Biographical study of the life and achievements of Ellen H. Swallow pioneering professional environmentalist at MIT and major figure in the American feminist movement.

This biography highlights the achievements of America's first professional degreed female scientist, Ellen Swallow Richards (1842--1911). The book takes the reader from Richards's childhood on a Massachusetts farm where she was schooled at home, to her internationally renowned successes in multiple branches of science. • Schools, colleges, and libraries are searching for more books about remarkable, successful women. Richards paved the way for women to enter numerous fields of science previously believed to be the domain of men. • Currently there is much emphasis on nutrition; Richards pioneered in this field, teaching the American public about fats, carbohydrates, proteins and calories at a time when scarcely anyone knew of their importance. • Ellen Swallow Richards pioneered multiple fields of science and technology, opening doors for women to become chemists, biologists, geologists, ecologists, nutritionists, dietitians, science teachers, professors, and home economists. • Richards began the ecology movement, particularly relevant in today's world as more and more attention is being paid to the health of our planet.

A Story about Ellen Richards

The surprising, often fiercely feminist, always fascinating, yet barely known, history of home economics. The term “home economics” may conjure traumatic memories of lopsided hand-sewn pillows or sunken muffins. But common conception obscures the story of the revolutionary science of better living. The field exploded opportunities for women in the twentieth century by reducing domestic work and providing jobs as professors, engineers, chemists, and businesspeople. And it has something to teach us today. In the surprising, often fiercely feminist and always fascinating The Secret History of Home Economics, Danielle Dreilinger traces the field’s history from Black colleges to Eleanor Roosevelt to Okinawa, from a Betty Crocker brigade to DIY techies. These women—and they were mostly women—became chemists and marketers, studied nutrition, health, and exercise, tested parachutes, created astronaut food, and took bold steps in childhood development and education. Home economics followed the currents of American culture even as it shaped them. Dreilinger brings forward the racism within the movement along with the strides taken by women of color who were influential leaders and innovators. She also looks at the personal lives of home economics’ women, as they chose to be single, share lives with other women, or try for egalitarian marriages. This groundbreaking and engaging history restores a denigrated subject to its rightful importance, as it reminds us that everyone should learn how to cook a meal, balance their account, and fight for a better world.

An expressive group of cheerful fish play follow the leader in their ocean habitat, unaware that a shark lurks in the background. Count the fish from one to ten as each joins the game, then count back down to one when the leader snacks on a sea spider and sets off an unfortunate chain reaction (swallow the leader!). Luckily for everyone, fish number ten—the shark—gulps down his prey too quickly, and burrrrrrrp! they all swim out again. Lively rhymed text and energetic artwork combine in this exuberant counting book that’s sure to delight little ones learning their numbers.

Three women fight for the chance to raise the child they've all come to love When Lilia Swallow's husband, Graham, goes into remission after a challenging year of treatment for lymphoma, the home and lifestyle blogger throws a party. Their best friends and colleagues attend to celebrate his recovery, but just as the party is in full swing, a new guest arrives. She presents Lilia with a beautiful baby boy, and vanishes. Toby is Graham's darkest secret – his son, conceived in a moment of despair. Lilia is utterly unprepared for the betrayal the baby represents, and perhaps more so for the love she begins to feel once her shock subsides. Now this unasked–for, precious gift becomes a life–changer for three women: Lilia, who takes him into her home and heart; Marina, who bore and abandoned him until circumstance and grief change her mind; and Ellen, who sees in him a chance to correct the mistakes she made with her own son, Toby's father. A custody battle begins, and each would–be mother must examine her heart, confront her choices and weigh her dreams against the fate of one vulnerable little boy. Each woman will redefine family, belonging and love – and the results will alter the course of not only their lives, but also the lives of everyone they care for.

This is a collection of essays focusing on the spread and elaboration of American technology, and on the men and women who shaped it. Beginning with technology of America's Wooden Age, the authors discuss Jefferson's perception of the role of technology in a democratic society; the American System of Manufactures of Eli Whitney and others; Thomas P. Jones and the institutionalization of industrialization in educational reforms; McCormick and the spread of industrialization to agriculture; and James Eads and the rise of transportation networks. ISBN 0-262-66049-0 (pbk.): $9.95.

In Rachel Carson and Her Sisters, Robert K. Musil redefines the achievements and legacy of environmental pioneer and scientist Rachel Carson, linking her work to a wide network of American women activists and writers and introducing her to a new, contemporary audience.Rachel Carson was the first American to combine two longstanding, but separate strands of American environmentalism—the love of nature and a concern for human health. Widely known for her 1962 best-seller, Silent Spring, Carson is today often perceived as a solitary “great woman,” whose work single-handedly launched a modern environmental movement. But as Musil demonstrates, Carson’s life’s work drew upon and was supported by already existing movements, many led by women, in conservation and public health. On the fiftieth anniversary of her death, this book helps underscore Carson’s enduring environmental legacy and brings to life the achievements of women writers and advocates, such as Ellen Swallow Richards, Dr. Alice Hamilton, Terry Tempest Williams, Sandra Steingraber, Devra Davis, and Theo Colborn, all of whom overcame obstacles to build and lead the modern American environmental movement.