Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space Audiobook

Quotes

• This is an intimate and enormously appealing biography of a fascinating woman, a triumph of research and sensitivity that lives up to its subject and will likely move readers to tears in its final, poignant pages. ---Booklist Starred Review

• “Beautifully done…impossible to put down. Sherr draws us into a will and a passion more vast than outer space.”

  — Patricia Cornwell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Port Mortuary

• “At first, Sally Ride’s chances of becoming America’s first woman astronaut did not seem promising. When, as a Stanford student, she applied for a spot in the US space program, her résumé joined more than 8,000 others on the pile. But as this definitive new biography by ABC NASA reporter Lynn Sherr demonstrates decisively, Ride was something special. When she was chosen for the seventh shuttle mission, she not only made history, she set an example for other young women breaking through. (P.S. This bio benefits from extensive interviews with Ride’s partner and family, and provides extensive information on her long, brave struggle against cancer.”

  — Barnes&Noble.com, editorial review

• “Sherr has done an impressive job of uncovering the pressures (and sometimes comical missteps) of NASA’s macho culture and its approach to the first class of women astronauts, the unparalleled commitment Ride brought to her job, and the zeal with which she embraced her later challenge to broaden science opportunities for girls. This is an intimate and enormously appealing biography of a fascinating woman, a triumph of research and sensitivity that lives up to its subject and will likely move readers to tears in its final, poignant pages.”

  — Booklist (starred review)

• “Engrossing…Sherr provides a window into one of the most fascinating figures of the twentieth century.”

  — Publishers Weekly

• “During the nine years she was associated with the space program, Ride’s exemplary conduct ‘transformed female astronauts from a punch line into a matter of national pride’…Though married during her years at NASA, Ride’s true sexual orientation did not become public until her death, when her obituary mentioned that she had been survived by a female partner of nearly three decades. Sherr’s book is important not simply because it memorializes an American icon. It pointedly reminds readers of the crippling burden of ‘shame and fear’ that even—and perhaps especially—the most golden heroes must bear in societies that cannot tolerate difference. An intimately celebratory biography.”

  — Kirkus Reviews

• “Narrator Pam Ward perfectly reflects the literary voice of author Lynn Sherr in this in-depth examination of the life of Sally Ride, America’s first female astronaut. Ward’s animated voice and varied pace suit the narrative, particularly the passages about Ride’s personal life. Because Sherr and Ride were longtime friends, the text comes off like an extended conversation, and Ward picks up that tone nicely. Vocally, she imparts both the author’s feelings and Ride’s. Pausing before direct quotations, she gives the listener a clear indication of what’s to follow. While she doesn’t try to give other speakers distinctive voices, it’s clear from slight changes that someone other than Sherr or Ride is talking. Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award.”

  — AudioFile

• “Wow. What a read. I was enthralled and enchanted. Sally Ride is a national treasure, free-thinker, and adventurer extraordinaire. Lynn Sherr’s years as a NASA correspondent bleed through with the pulsing drama of our early space discoveries. And her close friendship with Sally renders the inside story replete with delightful and eccentric detail.” 

  — Diana Nyad, champion ocean swimmer