Lise Meitner and the Atomic Age (Unlocking the Secrets of Science)

Lise Meitner spent her childhood in a segregated community, where Jewish citizens of Vienna were required to live. There were no boundaries for her ambitions, however. Despite being a young woman in the late 1800s, her family encouraged her to do anything she wanted to. Lise wanted to be a scientist. It wasn't easy. Few women received even a high school education and those that did were expected to be teachers. Lise persisted. Eventually she was accepted into a prestigious college program. She worked as an unpaid lab assistant, living on black bread and coffee until a job opened up. Eventually her work would take her to Berlin, but the rise of Adolf Hitler made her flee the country. A woman way ahead of her time, Lise competed with and worked alongside of some of the brightest male scientists of the period. Now, young adults can witness her determination in this new story.