Sept 2021 Book Club: The Mercury 13 by Martha Ackmann
Date and Time
Thu, Sept 30, 2021
7:30 PM – 9:30 PM EDT
Virtual Event
7:30 PM – 9:30 PM EDT
Virtual Event
About this Event
Get ready for September Book Club Event! (AKA August Book Club Recheduled)
Didn't read the book? No problem! Book club is for everyone.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email us at bookclub@sweboston.org
Book Synopsis:
In 1961, just as NASA launched its first man into space, a group of women underwent secret testing in the hopes of becoming America’s first female astronauts. They passed the same battery of tests as did the Mercury 7 astronauts, but they were summarily dismissed by the boys’ club at NASA and in the halls of Congress. The USSR sent its first woman into space in 1963; the United States did not follow suit for another twenty years.
The Mercury 13 tells the story of the dramatic events surrounding these thirteen remarkable women, all crackerjack pilots and patriots who sometimes sacrificed jobs and marriages for a chance to participate in America’s space race against the Soviet Union. In addition to talking extensively to these pioneers, Ackmann interviewed Chuck Yeager, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, and others with first-hand knowledge of the program, and includes never-before-seen photographs of the Mercury 13 passing their tests at the legendary Lovelace Foundation in New Mexico.
Despite the crushing disappointment of watching their dreams derailed, the Mercury 13 went on to extraordinary achievement: Jerrie Cobb, who began flying when she was so small she had to sit on pillows to see out of the cockpit, dedicated her life to flying solo missionary flights to the Amazon rainforest; Wally Funk, who talked her way into the astronaut trials, went on to become one of the first female FAA investigators; Janey Hart, mother of nine and, at age forty, the oldest astronaut candidate, had the political savvy to steer the women through congressional hearings and later helped found the National Organization for Women.
A lasting tribute to these remarkable women, The Mercury 13 is an unforgettable story of determination, resilience, and inextinguishable hope.
Didn't read the book? No problem! Book club is for everyone.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email us at bookclub@sweboston.org
Book Synopsis:
In 1961, just as NASA launched its first man into space, a group of women underwent secret testing in the hopes of becoming America’s first female astronauts. They passed the same battery of tests as did the Mercury 7 astronauts, but they were summarily dismissed by the boys’ club at NASA and in the halls of Congress. The USSR sent its first woman into space in 1963; the United States did not follow suit for another twenty years.
The Mercury 13 tells the story of the dramatic events surrounding these thirteen remarkable women, all crackerjack pilots and patriots who sometimes sacrificed jobs and marriages for a chance to participate in America’s space race against the Soviet Union. In addition to talking extensively to these pioneers, Ackmann interviewed Chuck Yeager, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, and others with first-hand knowledge of the program, and includes never-before-seen photographs of the Mercury 13 passing their tests at the legendary Lovelace Foundation in New Mexico.
Despite the crushing disappointment of watching their dreams derailed, the Mercury 13 went on to extraordinary achievement: Jerrie Cobb, who began flying when she was so small she had to sit on pillows to see out of the cockpit, dedicated her life to flying solo missionary flights to the Amazon rainforest; Wally Funk, who talked her way into the astronaut trials, went on to become one of the first female FAA investigators; Janey Hart, mother of nine and, at age forty, the oldest astronaut candidate, had the political savvy to steer the women through congressional hearings and later helped found the National Organization for Women.
A lasting tribute to these remarkable women, The Mercury 13 is an unforgettable story of determination, resilience, and inextinguishable hope.
Contact Us
Follow SWE Boston on social media
Advertisement
SWE News