Almost Astronauts; 13 Women Who Dared To Dream

Somerville, MA: Candlewick Books, 2009. First Paperback Edition, First Printing [Stated]. Trade paperback. Good. The format is 9 inches by 10 inches. 133, [1] pages. Illustrations (some in color). Author's Note. Appendix. Further Reading. Webliography. Sources. Source Notes. Index. Cover has wear and soiling. Some page wear, curling and creasing. Inscribed by the author on the half-title page. Inscription reads For Ashley--Soar! Tanya Lee Stone 3/09. Foreword by Margaret A. Weitekamp, Curator, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Tanya Lee Stone (born 1965) is an American author. She writes narrative nonfiction. Her stories often center women and people of color. Her work has been received a NAACP Image Award, Robert F. Sibert Medal, and Golden Kite Award, among others. She is also the author of the young adult verse novel, A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl, which was the 44th-most banned and challenged book in the United States between 2010 and 2019, as well as the sixth most banned and challenged book in 2013. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1987, Stone became a book editor in New York City. After moving to Vermont, she wrote her first book. Since then, she has written more than 100 books. Her articles, essays, and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Horn Book, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal. Beyond writing, Stone is an assistant director and program director of the Professional Writing program at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. She also serves on several literature-related committees and is the co-founder of Kindling Words. Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Medal They had the right stuff. They defied the prejudices of the time. And they blazed a trail for generations of women to follow. What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape -- any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale of thirteen women who proved that they were not only as tough as the toughest man but also brave enough to challenge the government. They were blocked by prejudice, jealousy, and the scrawled note of one of the most powerful men in Washington. But even though the Mercury 13 women did not make it into space, they did not lose, for their example empowered young women to take their place in the sky, piloting jets and commanding space capsules. ALMOST ASTRONAUTS is the story of thirteen true pioneers of the space age. They had the right stuff. They defied the prejudices of the time. And they blazed a trail for generations of women to follow. What does it take to be an astronaut? Excellence at flying, courage, intelligence, resistance to stress, top physical shape — any checklist would include these. But when America created NASA in 1958, there was another unspoken rule: you had to be a man. Here is the tale of thirteen women who proved that they were not only as tough as the toughest man but also brave enough to challenge the government. They were blocked by prejudice, jealousy, and the scrawled note of one of the most powerful men in Washington. But even though the Mercury 13 women did not make it into space, they did not lose, for their example empowered young women to take their place in the sky, piloting jets and commanding space capsules. Almost Astronauts is the story of thirteen true pioneers of the space age.