Nebula Award Best Novel Winner
The Calculating Stars
by Mary Robinette Kowal
Summary
After a meteorite devastates the United States in 1952 and sets off a coming climate disaster, the world races to settle space, and mathematician and pilot Elma York fights to become an astronaut. Kowal examines sexism and racism in the early space program through a protagonist who struggles with anxiety even as she pushes toward the stars. The alternate history opens the Lady Astronaut series.
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Historical Context & Significance
The Calculating Stars expanded Kowal's earlier short story The Lady Astronaut of Mars and went on to win both the Nebula and the Hugo for Best Novel.