Review: Fighting for Space: Two Pilots and Their Historic Battle for Female Spaceflight by Amy Shira Teitel

Title: Fighting for Space: Two Pilots and Their Historic Battle for Female Spaceflight 
Author: Amy Shira Teitel
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publish Date: February 18, 2020 (Today!)
Source: Publisher

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "When the space age dawned in the late 1950s, Jackie Cochran held more propeller and jet flying records than any pilot of the twentieth century-man or woman. She had led the Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots during the Second World War, was the first woman to break the sound barrier, ran her own luxury cosmetics company, and counted multiple presidents among her personal friends. She was more qualified than any woman in the world to make the leap from atmosphere to orbit. Yet it was Jerrie Cobb, twenty-five years Jackie's junior and a record-holding pilot in her own right, who finagled her way into taking the same medical tests as the Mercury astronauts. The prospect of flying in space quickly became her obsession.

While the American and international media spun the shocking story of a "woman astronaut" program, Jackie and Jerrie struggled to gain control of the narrative, each hoping to turn the rumored program into their own ideal reality-an issue that ultimately went all the way to Congress."

My Two Cents:

"Fighting for Space" is a fantastic non-fiction story about two intrepid female pilots in a race to become the first female astronaut. Jackie Cochran came from nothing and pushed herself to make a name as a pilot. She pushed to get female pilots to become part of the war effort during World War II. She wants to continue to push for what she wants even if the world is against her. Jerrie Cobb has been flying since she was a little girl. With a lot of support from her family, she feels like there's nothing she can't accomplish. She too wants to be an astronaut, no matter how it seems to anyone else. This is a story of perseverance and bravery. I loved it!

It's one thing to read a history book about things you already know about. It's another to read a book that covers the little known parts of history. This book made me wonder why I had never come across any books that cover Jackie Cochran or Jerrie Cobb before. Both women were truly phenomenal and so far ahead of their time. They made for really fantastic subjects of a biography like this one!

The author is a deft storyteller. I love how she's able to bring the story of Jackie and Jerrie to life! The historical detail is wonderful and we get a lot of insight into not only what makes both of these women tick but also what they are up against when it comes to trying to break into a world filled with men. The way that the story flows between the two women was really great. Both Jackie and Jerrie ran with some pretty phenomenal personalities that make an appearance in the book. Jackie was a close, personal friend of Amelia Earhart (one of my favorite people to read about). This was a great book and I really liked it! I would love to read more by this author!