Almost Heaven

Having researched, interviewed, and written dozens of profiles myself, I was blown away by Author Bettyann Holzmann Kevles' ability to go beyond the usual dates and degrees to the stories behind why and how women from different countries were chosen to fly into space as well as what they did there.

I especially enjoyed learning about foreign astronauts like French Astronaut Claudie Andre’-Deshays, who, while on the Russian Mir Space Station, performed an experiment on salamanders that proved they could reproduce normally in space and also hosted a fancy French meal for the crew. This is women’s history that all… show more.

Based on extensive interviews with women astronauts and cosmonauts, this remarkable book traces the thorny path of women into the elite corps of space travelers. This book made me realize that, despite all ideological differences between the Cold War superpowers, the human spaceflight programs in both the Soviet Union and the United States were woefully similar in their cult of masculinity and competitive spirit. Kevles skillfully combines her sharp analysis of gender attitudes in different national space programs and historical periods with a poignant human story of women’s struggle for the right to fly into space.