The Six

The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts

By: Loren Grush

Narrated by: Inés del Castillo

“Vivid.” —The Guardian * “Engrossing.” —Booklist * “Suspenseful, meticulously observed, enlightening.” —Margot Lee Shetterly, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures

In this account of America’s first women astronauts “Grush skillfully weaves a story that, at its heart, is about desire: not a nation’s desire to conquer space, but the longing of six women to reach heights that were forbidden to them” (The New York Times).

When NASA sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s the agency excluded women from the corps, arguing that only military test pilots—a group then made up exclusively of men—had the right stuff. It was an era in which women were steered away from jobs in science and deemed unqualified for space flight. Eventually, though, NASA recognized its blunder and opened the application process to a wider array of hopefuls, regardless of race or gender. From a candidate pool of 8,000 six elite women were selected in 1978—Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon.

In The Six, acclaimed journalist Loren Grush shows these brilliant and courageous women enduring claustrophobic—and sometimes deeply sexist—media attention, undergoing rigorous survival training, and preparing for years to take multi-million-dollar payloads into orbit. Together, the Six helped build the tools that made the space program run. One of the group, Judy Resnik, sacrificed her life when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded at 46,000 feet. Everyone knows of Sally Ride’s history-making first space ride, but each of the Six would make their mark. “A spirited group biography…it’s hard not to feel awe for these women” (The Wall Street Journal).

Critic reviews

"Journalist Loren Grush's compelling history of the first women selected for NASA’s astronaut corps is perfectly paired with Inés del Castillo’s conversational and sensitively attuned narration. While these women’s lives became inextricably bound through their historic service, this engaging audio production explores their individual experiences, both personal and professional."

Awesome

If this was in print, I’d say I couldn’t put it down. Well written and gripping ,great bit of history and those 6 are still motivating for all

Courage & tenacity

each and every one of these women had to put up with a lot. suits that didn't quite fit, how to go to the bathroom, stupid comments by MEN... Very well read.

Loved it!

I loved all the history in this book! Had me hooked from the beginning! Would definitely recommend for any Space Lover!!!

Amazingly Accurate Portrayal of NASA’s first women

Loren’s extraordinary and timely research brought history to life in these six women and those around them. I found this book a fantastic trip down memory lane, but I also learned quite a bit that I did not know. I started at NASA six years after these six astronauts. Most of the engineers were unhappy that NASA hired female engineers. And the primarily white, male, over-50 workforce did not know what to do about these young and multicultural women. I especially liked how Loren wrote about the prejudice and discrimination against women. She wrote how we felt at the time - prejudice and discrimination were just something we had to endure to work in the most incredible job in the world.

I listened to the audible version, which was narrated very well. Now, I need to get a paper copy so I can read sections over again.

Great listen!

Inspiring and motivating, I share the same sentiment of another reviewer in that I wish I had this book when I was younger. I did not know much of this subject as I was not born during this time period but these woman were fearless. My only drawback was I found the narrator hard to understand at times.