Shelf-ready, Library Edition Audiobooks

Free Processing & Free Replacements

The Six

The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts

By Grush, Loren

Read by Ines del Castillo

11.41 hrs • 9 CDs • Unabridged

Genre: NON-FICTION  /  HISTORY

Release Date: 10/01/2023

© 2023 by Simon & Schuster

ISBN No : 9781797160634

customer reviews

$47.90

Quantity:

ADD TO WISH LIST

In the bestselling tradition of Hidden Figures and Code Girls, the remarkable true story of America’s first women astronauts—six extraordinary women, each making history going to orbit aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle.

When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots—a group then made up exclusively of men—had the right stuff. It was an era in which women were steered away from jobs in science and deemed unqualified for space flight. Eventually, though, NASA recognized its blunder and opened the application process to a wider array of hopefuls, regardless of race or gender. From a candidate pool of 8,000 six elite women were selected in 1978—Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon.

In
The Six, acclaimed journalist Loren Grush shows these brilliant and courageous women enduring claustrophobic—and sometimes deeply sexist—media attention, undergoing rigorous survival training, and preparing for years to take multi-million-dollar payloads into orbit. Together, the Six helped build the tools that made the space program run. One of the group, Judy Resnik, sacrificed her life when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded at 46,000 feet. Everyone knows of Sally Ride’s history-making first space ride, but each of the Six would make their mark.
“Remarkable...Grush has an important story to tell, and she tells it well. An inspiring story of the first American women to go into space, charting their own course for the horizon.”
Kirkus Reviews

“Engrossing…a well-rounded narrative…
The Six highlights the contributions of women in science and the challenges they face.”
Booklist

“[Creates] an intimacy that makes [each astronaut] utterly memorable….Grush makes it thrillingly clear: These six women rose far above such misogyny, smashing our planet’s highest ceilings as they soared.”
BookPage (starred review)

“Suspenseful, meticulously observed, enlightening…Lifts the curtain on the moment when Neil Armstrong’s ‘one small step for man’ expanded to encompass the talent, ambition, and perseverance of America’s first female astronauts.”
Margot Lee Shetterly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures

“A dazzling look into the lives of the first U.S. women to venture into space….This is a story that had to be told, and Grush has told it brilliantly.”
Ashlee Vance, New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk: Tesla, Space X, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

“One of the most important stories to come out of the space age….One can't help but cheer for these women of destiny as their journey unfolds…Superb.”
Homer Hickam, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Rocket Boys, basis of the film October Sky

“A powerful, gripping, and at times heartbreaking tale of human courage in the face of impossible odds.
The Six reminds us of the price that women paid to join men in space—and why these women still matter today.”
—Keith O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author of Fly Girls and Paradise Falls

“Strap yourself in for a thrilling ride with genuine American heroes…Loren Grush deftly recounts the true grit and deep talent that smashed the celestial glass ceiling.”
Lynn Sherr, New York Times bestselling author of Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space

Related Products