Sally Ride

July 21, 2014
Drawing from a broad selection of books, periodicals, and interviews, Macy (Wheels of Change) fuses a biography of the first American woman in space with a chronicle of NASA’s space shuttle program during Ride’s career. The author provides a balanced portrait of Ride’s personal and professional lives, depicting her as a reserved, private, intelligent, and competitive young woman whose diverse interests led to degrees in both physics and English at Stanford. Though various media have documented Ride’s missions on Challenger, Macy also underscores her tenacity in a profession that had historically discriminated against women, as well as her passionate advocacy for educating children about space exploration and encouraging them—especially girls—to pursue careers in science. Readers whose interests lean in those directions will appreciate the thorough, at times technical, explorations of the history, operations, triumphs, and tragedies of NASA’s space shuttle program. Photos of and quotations from Ride (who died of pancreatic cancer in 2012) and from those who knew her help bring her personality into sharp focus. Ages 8–12.

August 1, 2014

Gr 5-8-Macy's comprehensive, admiring biography offers detail and perspective about Ride's groundbreaking career and contributions. Her coverage of Ride's childhood and education and pioneering career at NASA is similar to that found in dated titles such as Sally Ride: A Space Biography by Barbara Kramer (Enslow, 1998). Macy relates how Ride's educational and sports accomplishments, hard work, and ambition and self-confidence allowed her to become an astronaut and a role model for countless girls. Her section about Ride's work at NASA includes many technical details and is occasionally dry. The strongest part of the book is Macy's treatment of Ride's post-astronaut career as an educator and advocate for increased education and opportunities in the sciences, especially for women. The author praises Ride's refusal to cash in on her post-NASA fame and describes her ceaseless efforts to promote educational and public service projects. She also touches on Ride's personal life, including the posthumous disclosure of a female life partner, putting into the context of Ride's lifelong desire to maintain her privacy and let her work and achievements speak for her. The text is supplemented by an eight-page photo insert, sidebars, and an extensive bibliography that includes materials written about and by Ride. This book has a higher reading level and more detail than Megan Stine's Who Was Sally Ride? (Penguin, 2013), and it will help readers put her public achievements and contributions and her quiet personal life into perspective.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Public Schools, MO

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