The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Fiction
What it's about: Set in 1950s USA, a huge meteorite strikes off the East Coast, obliterating Washington DC and upsetting the climate. The International Space Coalition is created to get as many people off Earth as possible before it becomes uninhabitable. But Dr. Elma York, a pilot and a "computer" for the ISC, can't help but notice only men are being selected to be astronauts. After an appearance on a children's show to explain rocketry, Elma finds herself dubbed the Lady Astronaut by the press. Now if only she can convince the ISC to take women seriously.
Reviewers say: "Readers will thrill to the story of this ‘lady astronaut’ and eagerly anticipate the promised sequels" (Publishers Weekly); "A fast-forward thrill ride, Hugo Award winner Kowal's exciting alternate history...highlights the space race and the sexism of the time" (Library Journal).
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