"Bettyann Kevles delivers the first authoritative account of women in space, from the thirteen women who tried in vain to become America's first female astronauts to Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark's final flight on the space shuttle Columbia. Through intensive interviews and meticulous research, Kevles crafts a riveting - at times inspirational - story of women who had "the right stuff," but had to struggle to prove it." "In bringing these women to life, Kevle probes the nature of their ambition, pinpointing where they were ahead of the curve - gaining access to professions formerly closed to them - and where they benefited from the efforts of others. She also lifts the veil on astronaut selection and explores the personal tensions among the women in the corps. She even addresses the taboo subject of sex in space." "More importantly, though, Kevles traces the impact of Cold War competition and the American women's movement on the world's most exclusive men's club. In the early 1960s - when the Apollo astronauts were preparing to go to the moon - American women were fighting for their own place in space. But they didn't have a chance. Institutions had to change and laws had to be passed and then implemented for women to become the pilots, scientists, engineers and physicians NASA needed. Over the next two decades, American women pushed open one door after another."--Jacket.