Friday Memes: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

President Dewey Congratulates NACA on Satellite Launch

March 3, 1952 --(AP)-- The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics successfully put its third satellite into orbit, this on with the capability of sending radio signals down to Earth and taking measurements of the radiation in space. The president denies that the satellit has any military purpose and says that its mission is one of scientific exploration.

Do you remember where you were when the meteor hit? I've never understood why people phrase it as a question, because of course you remember.

Friday 56:

"Because your're the Lady Astronaut."

"I am not an astronaut!" My voice cut through the low hum of conversation around us. Wealthy and powerful people turned to stare. What must they think? Bending my head, I applied myself to the martini and let the cold burn of the gin distract me.

This week I am featuring The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal. This book is a recent purchase of mine. Here is the description from Amazon:

On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.

Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too.

Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.