Sisters in Science

By: Olivia Campbell

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

The extraordinary true story of four women pioneers in physics during World War II and their daring escape out of Nazi Germany

In the 1930s, Germany was a hotbed of scientific thought. But after the Nazis took power, Jewish and female citizens were forced out of their academic positions. Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer and Hildegard Stücklen were eminent in their fields, but they had no choice but to flee due to their Jewish ancestry or anti-Nazi sentiments.

Their harrowing journey out of Germany became a life-and-death situation that required Herculean efforts of friends and other prominent scientists. Lise fled to Sweden, where she made a groundbreaking discovery in nuclear physics, and the others fled to the United States, where they brought advanced physics to American universities. No matter their destination, each woman revolutionized the field of physics when all odds were stacked against them, galvanizing young women to do the same.

Well researched and written with cinematic prose, Sisters in Science brings these trailblazing women to life and shows us how sisterhood and scientific curiosity can transcend borders and persist—flourish, even—in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

Excellent

Excellent work. Should be read by all in women’s history classes. Also by all 20th century history students and everyone interested in WWI and WWII.

WOW! I need to read this again!

Whether you are a Jew, a woman, or both, there is so much to learn from Campbell's research on the nazi treatment to both groups. She has infused so much historical information into this work that I know I have missed--I can definitely benefit from reading it again. Having friends who have lists of books that are reread every 10 years, I'm starting my own personal list and Sisters in Science is at the top.

The history

Just a bit long but made clear that women have struggled for a long time and how early the Nazi movement began.

Could have been a great book

The author, Olivia Campbell, could have written a very good book. I wish she would have kept to the facts. As a minimum, she should have told both sides of the story. For instance, she wrote about the bad things about the nuclear bomb. She did not mention that there were good things that the destruction of the bomb accomplished. By dropping the bomb, America saved many more lives that would have been lost – on both sides! And the bombs got the Japanese to surrender and end World War II.

These were great women scientists. I enjoyed hearing about their accomplishments and the problems they went through to get jobs in the male dominated society. But, I feel the book is weaker when she makes liberal commentary on everything. A book of only facts would have been a great book, versus an okay book. There are still a lot of good things about these four women.

Historical account

Loved the historical account of these scientific marvels. However, found it hard sometimes to follow each woman's journey. Overall, glad to hear of their success in hardest of times.