The Radium Girls

The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women

By: Kate Moore

Narrated by: Angela Brazil

The year was 1917. As a war raged across the world, young American women flocked to work, painting watches, clocks, and military dials with a special luminous substance made from radium. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous - the girls themselves shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in the dust from the paint. They were the radium girls.

As the years passed, the women began to suffer from mysterious and crippling illnesses. The very thing that had made them feel alive - their work - was in fact slowly killing them: They had been poisoned by the radium paint. Yet their employers denied all responsibility. And so, in the face of unimaginable suffering - in the face of death - these courageous women refused to accept their fate quietly and instead became determined to fight for justice.

Drawing on previously unpublished sources - including diaries, letters, and court transcripts as well as original interviews with the women's relatives - The Radium Girls is an intimate narrative account of an unforgettable true story. It is the powerful tale of a group of ordinary women from the Roaring 20s who themselves learned how to roar.

©2017 Kate Moore (P)2017 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

A forgotten part of history, illuminated once more

This was an amazing read and listen. I had been eyeballing this book for several months after I heard of it's release on NPR. However, every time I'd go to look for it at Books-a-Million, it'd be $30; the Kindle e-book wasn't that much cheaper at $26. I was lucky that I happened to log into Amazon during the Kindle's 10th Anniversary Book Sale, and was able to snag the book for $2! I went ahead and later got the audible version, as well, so I could listen to it while my commute to and from work in the mornings.

Kate Moore tales the true, historical account of the Radium Girls in a beautifully, hauntingly crafted narrative non-fiction. The Radium Girls were a group of women from the early 1900's who had begun working with luminescent paint, composed primarily of radium, in order to help with the war effort. They used this paint to coat hand and pocket watches, so that soldiers could tell the time despite whether or not it was dark. The public was enthralled with the idea of "glow in the dark" watches, and soon the company began manufacturing their products for public sale. The American Public was, to say the least, having a romance with 'radium', which was newly discovered at the time. The factory workers were encouraged to put the radium paint coated brushes in their mouth, in order to wet the brush without wasting as much of the product, in comparison to wiping the brush down or dipping it in water. The corporation swore that the radium was full of medicinal properties that the women were lucky to be exposed to, when handling the radium. Some even swore that it would make the women "more attractive". They were lying. The executives of these radium corporations knew that with every exposure to the radioactive paint, these women were signing their death warrants, unknowingly, in the name of capitalism and corporate production.

The account of these women were horrifying, but was very well written. The non-fiction narrative read as well as many fiction books do, and had my attention from start to finish. I found it morbidly fascinating as a cancer patient, who has been exposed to several different radioactive isotopes in order to treat the disease. It was horrifying know that I had ingested material related to what these women had unknowingly been absorbing; Had to fight to keep myself from being a bit like a hypochondriac. What shocks me the most is the gall of these corporations, knowing full well that they were leading these women to a painful, slow death and having the audacity to lie publicly about it. Kate Moore's book is well worth the read, but just as a word of warning: when your curiosity begins getting the best of you, I'd not recommend you google images of 'jaw necrosis'.

As for the audible narration of the text. I've read several complaints on here that the narrator repeatedly smacked her lips, breathed into the microphone, and slurred her words. I did not find this to be the case at all. I had no issues with the narrator whatsoever. While she was not the best narrator that I've ever listened to, Angela Brazil did a commendable job. I found her voice to be very pleasant, and that she enunciated her words perfectly clear. The only reason that she received a 4/5 rating from me was because I'm used to many narrators of non-fictional texts, striving to make each character recognizable different in sound. Brazil had generally one voice throughout the text. Nothing to be put off about, but not as creative as some audible narrators.

I would absolutely recommend "Radium Girls" by Kate Moore, as well as the audible narration of the book, by Angelina Brazil.

Fascinating story of historical importance—-well written—-but poorly performed.

As other reviewers have opined, increase reader speed to 1.25 for a much more palatable reading. The story is gripping. The bravery of these women deserves a more prominent place in history. Don’t let the poor reading performance make you pass up this excellently written and well researched book.

Great story, poor narration

So glad I read a review to play at 1.25x—otherwise the robotic narration would have caused me to stop before I heard this phenomenal story. Story is unbelievable-I was outraged, depressed, and impressed through-out. It needs a major motion picture.

Fascinating story, but horribly narration

A very important story you don’t hear a lot about. Very informative and made me want to know more about the radium girls. Agonizing and painful to hear the narration...it took all I had to listen to Angela Brazil read this book. The only reason I finished it is because it’s my book club book and had to do it. The only good thing was Ms. Brazil has beautiful enunciation but the unnecessary pauses, the wrong emphasis in sentences, the robotic way of reading left me wondering why was she allowed to get this job and what were the editors and director thinking!!! They all did such a disservice to this book and the author...does the author have any input at all on the choice of the narrator??

Radium Girls - a historical story

I enjoyed the history of this book and learning more about the industries that used radium and the health implications for those that worked in the factories.
If you have the option, read this book as the narrator on the Audible one is HORRIBLE! I sped it up 1.5x, which improved it, but still...