Bound To Stay Bound

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School Library Journal - 01/01/2020 Gr 6–8—Montillo begins the narrative with Marie Curie's radium discovery and then discusses the prevalent sexism Curie faced as a working mother. Because of sexism, many believed that her husband, Pierre, copublished scientific papers and discoveries only out of a sense of matrimonial duty. The author also unpacks the societal perceptions of some of the most important women in science at that time, including Lise Meitner, Irène Joliot-Curie, and Joan Hinton. Many did not receive praise or funding, were cast aside to closet-sized labs, and often worked without payment or university acknowledgment. They were motivated by their love of science and learning despite the judgment of critics that labeled these women odd, unfeminine, or incapable. The book contains a running theme of women who were dismissed while their male spouses and colleagues moved ahead, but also spotlights perseverance and genius. When some of these women were asked to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project, many seemed uncertain. The world was in the midst of war, and while the immediacy of their creation was felt by all, the future implications seemed dire. Montillo's detailed and organized writing stresses the importance of these women, who were as indispensable to the Manhattan Project as more well-known men like J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. The detailed back matter includes an author's note, a scientific time line, source notes, and bibliography. VERDICT A general purchase, especially for libraries where narrative nonfiction does well.—Kristyn Dorfman, The Nightingale-Bamford School, New York City - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 05/15/2020 While the past few years have brought increased awareness of women who contributed to America’s space program, many women also played important roles in building the first nuclear bomb. Montillo begins with European scientists such as Marie Curie, Irène Joliot-Curie, and Lise Meitner, whose experiments with radioactivity and work in theoretical physics were seminal. German-American physicist Maria Goeppert-Mayer and Hungarian-American plutonium expert Elizabeth Rona, along with many American women physicists and graduate students recruited for the Manhattan Project, contributed to actually creating the bomb. With so many people discussed and so many back-and-forth shifts among their stories, some confusion is inevitable. But readers familiar with 20th-century science history will be fascinated by the detailed account of the intertwined European scientific communities and the prejudices and difficulties routinely faced by women scientists. Equally interesting is the depiction of the atmosphere within the Tech Area at Los Alamos, especially surrounding the Trinity nuclear test and, weeks later, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A well-researched book on women scientists and their roles in developing the atomic bomb.Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020 - Copyright 2020 Booklist.

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