The Radium Girls
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The Radium Girls
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Narrated by:
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Kate Moore
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By:
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Kate Moore
About this listen
New York Times bestseller
‘Fascinating’ Sunday Times
‘Thrilling’ &★&★&★&★&★ Mail on Sunday
All they wanted was the chance to shine. Be careful what you wish for…
‘The first thing we asked was, “Does this stuff hurt you?” And they said, “No.” The company said that it wasn’t dangerous, that we didn’t need to be afraid.’
As the First World War spread across the world, young American women flocked to work in factories, painting clocks, watches and military dials with a special luminous substance made from radium. It was a fun job, lucrative and glamorous – the girls shone brightly in the dark, covered head to toe in dust from the paint. However, as the years passed, the women began to suffer from mysterious and crippling illnesses. It turned out that the very thing that had made them feel alive – their work – was slowly killing them: the radium paint was poisonous.
Their employers denied all responsibility, but these courageous women – in the face of unimaginable suffering – refused to accept their fate quietly, and instead became determined to fight for justice.
Drawing on previously unpublished diaries, letters and interviews, The Radium Girls is an intimate narrative of an unforgettable true story. It is the powerful tale of a group of ordinary women from the Roaring Twenties, who themselves learned how to roar.
©2016 Kate Moore (P)2016 Simon & Schuster
What listeners say about The Radium Girls
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-02-2023
Heartbreaking
This book made me emotional in ways I wasn't expecting. I can listen to gruesome true crime stories and not be phased, but this story struck a cord. It is an important and heart breaking chapter in history that I recommend anyone read in honour and remembrance of the Radium Girls.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymon
- 11-07-2019
An astounding story
It was with horror that I listened to the story unfold. To think that Radium was used so “carelessly”. I guess much of the principle in the story has been repeated by careless and even dangerous quackery which has always been around. Think of the Bex powders which later showed to have a Cancer causing ingredient.
Well read by the author, I’m pleased to have learnt about this.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 07-11-2020
Absolutely A must read/listen
This book and the way it is told brought these girls back to life. and helps me understand history so much better. Must listen. Gave me goosebumbs
made me Angry for what had happened to these girls.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Emily
- 23-06-2019
I never knew
I never knew about the happenings of radium in 1920 and the effects it had on all, not just the workers. Thank you for producing this book Kate Moore. My eyes are now open.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mandy K
- 20-09-2022
A story like no other!
The Radium Girls is like no other! I gasped, cried, cheered and cried some more with my hand on my heart.
Katherine and her colleagues loved their job. They were paid very well to work hard with their new found friends. After all they were contributing to the war the best way they new how, painting watches, clocks and military dials. The paint was luminous and the powder managed to get everywhere.
“It was perfectly safe” they were told and of course they trusted their employer - until they began to get sick! And their employer denied responsibility. How are they to blame when they only supplied the poisonous radium paint?
The fight for justice while suffering through crippling pain is nothing short of heroic!
A must read! And the audiobook experience was breathtaking!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kylie
- 01-12-2023
A book we all should know about
What a story - an insanely and heartbreaking true story of the horrors of what these women went through and the unbelievable fight they had to endure for justice. The author did a phenomenal job with this book and her emotion is felt through certain parts of the book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- EMILIA SANCHEZ
- 17-04-2024
Wonderfully researched
Great read and interesting topic. Make sure you read till the very end. It will not disappointment!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 06-12-2017
WOW!
An amazing story about such incredible women. Love the knowledge, thanks for telling their story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ella
- 23-10-2020
A overlooked part of history
This book is phenomenal. It is very informative, almost too graphic at times (while not being exploitative). This is an overlooked part of history which many people do not know about. I would give a warning to anyone who has a phobia about dentists/dental procedures/teeth that some bits of the book may trigger you.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lauren Beldi
- 27-08-2024
Fantastic story, but the execution is left wanting
I came to this book after hearing the author discuss the radium girls on an episode of the Criminal podcast.
It’s meticulously researched and excellently crafted, and despite enjoying most of it I have struggled to finish it as it does seem to drag in the final chapters. It also suffers from a bit too much of an emotive performance from the author. It’s welcome in the first half or so of the book, as it makes the women come alive, but as the legal and medical cases progress, the delivery begins to border on melodrama. “Fair enough” I thought, “the book is wrapping up after all”, but then I discovered there were still hours left to go and it feels like we’ve reached fever-pitch far too early.
Seems counter-intuitive, but I reckon the content of the story is so moving by itself that it can be just as adequately conveyed without as much performance. It’s for this reason the last few hours has been feeling like a slog, but these things are subject and the book is well worth a listen anyway.
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