Pioneering Women in American Mathematics
It also discusses the patterns the authors' found in these women's lives,[4] including the discovery that their life expectancies were higher than typical for their time.[3][4] Its eight chapters include material on the family background of the subjects, their undergraduate and graduate education, hiring and careers, and their contributions to mathematics.[1] This book is readable by a general audience, but reviewer Charles Ashbacher writes that "only people deeply interested in the history of mathematics, particularly in the role of women, will find it a critical read", and suggests that the second half should be used as reference material rather than reading it through.[3] Reviewer Amy Shell-Gellasch agrees, writing "It is intended as a reference, not necessarily as a book to sit down and read.[1] In contrast, reviewer Andrea Blunck calls the book "really fascinating", writing that she was "surprised to learn how numerous" these women were, "and how different yet how similar their lives and careers were".