Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-And the World -- Rachel Swaby, Paperback

Fifty-two inspiring and insightful profiles of history's brightest female scientists.

"Rachel Swaby's no-nonsense and needed Headstrong dynamically profiles historically overlooked female visionaries in science, technology, engineering, and math."--Elle

In 2013, the New York Times published an obituary for Yvonne Brill. It began: "She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job, and took eight years off from work to raise three children." It wasn't until the second paragraph that readers discovered why the Times had devoted several hundred words to her life: Brill was a brilliant rocket scientist who invented a propulsion system to keep communications satellites in orbit, and had recently been awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Among the questions the obituary--and consequent outcry--prompted were, Who are the role models for today's female scientists, and where can we find the stories that cast them in their true light?

Headstrong delivers a powerful, global, and engaging response. Covering Nobel Prize winners and major innovators, as well as lesser-known but hugely significant scientists who influence our every day, Rachel Swaby's vibrant profiles span centuries of courageous thinkers and illustrate how each one's ideas developed, from their first moment of scientific engagement through the research and discovery for which they're best known. This fascinating tour reveals 52 women at their best--while encouraging and inspiring a new generation of girls to put on their lab coats.

Author: Rachel Swaby
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Published: 04/07/2015
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.20w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780553446791

Review Citation(s):
Entertainment Weekly 04/10/2015 pg. 66
Library Journal Prepub Alert 11/15/2014 pg. 63
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2015
Publishers Weekly 02/02/2015
Shelf Awareness 04/10/2015
Booklist 04/15/2015 pg. 7
New York Times Book Review 04/26/2015 pg. 30
Choice 05/01/2016
Library Journal 11/15/2014

About the Author
Rachel Swaby is a freelance journalist. Her work has appeared in the Runner's World, Wired, O, The Oprah Magazine, New Yorker.com, Afar, and others. She is a senior editor at Longshot magazine, the editor-in-chief of The Connective: Issue 1, a former research editor at Wired, and a past presenter at Pop-Up magazine. She lives in Brooklyn.

www.rachelswaby.com