The Glass Universe: How The Ladies Of The Harvard Observatory Took The Measure Of The Stars

"Science historian Dava Sobel , author of Galileo’s Daughter , chronicles their unsung story and lasting legacy in The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars ( public library )."

"“Pickering’s Harem” — the women hired as assistants at the Harvard Observatory — have existed on the fringes as fleeting mentions in contemporary scientific publications, or tucked into the footnotes of astronomy texts. So Dava Sobel’s The Glass Universe is a parallel discovery — of the women, and of the work. Her subjects are supernaturally intrepid; Sobel teases out their doubts, frustrations and triumphs. But the sky comes first, and the book’s true passion is the staggering impact of their work and the struggle to have it recognized. Pickering’s Harem shaped the way we organize the universe; The Glass Universe makes that discovery a joy."