These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?Ĭhoosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. (foreword, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. Handsomely illustrated with photographs, this empowering story will leave readers inspired. The author offers great insight into how deeply ingrained sexism was in American society and its institutions. Stone poignantly chronicles how the efforts of Cobb and her colleagues were ridiculed and thwarted by everyone from Vice-President Lyndon Johnson to Mercury astronauts Scott Carpenter and John Glenn and-in a bitter irony-Jackie Cochran, a highly respected, trailblazing female pilot, who appeared to be motivated by jealousy and spite. It took 20 years before NASA admitted women into the astronaut program. Her performance, and that of the others, proved women had the “right stuff,” but these findings were not enough to overcome the prevailing prejudices of the time.
At the center of the story is Jerrie Cobb, a veteran pilot who successfully completed every test given to male astronauts. The fascinating, dramatic story of the “Mercury 13,” a group of women aviators who proved to be as courageous, intelligent and fit as any man, but who were nonetheless barred from NASA’s astronaut program because of their gender.
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