Incredible Women Inventors

Allison Sivak is a librarian in the Science and Technology Library,
University of Alberta.

In this latest addition to the successful Women’s Hall of Fame series,
10 women innovators working in array of different fields are profiled.
Each profile seeks to demystify the process of discovery, from the
inventor’s realization that she needed a solution to a particular
problem, through experimentation and patenting or commercialization of
the final product or process. The women profiled include Anna Sutherland
Bissell, who invented the carpet sweeper; C.J. Walker, a black woman who
invented hair-care products specifically for blacks; Austrian physicist
Lise Meitner, who helped discover and explain nuclear fission; Patricia
Bath, who invented the Laserphaco Probe used in cataract surgery; the
movie star Hedy Lamarr, who invented a remote-controlled radio system;
and Elizabeth “Elsie” MacGill, the world’s first woman aircraft
designer. The book is written in an easy-to-read style.

Braun has chosen both historic and contemporary innovators from a
variety of social, economic, or ethic backgrounds. The book’s only
drawback lies in its design: the quality of the pictures reproduced is
not good, and the cover design is not especially dynamic or contemporary
enough to peak the interest of middle-grade schoolers—unless they have
an interest in science. The publisher’s website targets the 9–13 age
group as an appropriate audience, but the writing style probably leans
more toward ages 9–11. Recommended with reservations.