Moore, for her dedication and persistence in telling the story of these remarkable yet ordinary women whose lives can once again shine for us all to acknowledge and appreciate.
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LibraryThing member Beamis12
What seemed like a fun, good paying job, especially for the times turns into an epic nightmare of pain and suffering for the girls who worked with radium, hand painting dials. My eldest granddaughter lived in Ottawa for a time and it is a town that is quaint, charming and has a great state park,
Why I gave it only three stars. I think probably if you read it will depend on what you are looking for, and once again I found a blurb misleading. I though I would get to know these girls with a bit more depth, but so many girls are mentioned that was virtually Impossible though some are mentioned more often then others. The skipping around between the plants, the two locations was a bit disruptive and confusing at times. Their suffering, the horror of what they eventually go through, so many died, so young, this does come through, loud and clear, rightfully so. Still all that I mentioned, did make for repetitious reading.
I expected a more straightforward narrative, an intimate narrative account,and that is not this book, though I am very glad I read it. Big companies, doing bad things, hiding things for profit, are still and always will I believe happen. Avarice and greed are two of the seven deadly sins for a reason. Makes me wonder what we are doing today, eating or taking that we think is wonderful, that will turn out to be detrimental.
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Starved Rock, that we have gone to for years. I never knew about this factory nor anything about the history of these poor girls before this book. The author deserves kudos for bringing this huge miscarriage to the attention of readers.Why I gave it only three stars. I think probably if you read it will depend on what you are looking for, and once again I found a blurb misleading. I though I would get to know these girls with a bit more depth, but so many girls are mentioned that was virtually Impossible though some are mentioned more often then others. The skipping around between the plants, the two locations was a bit disruptive and confusing at times. Their suffering, the horror of what they eventually go through, so many died, so young, this does come through, loud and clear, rightfully so. Still all that I mentioned, did make for repetitious reading.
I expected a more straightforward narrative, an intimate narrative account,and that is not this book, though I am very glad I read it. Big companies, doing bad things, hiding things for profit, are still and always will I believe happen. Avarice and greed are two of the seven deadly sins for a reason. Makes me wonder what we are doing today, eating or taking that we think is wonderful, that will turn out to be detrimental.
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LibraryThing member Veronica.Sparrow
When I finished "The Radium Girls: They paid with their lives. Their final fight was for justice' by Kate Moore, I decided to wait before writing a review because I wanted my emotions to settle down. I wanted to be able to write a calm and clear review without my own emotions becoming involved. I
During World War One, everyone wanted to help with the war effort in any way they could. One way was to paint watches, military dials, and clocks with a luminous substance that was made from radium. The military dials were vital for the soldiers serving overseas because they could see the time on the watch without showing their position because of the luminous glow that had been painted on them by the radium girls. These girls not only helped with the war effort but the pay was extremely good too. The girls had no idea that they were working with a very dangerous form of radiation and were even taught to shape the tip of the brush in their mouths in order for it to become a fine point. Rags and other ways were not used because it would waste the radium paste. They were employed by United States Radium Factory who knew how dangerous radium was. Upper management and scientists generally used protection but no one told the girls at all. Then one by one, the girls became very sick, usually starting with jaw pain but other ailments came up as well. The end result was a very painful death. The company knew this was happening and took an active role in actually hiding the evidence to the point of isolating one young lady from her family until she died and burying her before her family could become involved. The answer came years later when she was exhumed: her jaw had been removed to hide evidence. If you take a Geiger counter today to their graves, the needle will jump even 80 years after their deaths. They were also known as ghost girls. They actually glowed in the dark and played games like painting their teeth and nails because they had been told it was harmless and it looked so "pretty". They had no idea they were seeing the signs of their own death sentences.
There have been a few books written about the radium girls but never any that took the time to research who these girls actually were. They were mothers, daughters, sisters and they each had dreams and a story to tell. Kate Moore actually visited with family members and their graves and did so much research so we could know who these brave women were. The girls had to fight long and hard for justice and they probably had no idea how far reaching their fight would become. The reason why inspectors come to a company or you have to fill out a form if the accident happened at work is all because of these women's efforts and suffering. One of the girls even said if she could prevent one person suffering as she did then it was worth the fight. It is very hard and emotional reading to learn about a girl who was so happy to start working at 14 only to die a painful death at 21, a woman who was never able to bear children, a mother taken from her young children way too soon, and the actual facts about what exactly these women went through. We all owe these women a great debt and they should be remembered. Kate Moore has paid them the highest respect by making sure their stories are told and they are remembered. If there is one meaningful book to pick up this year, I highly recommend you read this one. I guarantee that the radium girls will stay with you and you will be grateful for having read it.
I received a copy from the publishers (thank you so much!) via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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even read three unconnected books so I would have clarity. I have discovered that there is no way that I can write a review about this without all the emotions coming back. In retrospect, I think the radium girls deserve all of that passion and emotion. They went through so much and are responsible for not only the labor laws we have today protecting workers but also a much more clear understanding of the effects of radiation on the human body.During World War One, everyone wanted to help with the war effort in any way they could. One way was to paint watches, military dials, and clocks with a luminous substance that was made from radium. The military dials were vital for the soldiers serving overseas because they could see the time on the watch without showing their position because of the luminous glow that had been painted on them by the radium girls. These girls not only helped with the war effort but the pay was extremely good too. The girls had no idea that they were working with a very dangerous form of radiation and were even taught to shape the tip of the brush in their mouths in order for it to become a fine point. Rags and other ways were not used because it would waste the radium paste. They were employed by United States Radium Factory who knew how dangerous radium was. Upper management and scientists generally used protection but no one told the girls at all. Then one by one, the girls became very sick, usually starting with jaw pain but other ailments came up as well. The end result was a very painful death. The company knew this was happening and took an active role in actually hiding the evidence to the point of isolating one young lady from her family until she died and burying her before her family could become involved. The answer came years later when she was exhumed: her jaw had been removed to hide evidence. If you take a Geiger counter today to their graves, the needle will jump even 80 years after their deaths. They were also known as ghost girls. They actually glowed in the dark and played games like painting their teeth and nails because they had been told it was harmless and it looked so "pretty". They had no idea they were seeing the signs of their own death sentences.
There have been a few books written about the radium girls but never any that took the time to research who these girls actually were. They were mothers, daughters, sisters and they each had dreams and a story to tell. Kate Moore actually visited with family members and their graves and did so much research so we could know who these brave women were. The girls had to fight long and hard for justice and they probably had no idea how far reaching their fight would become. The reason why inspectors come to a company or you have to fill out a form if the accident happened at work is all because of these women's efforts and suffering. One of the girls even said if she could prevent one person suffering as she did then it was worth the fight. It is very hard and emotional reading to learn about a girl who was so happy to start working at 14 only to die a painful death at 21, a woman who was never able to bear children, a mother taken from her young children way too soon, and the actual facts about what exactly these women went through. We all owe these women a great debt and they should be remembered. Kate Moore has paid them the highest respect by making sure their stories are told and they are remembered. If there is one meaningful book to pick up this year, I highly recommend you read this one. I guarantee that the radium girls will stay with you and you will be grateful for having read it.
I received a copy from the publishers (thank you so much!) via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member jennybeast
Extremely well researched and well presented history of the Radium girls. I particularly appreciate how well the author centers the story on individual women's experiences. Horrifying story of how industry doesn't value lives, and in fact will falsify as much as possible to avoid paying money out
Advanced Reader's Copy provided by SourcebooksKids.
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for damages. Yes, the majority of the story takes place in the 20s and 30s, but if you believe that things have changed, take a look at the contaminated water in Detroit, the willingness of the Dakota Access Pipeline to put a major water source at risk, and the gradually unfolding damages wrought by everything from fracking to high fructose corn syrup. I wish it was the nature of humanity to preserve life and care for each other. Advanced Reader's Copy provided by SourcebooksKids.
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LibraryThing member GennaC
"When they checked the x-ray film, days later, there was Mollie's message from beyond the grave. She had been trying to speak for so long—now, at last, there was someone listening. Her bones had made white pictures on the ebony film. Her vertebrae glowed in vertical white lights, like a regiment
The Radium Girls is a devastating account of betrayal and horrific suffering and death, but Moore treats these early victims of radium poisoning and their harrowing stories with the respect and dignity that they were denied in their short lives. Hired to toil in the factories responsible for the nation's hottest new "miracle" element, the women of the radium-dial factories considered themselves fortunate as their bank accounts steadily grew and they went about their lives literally glowing. But when one by one they began to fall ill with mysterious ailments and suffer gruesome unexplained deaths, the women's cries of corruption and foul play within the radium industry fell upon deaf ears.
As Moore states in her author's note, literature addressing the criminal trials of the radium girls already existed, but no one had taken the time to tell the stories of the women themselves. While their fight for justice certainly plays a role, the emphasis of The Radium Girls is these women, their families, their loves and losses, and their enduring friendships with one another. Powerful, illuminating, and an electrifying tale of the valiant and tragic young women responsible for setting in motion groundbreaking changes for workers' rights and the role of a dangerously misunderstood element in American society.
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of matches slowly burning into black. They looked like rows of shining dial-painters, walking home from work. The pictures of her skull, meanwhile, with her jawbone missing, made her mouth stretch unnaturally wide, as though she was screaming—screaming for justice thorough all these years."The Radium Girls is a devastating account of betrayal and horrific suffering and death, but Moore treats these early victims of radium poisoning and their harrowing stories with the respect and dignity that they were denied in their short lives. Hired to toil in the factories responsible for the nation's hottest new "miracle" element, the women of the radium-dial factories considered themselves fortunate as their bank accounts steadily grew and they went about their lives literally glowing. But when one by one they began to fall ill with mysterious ailments and suffer gruesome unexplained deaths, the women's cries of corruption and foul play within the radium industry fell upon deaf ears.
As Moore states in her author's note, literature addressing the criminal trials of the radium girls already existed, but no one had taken the time to tell the stories of the women themselves. While their fight for justice certainly plays a role, the emphasis of The Radium Girls is these women, their families, their loves and losses, and their enduring friendships with one another. Powerful, illuminating, and an electrifying tale of the valiant and tragic young women responsible for setting in motion groundbreaking changes for workers' rights and the role of a dangerously misunderstood element in American society.
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LibraryThing member msf59
“As early as 1914, specialists knew that radium could deposit in the bones of radium users and that it caused changes in their blood. These blood changes, however, were interpreted as a good thing—the radium appeared to stimulate the bone marrow to produce extra red blood cells. Deposited
“They looked glorious, like otherworldly angels.”
Beginning, around World War 1, a group of young women, “The Shining Girls” were hired to work in dial factories. Here they painted clock and watch faces with a new element called radium. It was a high paying job, for the times and women lined up to get the privilege to work at this coveted job. The women were assured, time and time again that working with this mysterious substance was totally safe and actually beneficial to their health and well-being. And then, one by one, the women began to get sick...and when I say sick, I mean their bones began to deteriorate.
This is a meticulously researched book, about a little known slice of American history. It is also a gut-punch of a book, a real heart-breaker, but it also expresses a groundbreaking battle for workers’ rights, as these women fought to be reimbursed for their massive medical expenses and for safety regulations to be implemented. The other triumph of this narrative is that the author puts names to these women, making it a personal story, not just historical stick figures. Highly recommended.
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inside the body, radium was the gift that kept on giving...”“They looked glorious, like otherworldly angels.”
Beginning, around World War 1, a group of young women, “The Shining Girls” were hired to work in dial factories. Here they painted clock and watch faces with a new element called radium. It was a high paying job, for the times and women lined up to get the privilege to work at this coveted job. The women were assured, time and time again that working with this mysterious substance was totally safe and actually beneficial to their health and well-being. And then, one by one, the women began to get sick...and when I say sick, I mean their bones began to deteriorate.
This is a meticulously researched book, about a little known slice of American history. It is also a gut-punch of a book, a real heart-breaker, but it also expresses a groundbreaking battle for workers’ rights, as these women fought to be reimbursed for their massive medical expenses and for safety regulations to be implemented. The other triumph of this narrative is that the author puts names to these women, making it a personal story, not just historical stick figures. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
The horrific story of the young women who painted radium dials for glow-in-the-dark watches that were popular for military and civilian use in the early 20th century. Their bones literally rotted inside their bodies; there are terrible descriptions of infections and jawbones being simply lifted
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from inside their sore-filled mouths. Their early misdiagnoses were a combination of accident, lack of knowledge, and institutionalized sexism that led doctors and others to take their pain less seriously. Even as the knowledge of radium’s deadly consequences became better known to the companies employing them, the women themselves were kept ignorant, and then told that they should have known better. Eventually, some of the women won small compensatory awards, but it’s hard to see this as a story of triumph despite the stamina that many of them displayed. Show Less
LibraryThing member ozzer
A cynical reader of Kate Moore’s THE RADIUM GIRLS may easily infer how little has changed since the dawn of the 20th Century. Her accounting of the primacy of profit over people can’t fail to bring to mind the specious claims of today’s fossil fuel industry and its paid politicians that the
Moore focuses on two main themes in her investigations of the history of the radium dial painters: their medical problems, and their court battles to achieve justice. She chronicles in excruciating detail the personal stories of the horrific declines and disfigurements that each woman suffered. As Moore tells it, there were few grey areas. The women are portrayed as heroic figures. They were just beginning their adult lives, looking forward to marriages and starting families. Most were from modest backgrounds, attracted by the unusually high earnings that were possible doing piecework painting luminous numerals on watch dials using a radioactive substance. They were oblivious to the dangers associated with this work—and kept that way by their employers. In fact the women took pleasure in radium’s glow, using it on their clothing and even their bodies. They took pride in being recognized in their communities as the “shining girls.” Moore uses their deadly practice of moistening their brushes as a way to obtain a fine point in a haunting mantra for the disregard for radium’s dangers—“lip … dip … paint.”
Medical problems play out against the background of almost constant court battles between the injured workers and their employers. In this case, the heroic figure was Atty. Leonard Grossman, who worked pro bono to achieve justice for the sick women, known in the press as “The Suicide Club.” He was pitted against stereotypically corrupt corporate villains. These people controlled radium’s image with the public, characterizing it as safe and even healthful (“Liquid Sunshine”) while contradicting data available as early as 1906 that showed radium to be a bone seeking element that could exert harmful effects almost indefinitely (half life of 1600 years) once lodged in the skeleton. The corporations persisted in denying liability, placing blame on the women for using unapproved methods like “lip pointing.” Other villains in the scenario were most of the legal and medical professions who turned blind eyes to their suffering and the failure of government to intervene with regulations.
This fascinating story has flaws however. It tends to drown in a sea of information and often seems to be one-sided. Compelled to vividly chronicle each woman’s story, Moore’s narrative suffers from excessive and repetitive detail. It is difficult to follow the decline of each victim and the repeated failings in the courts. The book would have benefited from more focus on one or two women and a more succinct telling of the legal battles. Another flaw stems from a strong sense of bias in favor of the women and against everyone else. Moore has strong beliefs about this story and reveals them by characterizing people either as heroines and villains with little room for ambivalence. One suspects that the story would have benefited from a more balanced approach to the information.
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degradation of our environment is but a hoax or the belief by some that access to good health is a privilege rather than a right. Moore tells the story of how corporations, the legal system, and healthcare providers failed to protect several young women from horrible illness and early death. Some in the radium dial industry kept these girls working with radium despite clear knowledge of its dangers; collected health data but never gave the results to the women; sorted them by radiation levels to see who would die first; repeatedly denied culpability even for decades after their responsibility was decided by the Supreme Court; and conspired to limit adequate compensations to survivors. This level of corruption seems beyond the pale, yet also seems prevalent enough today to be concerning.Moore focuses on two main themes in her investigations of the history of the radium dial painters: their medical problems, and their court battles to achieve justice. She chronicles in excruciating detail the personal stories of the horrific declines and disfigurements that each woman suffered. As Moore tells it, there were few grey areas. The women are portrayed as heroic figures. They were just beginning their adult lives, looking forward to marriages and starting families. Most were from modest backgrounds, attracted by the unusually high earnings that were possible doing piecework painting luminous numerals on watch dials using a radioactive substance. They were oblivious to the dangers associated with this work—and kept that way by their employers. In fact the women took pleasure in radium’s glow, using it on their clothing and even their bodies. They took pride in being recognized in their communities as the “shining girls.” Moore uses their deadly practice of moistening their brushes as a way to obtain a fine point in a haunting mantra for the disregard for radium’s dangers—“lip … dip … paint.”
Medical problems play out against the background of almost constant court battles between the injured workers and their employers. In this case, the heroic figure was Atty. Leonard Grossman, who worked pro bono to achieve justice for the sick women, known in the press as “The Suicide Club.” He was pitted against stereotypically corrupt corporate villains. These people controlled radium’s image with the public, characterizing it as safe and even healthful (“Liquid Sunshine”) while contradicting data available as early as 1906 that showed radium to be a bone seeking element that could exert harmful effects almost indefinitely (half life of 1600 years) once lodged in the skeleton. The corporations persisted in denying liability, placing blame on the women for using unapproved methods like “lip pointing.” Other villains in the scenario were most of the legal and medical professions who turned blind eyes to their suffering and the failure of government to intervene with regulations.
This fascinating story has flaws however. It tends to drown in a sea of information and often seems to be one-sided. Compelled to vividly chronicle each woman’s story, Moore’s narrative suffers from excessive and repetitive detail. It is difficult to follow the decline of each victim and the repeated failings in the courts. The book would have benefited from more focus on one or two women and a more succinct telling of the legal battles. Another flaw stems from a strong sense of bias in favor of the women and against everyone else. Moore has strong beliefs about this story and reveals them by characterizing people either as heroines and villains with little room for ambivalence. One suspects that the story would have benefited from a more balanced approach to the information.
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LibraryThing member katiekrug
An important and fascinating story that suffered from flawed writing.
LibraryThing member Allison_Krajewski
"According to the author, there have only been two other biographies written about the struggle of the collective “Radium Girls” to fight for justice from their unsafe working conditions, but none of them really told the stories of the girls beyond their “anonymous moniker.”"
That is what
The tone of The Radium Girls reminded me a little of Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures (mini-review here). In both, the authors sought to add a personal touch to each of these women’s lives as they told of their struggles to be heard. Hidden Figures gives an account of the women instrumental in working toward breaking the color barrier to be taken seriously as mathematicians, not only at NASA but across the nation. The Radium Girls tells of a brave group of women fighting to be heard (and believed) that they were suffering and dying from deadly radium poisoning, and their battles through the courts to get compensation for their growing medical debts.
The author held little back in describing some of the medical conditions of these women. Not for the squeamish. The horrors these women had to go through – losing their teeth, their jaw bones literally cracking and falling out in pieces, and the constant pain (in backs, knees, arms, feet, etc.) – is quite literally terrifying.
And even through their suffering, they fought. They fought for justice for themselves, for their friends, for their sisters. And, eventually, they won.
"“I always admired their strength,” said Catherine Donohue’s great niece, “to stand up and unite.”
And, united, they triumphed. Through their friendships, through their refusal to give up and through their sheer spirit, the radium girls left us all an extraordinary legacy. They did not die in vain.
They made every second count."
Although not an easy fight, the “Radium Girls” prevailed, in the end.
Even though many of the girls did not live long enough to get their own personal justice, their strength and resilience through their countless lawsuits provided safe working conditions for others who came after them, like those working on the Manhattan Project.
"An official of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) wrote: “If it hadn’t been for these dial-painters, the [Manhattan] project’s management could have reasonably rejected the extreme precautions that were urged on it and thousands of workers might well have been, and might still be, in great danger.” The women had been, officials say, “invaluable.”"
This story is hard to hear, but it is a story that must be told so that history does not repeat itself.
It was horrifying to read to what lengths some companies would go through to keep themselves afloat, putting profit before their own loyal workers, and how willfully malicious they could be. NEVER should a company put their profits above the health and safety of their employees. It’s despicable.
Even as the men in charge learned of the dangers of radium, they refused to believe (or admit) that it was harmful to their employees, and thus refused to implement costly safety precautions to improve working conditions. Many of these cases could have been prevented if upper management had cared more about their workers’ safety.
But, hindsight is 20/20.
This was a really interesting read, and I think the author did a great job of incorporating some of the personal triumphs of the girls – friendships, marriages, children – with the harsh realities the girls were facing. Even though I knew the general outcome, the way the author wrote and organized the chain of events made me care about these girls from the past and learn how they got justice and recompense.
They suffered from radium poisoning, they fought a groundbreaking case, and they ultimately prevailed and found justice, though not in time to benefit all those girls affected.It is a powerfully resounding story of determination even in the face of adversity, and it's a story that needs to be told.
I’d give this book an overall rating of 4.5/5 stars for the quality of writing and bringing to light the historical significance of these strong girls who fought so hard for justice. Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS (non-fiction) for a copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.
That is what
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Kate Moore sought to do.The tone of The Radium Girls reminded me a little of Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures (mini-review here). In both, the authors sought to add a personal touch to each of these women’s lives as they told of their struggles to be heard. Hidden Figures gives an account of the women instrumental in working toward breaking the color barrier to be taken seriously as mathematicians, not only at NASA but across the nation. The Radium Girls tells of a brave group of women fighting to be heard (and believed) that they were suffering and dying from deadly radium poisoning, and their battles through the courts to get compensation for their growing medical debts.
The author held little back in describing some of the medical conditions of these women. Not for the squeamish. The horrors these women had to go through – losing their teeth, their jaw bones literally cracking and falling out in pieces, and the constant pain (in backs, knees, arms, feet, etc.) – is quite literally terrifying.
And even through their suffering, they fought. They fought for justice for themselves, for their friends, for their sisters. And, eventually, they won.
"“I always admired their strength,” said Catherine Donohue’s great niece, “to stand up and unite.”
And, united, they triumphed. Through their friendships, through their refusal to give up and through their sheer spirit, the radium girls left us all an extraordinary legacy. They did not die in vain.
They made every second count."
Although not an easy fight, the “Radium Girls” prevailed, in the end.
Even though many of the girls did not live long enough to get their own personal justice, their strength and resilience through their countless lawsuits provided safe working conditions for others who came after them, like those working on the Manhattan Project.
"An official of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) wrote: “If it hadn’t been for these dial-painters, the [Manhattan] project’s management could have reasonably rejected the extreme precautions that were urged on it and thousands of workers might well have been, and might still be, in great danger.” The women had been, officials say, “invaluable.”"
This story is hard to hear, but it is a story that must be told so that history does not repeat itself.
It was horrifying to read to what lengths some companies would go through to keep themselves afloat, putting profit before their own loyal workers, and how willfully malicious they could be. NEVER should a company put their profits above the health and safety of their employees. It’s despicable.
Even as the men in charge learned of the dangers of radium, they refused to believe (or admit) that it was harmful to their employees, and thus refused to implement costly safety precautions to improve working conditions. Many of these cases could have been prevented if upper management had cared more about their workers’ safety.
But, hindsight is 20/20.
This was a really interesting read, and I think the author did a great job of incorporating some of the personal triumphs of the girls – friendships, marriages, children – with the harsh realities the girls were facing. Even though I knew the general outcome, the way the author wrote and organized the chain of events made me care about these girls from the past and learn how they got justice and recompense.
They suffered from radium poisoning, they fought a groundbreaking case, and they ultimately prevailed and found justice, though not in time to benefit all those girls affected.It is a powerfully resounding story of determination even in the face of adversity, and it's a story that needs to be told.
I’d give this book an overall rating of 4.5/5 stars for the quality of writing and bringing to light the historical significance of these strong girls who fought so hard for justice. Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS (non-fiction) for a copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member Carlathelibrarian
This non-fiction book tells the story of a group of women who were hired to paint the numbers on clock and watch faces using radium paint. In the early 1900s Radium was discovered by the Curries. Suddenly, it was all the rage. It was used in medical cures as well as lumimous dials for watches and
When many of these dial painting employees began having serious medical issues....chronic mouth infections, loose teeth, disintegrating jaw bones, tumors, and even death....their employers turned a blind eye. They said the Radium was harmless, the girls died of other illnesses when they were really hiding what they knew, that the girls had contracted radiation poisoning. They commissioned studies to prove that radium was the cause. They also said that the time to make claims was past, or that the girls had not worked for them for several years, so it was something else that caused their illness. It took years of fighting and public outcry for life-saving regulations to be put in place to protect workers from this scale of work related injury and blatant disregard for employee health and safety. The women, injured by exposure to Radium, had to fight to have their story heard, and it led to work place safety regulations to prevent similar exposure to future workers. They were courageous and fought for what they knew was right. Many of them fighting for the women that came after them as they knew that their illness was terminal.
I listened to this book and it was very well done. The narrator did not change voices etc. but it was not necessary. She sounded believable as the voices of the various women. This book is horrifying and haunting, yet compelling. I'm glad the stories of these women and what they endured isn't being lost to time. This book was the result of a young girl reading a story about this terrible injustice. It may have started over 100 years ago, but their stories and their fight for justice is just as poignant now as it was then. I am not a great reader of non-fiction, but I highly recommend this book to anyone. The audio version was 16 hours long, but it was well worth the time.
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equipment. No one understood what would happen to the human body or the earth when it came into contact with radium. These jobs were high paying and were coveted by many women. Not only did the numbers glow, but the women's hair, clothing and bodies when they left work each evening. They painted their nails and dabbed it on their bodies before going out on a date. When they turned off the lights, they laughed as they glowed bright green. These girls sat for hours happily painting and pointing their paint brushes by swishing them in their mouths to cover the small numbers. What they didn't realize is the painful effects Radium exposure would have on their health. When many of these dial painting employees began having serious medical issues....chronic mouth infections, loose teeth, disintegrating jaw bones, tumors, and even death....their employers turned a blind eye. They said the Radium was harmless, the girls died of other illnesses when they were really hiding what they knew, that the girls had contracted radiation poisoning. They commissioned studies to prove that radium was the cause. They also said that the time to make claims was past, or that the girls had not worked for them for several years, so it was something else that caused their illness. It took years of fighting and public outcry for life-saving regulations to be put in place to protect workers from this scale of work related injury and blatant disregard for employee health and safety. The women, injured by exposure to Radium, had to fight to have their story heard, and it led to work place safety regulations to prevent similar exposure to future workers. They were courageous and fought for what they knew was right. Many of them fighting for the women that came after them as they knew that their illness was terminal.
I listened to this book and it was very well done. The narrator did not change voices etc. but it was not necessary. She sounded believable as the voices of the various women. This book is horrifying and haunting, yet compelling. I'm glad the stories of these women and what they endured isn't being lost to time. This book was the result of a young girl reading a story about this terrible injustice. It may have started over 100 years ago, but their stories and their fight for justice is just as poignant now as it was then. I am not a great reader of non-fiction, but I highly recommend this book to anyone. The audio version was 16 hours long, but it was well worth the time.
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LibraryThing member Nancyjcbs
This was a very well written book on a very tough topic. A sign of good non-fiction is when I find myself googling to get additional information. I spent lots of time on google as I read.
The radium girls were victims of many. They were victims of a lack of knowledge about the dangers of radium.
The radium girls began work 100 years ago. I am thankful for the progress we have made in the last century.
The radium girls were victims of many. They were victims of a lack of knowledge about the dangers of radium.
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They were victims of the laws at that time which allowed them to work in dangerous conditions as well as be unable to seek justice. They were victims of greedy corporations. They were victims of unscrupulous businessmen, doctors, and lawyers. Their strength in continuing to fight for justice and knowledge are highly commendable.The radium girls began work 100 years ago. I am thankful for the progress we have made in the last century.
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LibraryThing member jetangen4571
historical-research, historical-places-events, pathology, greed
This book was a heartbreaking read. The clarity of descriptions of the destruction of their bodies and their lives gives testimony to the greed of the employers as well as the short sightedness of the purveyors who touted the health
The writing is absorbing and one keeps hoping that something will ease their suffering. But we know better. When they finally find legal support, they still have to fight hard and suffer more humiliation.
Their story needs to be remembered in its entirety, not only to grant them the dignity they were denied in life, but to serve as a warning to the future.
I was provided with a free ARC at my request courtesy of NetGalley.
This book was a heartbreaking read. The clarity of descriptions of the destruction of their bodies and their lives gives testimony to the greed of the employers as well as the short sightedness of the purveyors who touted the health
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benefits of such products as radium water. And the girls themselves were unable to believe that having their clothes and bodies glow in the dark was anything but a bit of fun. I do wonder if anyone outside of the paramedical professions can see modern parallels. The writing is absorbing and one keeps hoping that something will ease their suffering. But we know better. When they finally find legal support, they still have to fight hard and suffer more humiliation.
Their story needs to be remembered in its entirety, not only to grant them the dignity they were denied in life, but to serve as a warning to the future.
I was provided with a free ARC at my request courtesy of NetGalley.
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LibraryThing member jmchshannon
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women is not only a cautionary tale or a documentary on what the girls went through after their employment. It is a history lesson properly done, complete with detailed, well-documented research and personages that become more than just names
Reading The Radium Girls in our post-Cold War era is an exercise in separating one’s current knowledge and experiences from one’s reading experience to avoid letting them taint one’s feelings or reactions to the girls’ actions. After all, just as laudanum and cocaine were popular medicines in their day, we cannot fault the girls for getting excited about working with radium all day or the rest of the country for the popularity of radium-filled beauty products. The casualness with which everyone, including scientists, handled radium is cringe-inducing to the modern reader but perfectly acceptable during the time of the events. We cannot condemn them nor find fault with them for their actions. It is a surreal reading experience though to read their story and how they would paint their nails and eyelids with radium powder and eat their lunches next to their work stations, etc., and not shudder at their innocence. This then makes you wonder what we are currently doing or using or eating that future generations will view in a similar light. It is a sobering thought.
Where the story takes off though is in the legal battles the girls fight in order to obtain a modicum of financial relief. Again, the modern reader is at a disadvantage because the idea of workers’ compensation or of a company liable for the long-term health and welfare of its employees is an ingrained right in our minds. We have plenty of modern-day context in which companies are held responsible for the ill effects of chemicals or processes used in everyday work environments. To not hold a company responsible is inconceivable to our modern mind. Yet, most of the Radium Girls did feel this way for a long time. Whether their lack of litigious nature (at least initially) is a sign of their innocence or a commentary on the suspicious nature of modern society, that is yet to be determined.
The story is not all innocence though, for the businesses for which the girls worked went to great lengths to prove their own innocence in the lawsuits and protect themselves from culpability. Their actions are simultaneously disturbing and yet not surprising, as a company’s sole purpose is to make money and the radium dial business was big money. Seen from their perspective, they were just trying to maintain their profitability. However, the callousness of capitalism is still disturbing to watch unfold, especially when a company’s employees’ lives are on the line.
Throughout the book, Ms. Moore showcases the girls’ resilience in the face of unspeakable pain and disfigurement. She packs no punches in her descriptions either, assaulting the reader with sparse, take-no-pity descriptions of their illnesses. Even readers with cast-iron stomachs will find themselves nauseous at times, not just because of the descriptions but also because this is not a horror story but real life. Still, feeling sick to one’s stomach is only mildly inconvenient when compared to everything the radium girls faced and suffered at the hands of the court as well as with their health. In The Radium Girls, Ms. Moore makes sure that the legacy of the Radium Girls lives on not just in OSHA-mandated policies and procedures but in the knowledge of their dreams and battles that all readers take away of the girls who once thought their future was a bright and shiny as the powder they painted onto watch dials.
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on a page. Ms. Moore tackles the girls’ stories as well as adding historical, socioeconomic, legal, and cultural details that provides context to their stories. In so doing, she brings the girls back to life to tell their story one last time.Reading The Radium Girls in our post-Cold War era is an exercise in separating one’s current knowledge and experiences from one’s reading experience to avoid letting them taint one’s feelings or reactions to the girls’ actions. After all, just as laudanum and cocaine were popular medicines in their day, we cannot fault the girls for getting excited about working with radium all day or the rest of the country for the popularity of radium-filled beauty products. The casualness with which everyone, including scientists, handled radium is cringe-inducing to the modern reader but perfectly acceptable during the time of the events. We cannot condemn them nor find fault with them for their actions. It is a surreal reading experience though to read their story and how they would paint their nails and eyelids with radium powder and eat their lunches next to their work stations, etc., and not shudder at their innocence. This then makes you wonder what we are currently doing or using or eating that future generations will view in a similar light. It is a sobering thought.
Where the story takes off though is in the legal battles the girls fight in order to obtain a modicum of financial relief. Again, the modern reader is at a disadvantage because the idea of workers’ compensation or of a company liable for the long-term health and welfare of its employees is an ingrained right in our minds. We have plenty of modern-day context in which companies are held responsible for the ill effects of chemicals or processes used in everyday work environments. To not hold a company responsible is inconceivable to our modern mind. Yet, most of the Radium Girls did feel this way for a long time. Whether their lack of litigious nature (at least initially) is a sign of their innocence or a commentary on the suspicious nature of modern society, that is yet to be determined.
The story is not all innocence though, for the businesses for which the girls worked went to great lengths to prove their own innocence in the lawsuits and protect themselves from culpability. Their actions are simultaneously disturbing and yet not surprising, as a company’s sole purpose is to make money and the radium dial business was big money. Seen from their perspective, they were just trying to maintain their profitability. However, the callousness of capitalism is still disturbing to watch unfold, especially when a company’s employees’ lives are on the line.
Throughout the book, Ms. Moore showcases the girls’ resilience in the face of unspeakable pain and disfigurement. She packs no punches in her descriptions either, assaulting the reader with sparse, take-no-pity descriptions of their illnesses. Even readers with cast-iron stomachs will find themselves nauseous at times, not just because of the descriptions but also because this is not a horror story but real life. Still, feeling sick to one’s stomach is only mildly inconvenient when compared to everything the radium girls faced and suffered at the hands of the court as well as with their health. In The Radium Girls, Ms. Moore makes sure that the legacy of the Radium Girls lives on not just in OSHA-mandated policies and procedures but in the knowledge of their dreams and battles that all readers take away of the girls who once thought their future was a bright and shiny as the powder they painted onto watch dials.
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LibraryThing member gpangel
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore is a 2017 Sourcebooks publication.
“Luminous Processes, declared the local paper, seems to put profits before people.”
‘How quickly we forget.’
Only the most hard -hearted among us could read this book without
The author has obviously done meticulous research about the women who worked for the Radiant Dial Corporation and the United States Radium Corporation beginning in 1917.
The practice of ‘dip, lip, paint’, which was encouraged by the factory, to prevent waste, and to give the brush a sharper point, but exposed the women, who painted luminous dials on watches, with deadly radium. The factories were so popular, due to the wages, which were well above average, and because of the ‘glow’ the women had due to the radium exposure, which they were assured was perfectly safe. Some of the women even painted the substance onto their faces to see themselves glow in the dark.
Five women in particular stood out, as they battled what was termed ‘occupational diseases’, taking their case to court, but there were many more. The court cases were long, hard fought, and had many disappointments before all was said and done. It was a hard battle which lasted for many years, but the effects lingered on for these ladies’ offspring, for years to come.
But, the author really excelled at bringing these women to life, giving them a voice, so to speak. All these women were so very young, so full of life and hope. To hear, in horrific detail, their pain and suffering made for some very difficult reading. Catherine Wolfe Donohoe is one that stood out for me, with her loyal husband, Tom.
The suffering these women endured, was gruesome and unimaginable. Again, I warn you, this material is very graphic, and the author drives this point home with such vividness, I swear my joints and teeth ached.
This is a battle that waged for many years, with the factories refusing to accept that the radium was dangerous, then trying to hide that it was dangerous, by any means.
This is a painful story, one that highlights greed and deceit, but also proves what can happen if you stand up for yourself, speak out, and refuse to give up. The women featured here saved countless lives, while giving their own.
This is a powerful, gut wrenching story, and it’s one that has played out in various forms, since the years highlighted here, with various companies hiding dangers or releasing flawed products onto an unsuspecting public.
These women should never be forgotten and their bravery should set a shining example for anyone who may find themselves in a similar situation. You never know, you may, like the women featured in this book, bring about new standards of health and safety, expose dangers, and force accountability on those only concerned about their own bottom line.
Bravo to Madeline Piller, whose championed these ladies by raising funds for a bronze statue honoring these brave women. The statue was unveiled in 2011, in Ottawa, Illinois.
5 stars
“Luminous Processes, declared the local paper, seems to put profits before people.”
‘How quickly we forget.’
Only the most hard -hearted among us could read this book without
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shedding tears. So be warned this book is not for the faint of heart and while the bravery of these young ladies is certainly inspirational, the anger and frustration I felt about their untimely and excruciating deaths left me feeling emotionally and physically exhausted. The author has obviously done meticulous research about the women who worked for the Radiant Dial Corporation and the United States Radium Corporation beginning in 1917.
The practice of ‘dip, lip, paint’, which was encouraged by the factory, to prevent waste, and to give the brush a sharper point, but exposed the women, who painted luminous dials on watches, with deadly radium. The factories were so popular, due to the wages, which were well above average, and because of the ‘glow’ the women had due to the radium exposure, which they were assured was perfectly safe. Some of the women even painted the substance onto their faces to see themselves glow in the dark.
Five women in particular stood out, as they battled what was termed ‘occupational diseases’, taking their case to court, but there were many more. The court cases were long, hard fought, and had many disappointments before all was said and done. It was a hard battle which lasted for many years, but the effects lingered on for these ladies’ offspring, for years to come.
But, the author really excelled at bringing these women to life, giving them a voice, so to speak. All these women were so very young, so full of life and hope. To hear, in horrific detail, their pain and suffering made for some very difficult reading. Catherine Wolfe Donohoe is one that stood out for me, with her loyal husband, Tom.
The suffering these women endured, was gruesome and unimaginable. Again, I warn you, this material is very graphic, and the author drives this point home with such vividness, I swear my joints and teeth ached.
This is a battle that waged for many years, with the factories refusing to accept that the radium was dangerous, then trying to hide that it was dangerous, by any means.
This is a painful story, one that highlights greed and deceit, but also proves what can happen if you stand up for yourself, speak out, and refuse to give up. The women featured here saved countless lives, while giving their own.
This is a powerful, gut wrenching story, and it’s one that has played out in various forms, since the years highlighted here, with various companies hiding dangers or releasing flawed products onto an unsuspecting public.
These women should never be forgotten and their bravery should set a shining example for anyone who may find themselves in a similar situation. You never know, you may, like the women featured in this book, bring about new standards of health and safety, expose dangers, and force accountability on those only concerned about their own bottom line.
Bravo to Madeline Piller, whose championed these ladies by raising funds for a bronze statue honoring these brave women. The statue was unveiled in 2011, in Ottawa, Illinois.
5 stars
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LibraryThing member teachlz
I would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC of "The Radium Girls" by Kate Moore. The genres of this novel are non-fiction and history. I find the author has researched the timeline of radium in factories use and business . In addition Kate Moore introduces us to many of the girls
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and women who worked there. She discusses the use of radium in paint to create luminous dials in watches, and clocks. Many of these women would take jobs in these factories, for the money, not aware of the risks. The women would often put the coated brush in their mouth so that it would be stiff enough to paint perfect numbers. Management would pay these women by the piece, and the more the woman finished, the more they got paid. One scientist who worked at one of the factories was aware that the brushes should not go in the mouths. When the women left for the day, they were covered with the "glowing"powder. As time goes on and the women get different symptoms and are sick, there is denial from these companies that the women are getting sick from radium or environmental factors. More of these women are getting sicker, and we see how this effects the women and their families. Yet there are no safety measures taken, and there are many legal battles for justice for these women. Physicians and dentists are not familiar with radiation illness at first, and as more women get sick, more experts become involved. It is despicable how big companies showed indifference and covered up medical findings. These women formed a "sisterhood" and fought hard for justice, and safety in the working environment for others. Show Less
LibraryThing member debkrenzer
What a sad, somber, horrific and mesmerizing read. Teenage girls, some even younger, were told by their employers that radium could not hurt you. So, yes, dip that brush into the radium paint, put the brush in your mouth, get a tip and paint the dials. Paint carefully now, we don't want to waste
One company even did medical tests on their employees, but never allowed the girls to see the results. The executives saw the results, they knew what was going on and that their employees were being poisoned.
This was all happening around WWI. Years later when these women started having "problems" the radium companies refused to own up to anything. This book tells some of their stories. The good days when they were happy little girls and the bad days when their bodies were full of poison. Most of the women started having problems with their teeth. The radium would insert itself right into the bones of their mouths losing teeth and jaw bones. It affected others in their legs or backs.
This book is a true story and not for the faint of heart. It is also a great book in that the author lets you see these girls/women before and after. While they were sharing each other's misery and tears, I was right there with them doing the same. Well, the tears part anyway. I couldn't imagine the pain or misery.
Definitely one of the best books I've read this year.
Thanks to Sourcebooks for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley for an honest, unbiased review.
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the paint. One company even did medical tests on their employees, but never allowed the girls to see the results. The executives saw the results, they knew what was going on and that their employees were being poisoned.
This was all happening around WWI. Years later when these women started having "problems" the radium companies refused to own up to anything. This book tells some of their stories. The good days when they were happy little girls and the bad days when their bodies were full of poison. Most of the women started having problems with their teeth. The radium would insert itself right into the bones of their mouths losing teeth and jaw bones. It affected others in their legs or backs.
This book is a true story and not for the faint of heart. It is also a great book in that the author lets you see these girls/women before and after. While they were sharing each other's misery and tears, I was right there with them doing the same. Well, the tears part anyway. I couldn't imagine the pain or misery.
Definitely one of the best books I've read this year.
Thanks to Sourcebooks for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley for an honest, unbiased review.
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LibraryThing member Naberius
Imagine the nastiest, scariest monster that Stephen King can conjure up. Then triple that, and you've got the horror of radium. At the time of World War I, hundreds of young women worked in factories, using radium-based paint to brush glowing numbers onto watch faces. At the time, radium was touted
This rich narrative is written in a way that pulls you into these women's lives, and their individual stories. Fully exploring the background of what these girls faced, not only in the factories, but what awaited them when some were brave enough to challenge their employers, the book brings to life the brave women whose harrowing experiences paved the way for worker's rights. You may have heard of the Radium Girls, but probably never understood just who they were, as individuals, and what some of them endured.
I found this book difficult to read, because, frankly, the effects of radium are nightmarish. However, what happened to these women is important to learn about, and I felt obligated to read the book. And, admittedly, the book was fascinating to read. The author has a vivid writing style which brings these women to life, and makes what happen to them very real --- you cannot read this book and not feel affected. While I knew a bit of the history behind this story, I was unaware of much of the history, including the fact that there was a radium-dial factory in Ottawa, Illinois. Being from Illinois, I was surprised I didn't know about this, and also didn't know that the court case brought by some of these women was a major case for the Illinois Industrial Commission (now known as the Worker's Compensation Commission), a court I am personally very familiar with. I finished this book with a lump in my throat and a much better understanding of what happened to these women.
By the way, lest you think that something like this could only happen back in the 1920s . . . there was a company using these same kind of unsafe practices, with radium, into the 1970s.
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as a miracle substance . . . but some people knew better. Unfortunately, no one told these girls, who were assured they were safe, and even encouraged to spend time covered in the beautiful, glowing radium dust. And glow they did, even as they started to fall mysteriously ill, and start to suffer horribly. The dazzling dust and shining paint took hold of their bones, poisoning them at their very cores.This rich narrative is written in a way that pulls you into these women's lives, and their individual stories. Fully exploring the background of what these girls faced, not only in the factories, but what awaited them when some were brave enough to challenge their employers, the book brings to life the brave women whose harrowing experiences paved the way for worker's rights. You may have heard of the Radium Girls, but probably never understood just who they were, as individuals, and what some of them endured.
I found this book difficult to read, because, frankly, the effects of radium are nightmarish. However, what happened to these women is important to learn about, and I felt obligated to read the book. And, admittedly, the book was fascinating to read. The author has a vivid writing style which brings these women to life, and makes what happen to them very real --- you cannot read this book and not feel affected. While I knew a bit of the history behind this story, I was unaware of much of the history, including the fact that there was a radium-dial factory in Ottawa, Illinois. Being from Illinois, I was surprised I didn't know about this, and also didn't know that the court case brought by some of these women was a major case for the Illinois Industrial Commission (now known as the Worker's Compensation Commission), a court I am personally very familiar with. I finished this book with a lump in my throat and a much better understanding of what happened to these women.
By the way, lest you think that something like this could only happen back in the 1920s . . . there was a company using these same kind of unsafe practices, with radium, into the 1970s.
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LibraryThing member lostinalibrary
In the first years of the 20th c., radium, a newly discovered substance, was though to have all kinds of beneficial uses including in medicines and, because of its glow-in-the-dark effect, on such things as clock dials. During WWI, dozens of women, most of them still in their teens, were hired to
Several years later, many of the women began to experience odd and excruciatingly painful health problems often starting with their teeth. As the dentist would extract a tooth, chunks of jaw would come out with it. Soon, at an age when most of them were just old enough to marry and start a family, many of these women, known as the dial girls, began to die.
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore tells their story, the joy they had finding a job that paid so well, the envy of others as they glowed all over as the paint residue covered them from head to toe, the horrendous effects as the radium poisoning coursed through their bones, and their long and often bitter fight to get compensation before they died. She tells the story with empathy and insight. The reader gets to know many of the girls as individuals, their personalities, their families, their refusal to back down even as the company, many doctors, and the prosecuting attorney did everything they could to prove that radium was safe. She tells about the people who fought for them against the odds. And she tells of their symptoms and their horrible deaths.
Although this is a book about an important and little-known chapter of American history, Radium Girls is no dry tome. In telling the story of the dial girls, Moore has created one fascinating, compelling, unputdownable page-turner of a book, one I highly recommend to anyone.
Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
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paint luminous dials on watches with radium paint. Because the numbers were small, the brushes would often smudge. To compensate, the women would dip their brushes into the paint and then put the brushes between their lips to form a better point. They were told it was safe. Several years later, many of the women began to experience odd and excruciatingly painful health problems often starting with their teeth. As the dentist would extract a tooth, chunks of jaw would come out with it. Soon, at an age when most of them were just old enough to marry and start a family, many of these women, known as the dial girls, began to die.
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore tells their story, the joy they had finding a job that paid so well, the envy of others as they glowed all over as the paint residue covered them from head to toe, the horrendous effects as the radium poisoning coursed through their bones, and their long and often bitter fight to get compensation before they died. She tells the story with empathy and insight. The reader gets to know many of the girls as individuals, their personalities, their families, their refusal to back down even as the company, many doctors, and the prosecuting attorney did everything they could to prove that radium was safe. She tells about the people who fought for them against the odds. And she tells of their symptoms and their horrible deaths.
Although this is a book about an important and little-known chapter of American history, Radium Girls is no dry tome. In telling the story of the dial girls, Moore has created one fascinating, compelling, unputdownable page-turner of a book, one I highly recommend to anyone.
Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
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LibraryThing member mabith
Really wonderfully presented history of two sets of radium workers, their lives, their health struggles, and their participation in lawsuits against the companies that employed them. Moore does a wonderful job balancing the stories and giving a picture of these women for themselves, something other
Highly recommended.
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works haven't really done.Highly recommended.
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Awards
South Dakota Children's Book Awards (Nominee — 2023)
Lincoln Award: Illinois Teen Readers' Choice Award (Nominee — 2019)
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Nominee — High School — 2019)
Flicker Tale Award (Nominee — Older Readers — 2021)
Iowa High School Book Award (Nominee — 2020)
Eureka! Nonfiction Children’s Book Award (Gold Award — 2021)
Booklist Editor's Choice: Adult Books (Social Sciences — 2017)
NPR: Books We Love (2017)
Notable Books List (Nonfiction — 2018)
Read Aloud Indiana Book Award (Middle Grades — 2022)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2017)
Just One More Page Recommendation List (Young Adult — 2022)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2016
ISBN
9781492649359
UPC
760789264313