Everyone has heard of Marie Curie, even people who can’t remember what she did; environmentalists surely know of Rachel Carson for uncovering the dark side of pesticides and inspiring ecological awareness. After that, outstanding women of science can be harder to name. Science writers Catherine Whitlock and Rhodri Evans cast light on their underreported accomplishments in 10 Women Who Changed Science and the World. Aside from Curie, the only winner of a Nobel Prize in both physics and chemistry, all were born in the early 20th century and left behind accomplishments often overlooked in an era when professional women were an anomaly in any field. Gertrude Elion, to name one of the 10 Women, benefitted millions of patients with her pharmaceutical research. Perhaps the best story belongs to Rita Levi-Montalcini, an Italian Jew who conducted neuro-biological research in her bedroom as Fascist anti-Semitic policies were implemented and World War II swirled around her. 10 Women Who Changed Science is an entertaining introduction to a cross-section of scientists whose breakthroughs changed lives.
