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Sally Ride: Life on a Mission
Sally Ride was more than the first woman in space—she was a real-life explorer and adventurer whose life story is a true inspiration for all those who dream big.
Most people know Sally Ride as the first American female astronaut to travel in space. But in her lifetime she was also a nationally ranked tennis player, a physicist who enjoyed reading Shakespeare, a university professor, and the founder of a company that helped inspire girls and young women to pursue careers in science and math. Posthumously, she was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
From Sally Ride’s youth to her many groundbreaking achievements in space and beyond, Sue Macy’s riveting biography tells the story of not only a pioneering astronaut, but a leader and explorer whose life, as President Barack Obama said, “demonstrates that the sky is no limit for those who dream of reaching for the stars.”
Most people know Sally Ride as the first American female astronaut to travel in space. But in her lifetime she was also a nationally ranked tennis player, a physicist who enjoyed reading Shakespeare, a university professor, and the founder of a company that helped inspire girls and young women to pursue careers in science and math. Posthumously, she was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
From Sally Ride’s youth to her many groundbreaking achievements in space and beyond, Sue Macy’s riveting biography tells the story of not only a pioneering astronaut, but a leader and explorer whose life, as President Barack Obama said, “demonstrates that the sky is no limit for those who dream of reaching for the stars.”
160 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 5, 2015
5 stars for Sally Ride; 3.5 for the book itself, which isn't riveting but does include lots of great stories and details--for ex, how Ride, with the slightest shake of her head, declined the bouquet offered when landing after her first mission; the disgustingly sexist questions she was asked by the press before the mission ("Will you wear a BRA in SPACE?!?" Ride responded that, in zero gravity, a bra would not be necessary--she was also asked if she planned to have children, a question she completely ignored, and finally said "I am so excited to get a chance to fly that I am going to ignore all your people) and that on the day of her birth, "one of the most popular magazines in the United States featured a short story titled 'Smart Girls Are Helpless.'"Among other things, I hadn't previously known that Ride was the co-designer of the shuttle's 90-foot robotic arm, had a PhD in physics from Stanford, and had a childhood goal of playing for the L.A. Dodgers. I was pleasantly surprised to find that biographer Sue Macy gracefully included these two sentences in the first paragraph of the book: "[M]any of the millions who admired her were surprised when the last line of her obituary reported that she was survived by her female partner of twenty-seven years. That was the first time this aspect of her life had been made public."
March 7, 2016
A serviceable 100-page biography of a fascinating woman. A bit dry due to the heavy layer of space and science jargon, Sue Macy lightens it up a bit through extensive use of interviews and personal memories.
What struck me was the modernness of Sally Ride. I've been largely ignorant of any details about her, and she always seemed to be part of a long-ago time. But her passions have influenced a lot of my own education and outlook. She pushed for changing attitudes regarding women in math and science fields, which no doubt influenced the opportunities readily available to me, going to school in the '80s and '90s.
By all accounts, an intriguing woman.
What struck me was the modernness of Sally Ride. I've been largely ignorant of any details about her, and she always seemed to be part of a long-ago time. But her passions have influenced a lot of my own education and outlook. She pushed for changing attitudes regarding women in math and science fields, which no doubt influenced the opportunities readily available to me, going to school in the '80s and '90s.
By all accounts, an intriguing woman.
November 17, 2014
2.5 stars. I would have expected a YA biography on such an interesting woman to be engaging and inspirational, but this was a just-the-facts summary of her life. It seems like the sort of biography anyone could have written after googling Sally Ride.
March 1, 2018
Macy does a good job of balancing interesting details about space travel, both the technical (operating the shuttle) and the practical (how to drink liquids), with a picture of what it was like for Sally Ride as the first woman in space. I was enraged, if not surprised, at the sexist questions she was asked by reporters who would never dream of asking the same of a male astronaut. Publishers, please make more nonfiction for tweens and teens in this size instead of the large picture book format! This narrative nonfiction look can still have really clear and useful sidebar information as shown here and kids are much more likely to pick it up.
May 18, 2018
Sue Macy provides a brilliant look into Sally Ride's amazing journeys through education, space, and her later career. As Sally Ride was an intensely private person, this focuses mostly on her public achievements. I believe Sue Macy respects Sally's privacy while still providing quotes and detail to make the biography interesting and relatable. I'm very glad to have this in my library for my students and now want to take every single one of them to space camp. Anyone have a winning lottery ticket so I can do that?
September 21, 2018
I sat in the library and read this book in an hour. I had no idea Sally Ride was a tennis champ, lived in Delco for three semesters of college, and worked with the Muppet Show people to make wake up calls for astronauts. She was a cool lady.
This book is for kids and doesn't shy away from pointing out how messed up things were at NASA that eventually lead to TWO SHUTTLE DISASTERS. That was a nice surprise.
This book is for kids and doesn't shy away from pointing out how messed up things were at NASA that eventually lead to TWO SHUTTLE DISASTERS. That was a nice surprise.
November 2, 2025
This wasn’t bad by any means, it was just… dry. I’m a big fan of Sally Ride, and have read multiple books about her already so I didn’t necessarily expect to learn anything new from this. But I also didn’t expect to want to skim read such a short book about a woman I find fascinating.
I do appreciate that the author didn’t ’dumb down’ the facts considering this is for a younger audience. But this just never intrigued me the way other books about Sally have, which is a bummer.
I do appreciate that the author didn’t ’dumb down’ the facts considering this is for a younger audience. But this just never intrigued me the way other books about Sally have, which is a bummer.
March 3, 2018
Such an impressive woman. Such a leader in a private way.
April 29, 2018
Excellent young adult book introducing the first American woman astronaut!
August 29, 2018
Surprisingly good read. She was a remarkable person.
January 1, 2019
Solid biography of Sally Ridge for 10-16 year old audiences. Age appropriate but doesn't patronize young readers.
March 12, 2019
This book really was insightful about her life before she was an astronaut, and talked about her career an how she got there.
June 1, 2024
Absolutely loved this small biography of an incredible person… such a shame Sally died so young.
March 10, 2017
This is an interesting biography because we see Sally overcome adversity throughout her life. She was discriminated against when she wanted to go to space because she is a women. That didn't stop her from being the first American women to travel space. This book takes place throughout her life including her childhood and collegiate career.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to young adults to adults because it is a good read. I like how Sue Macy wrote about Sally's life and included so many extra details that are greater than her big picture of going to space. I would recommend this book to a friend that enjoys reading biography's that give you a great picture of life and the real mission it is to live in a memorable way.
I rated this book a 3 out of 5 stars because i liked the book. I liked it but at times it was hard to continue reading. I lost interest sometimes but I am glad that I finished the book. I liked that Macy wrote about the entire journey that Sally Ride went through to become who she is.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to young adults to adults because it is a good read. I like how Sue Macy wrote about Sally's life and included so many extra details that are greater than her big picture of going to space. I would recommend this book to a friend that enjoys reading biography's that give you a great picture of life and the real mission it is to live in a memorable way.
I rated this book a 3 out of 5 stars because i liked the book. I liked it but at times it was hard to continue reading. I lost interest sometimes but I am glad that I finished the book. I liked that Macy wrote about the entire journey that Sally Ride went through to become who she is.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2015
From the very first chapter of Sally Ride: Life on a Mission, I could tell this was an ideal pick for a school book report on an autobiography or biography. With that mindset, the book is really good and I was able to read it in one day. It's cut and dry with little personality to distract from the facts or add unnecessary fluff, the back is full of citations that would really help a kid out with meeting multiple resources, and Sally's life is chock full of unique accomplishments so there is plenty to write about. I really wish the author said straight up that "Sally Ride does not tolerate fools" but, if you're looking for it, you can read that between the lines, which amused me greatly. I had no idea the extend Sally played in NASA and women's progress in science, and this read is going to be the perfect pick for any girl who takes serious interest in sports (yes, that's right, trust me on this) or has fleeting interest in science, sci-fi, or studying to show women that it's not weird that you're so ambitious; you're just following in the footsteps of greatness! It's so interesting even boys would find it interesting, but I'd love for girls with tons of potential to pick it up first.
November 3, 2014
Sally Ride was certainly a role model for young women looking to excel in science, math, and engineering. This book about her life doesn't shy away from portraying Sally Ride as a feminist icon, even though it seems like she never really embraced her status as an influential female until later on in her life. I think books that unabashedly show females breaking the glass ceiling definitely need to have a place in the classroom. This book is a great example, almost to the extreme. In fact, the book sometimes gets a bit sidetracked from Sally's story to highlight all of the influential women in her life. In addition to the overall theme of breaking the glass ceiling, this could be used in social studies as an example of a biography of a historical figure. There is an interesting after note from the author about writing a biography about a recently living person, a timeline of Sally's life to compliment the book, and sidebars defining important. The book would be a good edition for a classroom library.
2/3
2/3
December 9, 2015
Excellent biography of the astronaut. I hadn't known that she was a star tennis player when she was a teen, until grad school actually. She saw an ad that NASA was accepting women applicants for the astronaut program, and joined them in 1978. After her two shuttle flights and working in NASA administration, and serving on both shuttle accident investigation commissions, she founded "Imaginary Lines" promoting STEM for girls. Wrote books, etc. Amazing life. Includes some details about her personal life, that she was married for 5 years and divorced, and was partnered with Tam O'Shaughnessy for 27 years, that she always kept her personal life private. Good notes on the sources and quotations; bibliography, timeline, index.
February 13, 2015
This junior-high level biography will especially appeal to students who are interested in science or inspiring women. The book is at it's most interesting when it's talking about her early life and post-astronaut career but is heavily laden with detailed information when it comes to the specifics of her missions at NASA that might bog some readers down. Her fascinating life story is one that will inspire and inform all but especially young people who may not have realized how limited opportunities were for girls and women in the years just preceding their lifetime. A worthwhile read.
Lisa Marie Smith, Youth Services, Vernon Area Public Library
Lisa Marie Smith, Youth Services, Vernon Area Public Library
March 5, 2016
As a teacher and a lover of all things science, I really liked this book. I grew up watching Sally Ride's rise to fame and most recently went to a local book discussion featuring her former husband Steve Hawley. I enjoyed learning more about her life and the struggles she faced with the "glass ceiling." After reading this book, I am inspired to find ways to learn more about her science initiatives so that I can integrate those learning opportunities into my classroom.
August 31, 2016
This is a decent, straightforward biography about someone who I admit, I really knew nothing about. I enjoyed the first part of the book especially, when we learn about Sally's life growing up in the 1950s and 60s, and how she really defied expectations for girls not only be being a really strong athlete, but through her interest in science as well. The end of the book kind of reads like a long list of her accomplishments so it gets kind of boring, but still a solid and interesting book.
March 26, 2015
This brisk, brief biography of the first woman in space is almost as understated as its subject. Well researched with timeline and many suggestions both in print and on the web for further reading. A fine addition to the school library collection.
November 14, 2016
Read this to help my daughter with her book report, otherwise I might not have ever picked it up..glad I did! What a life! Book is a bit dry at points...but overall great insight into how a kid grows up to be an inspiration to girls/people everywhere.
October 19, 2014
Livro que ensina e inspira
October 21, 2014
I didn't know much about Sally Ride. Now I do. A very approachable and easy to read biography.
November 4, 2015
A fantastic and inspirational biography of the first American woman to travel in space and her many accomplishments.
January 6, 2015
Very fast read. However it left me wanting more.
Read
January 19, 2018The cover photo exemplifies the iconic Sally Ride: young, confident, exuberant. She filled her historic role exceptionally.
There is a book report-ready quality to this biography of SR, which may have been the intent. Ride was a fascinating woman as much for the way she lived her life after her astronaut career as for the qualities that made her an astronaut in the first place. She almost always seemed to make the right choice, with the exception, perhaps, of her short marriage to another astronaut, Steve Hawley. The latter is way outside the scope of this book, and only relevant if one really wants to get inside the mind of the woman inside the flight suit, and see her as a person and not a hero.
There is a book report-ready quality to this biography of SR, which may have been the intent. Ride was a fascinating woman as much for the way she lived her life after her astronaut career as for the qualities that made her an astronaut in the first place. She almost always seemed to make the right choice, with the exception, perhaps, of her short marriage to another astronaut, Steve Hawley. The latter is way outside the scope of this book, and only relevant if one really wants to get inside the mind of the woman inside the flight suit, and see her as a person and not a hero.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews