"[The doctor] was convinced, he said, that their health problems were caused by nerves. This was a common response to women's occupational illnesses, which were often attributed to female hysteria."

File this very good book under Books That Make Me Want to Shout With Rage because WOW, I was infuriated the entire time by this well-written, unfortunately true story. These women! Took jobs they were told were safe! But it was not safe! And multiple companies lied to them! And hid their own medical records from them! And the person I cited above was not even a medical doctor! Meanwhile, these women literally FELL APART while radium poisoned them from the inside out. It's a story of corporate greed, with men in power exploiting disenfranchised women whose only recourse was to rely on other men in power to fight on their behalf. OH, MY WORD, there was much gnashing of teeth.

But yes, I'm really glad I read it. All of the literally dozens of people who have suggested it over the years were right! I would definitely recommend it if you are like me and haven't read it yet, despite it being published for over 5 years. It's an excellent work of history, and it reminded me of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot and Bad Blood by John Carreyrou, both of which made me want to scream and which I have recommended repeatedly.