Dava Sobel Book List
Month Date

The Elements of Marie Curie : How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science
by Dava Sobel

A luminous chronicle of the life and work of Marie Curie, the most famous woman in the history of science, also includes the untold story of the many young women trained in her laboratory who were launched into stellar scientific careers of their own.
The Glass Universe : How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars
by Dava Sobel

Shares the lesser-known story of the scientific contributions of a group of women working at the Harvard College Observatory from the late 1800s through the mid-20th century, tracing their collection of star observations captured nightly on glass photographic plates that enabled extraordinary discoveries.
Galileo's Daughter : A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love
by Dava Sobel

Presents a biography of the scientist through the surviving letters of his illegitimate daughter Maria Celeste, who wrote him from the Florence convent where she lived from the age of thirteen.
The Doctors Blackwell : How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women--and Women to Medicine
by Janice P. Nimura

Presents a biography of two pioneering sisters who, together, became America's first female doctors and transformed New York's medical establishment by creating a hospital by and for women
Candace Pert : Genius, Greed, and Madness in the World of Science
by Pamela Ryckman

This biography of the maverick scientist Candace Pert who discovered the opiate receptor, the cellular binding site for endorphins in the brain, also examines her years as an advocate of alternative medicine. 
The Soul of Genius : Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, and the Meeting that Changed the Course of Science
by Jeffrey Orens

A prismatic look at the meeting of Marie Curie and Albert Einstein and the impact these two pillars of science had on the world of physics, which was in turmoil.
Sisters in Science : How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History
by Olivia Campbell

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 Stèucklen 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.
Headstrong : 52 Women Who Changed Science-- and the World
by Rachel Swaby

Collects 52 profiles of history's brightest female scientists and mathematicians.
Radiant : The Dancer, the Scientist and a Friendship Forged in Light
by Liz Lee Heinecke

Describes the true story of an American performance artist in Belle Epoch Paris who began a lifelong friendship with scientist Marie Curie after dreaming about using on stage a glowing blue element she discovered.
Obsessive Genius : The Inner World of Marie Curie
by Barbara Goldsmith

Draws on diaries, letters, and family interviews to discusses the lesser-known achievements and scientific insights of the Nobel Prize-winning scientist and producer of radium, documenting how she was compromised by the prejudices of a male-dominated society in spite of her accomplishments.