Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World

Fifty-two inspiring and insightful profiles of history€s brightest female scientists.

€œRachel Swaby€s no-nonsense and needed Headstrong dynamically profiles historically overlooked female visionaries in science, technology, engineering, and math.€€"Elle

In 2013, the New York Times published an obituary for Yvonne Brill. It began: €œShe made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job, and took eight years off from work to raise three children.€ It wasn€t until the second paragraph that readers discovered why the Times had devoted several hundred words to her life: Brill was a brilliant rocket scientist who invented a propulsion system to keep communications satellites in orbit, and had recently been awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Among the questions the obituary€"and consequent outcry€"prompted were, Who are the role models for today€s female scientists, and where can we find the stories that cast them in their true light?      

Headstrong delivers a powerful, global, and engaging response. Covering Nobel Prize winners and major innovators, as well as lesser-known but hugely significant scientists who influence our every day, Rachel Swaby€s vibrant profiles span centuries of courageous thinkers and illustrate how each one€s ideas developed, from their first moment of scientific engagement through the research and discovery for which they€re best known. This fascinating tour reveals 52 women at their best€"while encouraging and inspiring a new generation of girls to put on their lab coats.