Yale historian Kevles (Naked to the Bone) does a superb job of describing the challenges faced by female astronauts since the beginning of the space age and viewing those challenges in light of the changing status of women in society at large. She argues that NASA's sexism, from its inception in 1958 until 1978, when it first accepted female astronaut candidates actually destined to go into space, reflected popular opinion. Pressure from the growing women's movement coupled with waning popular support for space exploration led NASA to open its ranks to women. Kevles and the numerous female astronauts she interviewed assert that once the decision was made to welcome women, NASA did so quite well. Institutional sexism was not overly common, although the behavior of some male astronauts often left much to be desired. Also looking at the U.S.S.R. (and later Russia), Kevles asserts that although Valentina Tereshkova was sent into orbit in 1963, women were neither accepted as equals nor treated fairly either institutionally or personally. Kevles describes many of the obstacles that were overcome by the 40 women who have been in space as well as the excitement associated with space travel. With 40 stories to be told, however, none are presented in great detail. Nonetheless, Kevles provides a fresh look at the U.S. attempt to explore space while reflecting on injustice at home. 8 pages of b&w photos. (Oct.)
Forecast: The moment for studying women in space seems to have arrived. This could be displayed together with two other terrific books, Martha Ackmann's The Mercury 13 and Stephanie Nolen's Promised the Moon.
