Welcome to autumn and a new year of stimulating reading!
You are invited to attend the October 13, 2026, meeting of our Brown Bag 'n' Books reading group. We gather at 12:30 PM on the second Tuesday, with our brown bag lunches or snacks and beverage.
Join us in the annex library at Laguna Lake Mobile Estates at 1801 Prefumo Canyon Road in San Luis Obispo, where we will discuss a thrilling WWII true story, with AAUW and IFUW playing heroic roles. The book is Sisters in Science, (full title below) by Olivia Campbell. It is available in bookstores and at the SLO County Library.
Nancy Page, Group Coordinator
Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History - An Extraordinary WWII Biography of Friendship and Discovery, by Olivia Campbell
The extraordinary true story of four women pioneers in physics during World War II and their daring escape out of Nazi Germany.
In the 1930s, Germany was a hotbed of scientific thought. But after the Nazis took power, Jewish and female citizens were forced out of their academic positions. Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer and Hildegard Stücklen were eminent in their fields, but they had no choice but to flee due to their Jewish ancestry or anti-Nazi sentiments.
Their harrowing journey out of Germany became a life-and-death situation that required Herculean efforts of friends and other prominent scientists. Lise escaped to Sweden, where she made a groundbreaking discovery in nuclear physics, and the others fled to the United States, aided by AAUW sponsorship, where they brought advanced physics to American universities. No matter their destination, each woman revolutionized the field of physics when all odds were stacked against them, galvanizing young women to do the same.
Well researched and written with cinematic prose, Sisters in Science brings these trailblazing women to life and shows us how sisterhood and scientific curiosity can transcend borders and persist—flourish, even—in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Published December 31, 2024, 384 pages
You are invited to attend the October 13, 2026, meeting of our Brown Bag 'n' Books reading group. We gather at 12:30 PM on the second Tuesday, with our brown bag lunches or snacks and beverage.
Join us in the annex library at Laguna Lake Mobile Estates at 1801 Prefumo Canyon Road in San Luis Obispo, where we will discuss a thrilling WWII true story, with AAUW and IFUW playing heroic roles. The book is Sisters in Science, (full title below) by Olivia Campbell. It is available in bookstores and at the SLO County Library.
Nancy Page, Group Coordinator
Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History - An Extraordinary WWII Biography of Friendship and Discovery, by Olivia Campbell
The extraordinary true story of four women pioneers in physics during World War II and their daring escape out of Nazi Germany.
In the 1930s, Germany was a hotbed of scientific thought. But after the Nazis took power, Jewish and female citizens were forced out of their academic positions. Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer and Hildegard Stücklen were eminent in their fields, but they had no choice but to flee due to their Jewish ancestry or anti-Nazi sentiments.
Their harrowing journey out of Germany became a life-and-death situation that required Herculean efforts of friends and other prominent scientists. Lise escaped to Sweden, where she made a groundbreaking discovery in nuclear physics, and the others fled to the United States, aided by AAUW sponsorship, where they brought advanced physics to American universities. No matter their destination, each woman revolutionized the field of physics when all odds were stacked against them, galvanizing young women to do the same.
Well researched and written with cinematic prose, Sisters in Science brings these trailblazing women to life and shows us how sisterhood and scientific curiosity can transcend borders and persist—flourish, even—in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Published December 31, 2024, 384 pages
