5 Star
In the early 20th century, the best jobs young
women could get were in the factories.
These women were told radium was harmless. One of best uses of radium was to paint the
watch faces with it so it would glow. The
way the women would do this to get the crisp lines was to moisten the tip of
the paint brush in their mouth and dab into the radium. They would do this throughout their shift. When they started to die, and others became ill
it was brushed off. This is the true story
of the women who fought against big business to find financial relief and
assistance. It wasn’t just big business
who denied the consequences of radium but also government. With mounting lawsuits against companies using
radium public support swung in the women’s favor and government had to step in
and create new regulations to protect workers.
This was a horrifying book to read but in a good way. It was well written, and I couldn’t put it
down. It was incredibly upsetting to
read about what the girls and women went through and how they were disregarded
by so many. It felt like it was well
researched and showed a different subject that isn’t talked about. Moore balances telling the individual stories
of the people vs business cover-up and corruption very well. You never lose sight of the victims. Highly recommend reading this book.
